I think we all know that social media is not going away. If you are currently involved in social media marketing, you are a leader and early adopter. Most small wineries in the Willamette Valley know they need to have a social media plan and a program but just can’t find the time or justify the effort. Don’t we all survive on ‘word of mouth’ marketing? Think of social media as conversational media. It is one and the same. You are sharing information about your winery, and creating a conversation where the consumers are and how they want to communicate. Here are answers to the top 3 questions I get from winemaker/owners on this topic:
1. Will it help me sell more wine? No, it will not … directly. However, it will help drive consumers to your website or tasting room where you can transact Consumer sales
2. What is it going to cost me? Virtually nothing but your time. It’s like having your own media department! The most important thing to remember is that it does take time … social media is not an immediate return on investment opportunity.
3. Where will I find the time? Make the commitment, keep it simple, carve out 1 hour/day, and use social media tools like TweetDeck and HootSuite to your advantage; there are countless resources via the web. By the way, the mobile applications for these sites are very easy to use, so you don’t need to be tethered to your desktop to be engaged.
You may already have setup the basic platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and a winery blog. Be sure you understand the rules, etiquette, appropriate content and frequency for using these tools. An important rule for engaging is that for every one self-mention, talk about others four times (80/20 rule). Promote everyone else and you will benefit greatly—that’s what makes this type of engagement “social.” Have a marketing plan and be consistent. There is plenty of talent right here in the Chehalem Winemakers Association. Reach out, and get the conversation started!
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Great insights, Carl. I think that you’ve hit upon some key points for using social media—in any industry, but especially as they relate to the local wine business. Aside from the idea that we ought to focus interactions on things other than ourselves (which I know is a difficult concept to older sales models), I think my biggest take away is the idea of time.
Though social media tracking and analytics have come a long way in the last few years, it is difficult to actually measure direct ROI, as far as I can tell. This is frustrating, I’m sure, for any small business jumping into social media, and I would advise that setting goals, tracking those goals, and sticking with it are the most important factors to showing ROI. You can’t measure something you don’t have defined, and it’s not going to happen over night.