People always ask me, “what’s your secret?” My secret is that there is no secret, just like anything else, it takes consistent effort, dedication, and care to have a solid social media presence. But, I do have some advice on how to improve it. Think about the brands you follow; what do you like about their content? That’s my first suggestion, pay attention to what you like about specific social media accounts and also what you don’t. I guarantee you’ll start to see a pattern in both directions. More on that later…
So often, social media marketing is an afterthought for businesses. They don’t put value to it, and it shows. There is no time more important than now in getting your brand noticed and keeping it relevant. It’s imperative, because there are companies directly in line behind you, putting in the work, and grabbing your customer’s attention. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been a successful winery for 20 years, all based on word of mouth, times have changed. If you don’t continue to offer new and innovative programming and if people don’t know about what you are offering, your customer base will decline. Why? Because there is SO MUCH COMPETITION everywhere. To keep your brand following loyal, you need to continue to offer them elevated experiences and products. To keep them interested you need to engage them in conversation as much as possible, both online and off. Social media can help you do all of this and more.
Why Social Media?
Social media offers you the opportunity to continue conversations with your customers when they aren’t in your building and promote your offerings to get them to come back time and time again. Simple as that.
Authenticity
First off, and I know this word is overused, be authentic. I wish there were other words that I could use that means the same thing, but the truth is, being authentic is so important, that there is no other way to say that. Be YOU. Have a strong brand voice (I’ll write more on this in a future blog); show your followers behind-the-scenes so they can understand the hard work that goes into their great experience; it helps them to connect to you, which, in turn, helps them appreciate you more. What are the unique things that your business has to offer? Who are the people working for you, and what do they bring to the table? Do your social media pages reflect the experience that you want people to have when visiting you? Asking yourself those questions, periodically, knowing the answers, and communicating them via your social media accounts, is a great place to start. An amazing example of a winery with a strong and authentic brand voice is Rove Estate. Their voice is consistent, and you can tell by following their social media accounts what type of experience you will have when visiting them. You know what they are about before walking into their door, their fun energy translates to their social media and invites you in!
Content is Queen
From there, it’s all about content. What kind of content are you producing? Is it a good mix of education, fun, and sales? It helps to have a strategy so that you know what content you want to post, when you want to post it, and what you need in advance to make that happen. Otherwise, it becomes a game of “I know I have to post something so here’s this pretty flower I see” which honestly, doesn’t say anything about your business, doesn’t make you stand out, and won’t resonate with your target audience, therefore won’t keep them interested. I typically do my social media strategies a month in advance. I think taking a monthly look at what you offer helps to keep it all relevant. Each week, try to post something educational, such as a blog, a how-to video, wine knowledge, or a virtual wine tasting. In addition, sprinkle in some fun content, such as a funny meme, a goofy photo of a team member, a boomerang of a glass of wine being poured with a catchy caption. Lastly (and this is last intentionally), make sure you talk about your products, your events, your unique offerings, promotions, etc. Also, leave some room to post things on the fly that are happening in real-time. The golden rule of social media marketing is 80/20, 80% fun and educational, 20% sales. You build your network with the education and the fun; then you sell to that network. You keep that network engaged with education and fun; then you sell them the tickets to your new event so they can experience that in person. You keep that conversation going with your network through education and fun; then you sell them on what you know they are looking for, based on that conversation. See the pattern here?
Conversation-Style
The wineries that do this the best are the ones that are most successful online. Communicating via your social media accounts should be no different than communicating in-person. Just engage in normal conversation. If someone asks a question or comments on a post, respond to it. It seems simple enough, but every single day I see comments all over social media that are not acknowledged by the business. To me, that’s like someone coming into your Tasting Room and asking a question, and you just looking at them and walking away without responding. That probably won’t keep them excited about your brand for long. It does take time, but it is so important, spend time in your accounts every day, engaging with the people who are engaging with you. Keep your tone conversational. Communicate on social media precisely like you would talk to your customers face to face. Don’t overthink it!
Build Your Following
This one takes time, but it’s worth it to spend that time. The first step, follow other people and brands that you like. Comment on their posts. Share your experiences about their business onto your page. Did you have a great meal at a restaurant? Share a photo of what you had there with a shout out. Do you love a new wine varietal that a fellow winery just released? Tell them! Engage with people via their social media accounts, just like you would in-person at their establishment or their home. Keep this up, and your network will naturally grow.
User-Generated Content
I could continue to write a blog on social media how-to for literally forever. I won’t do that to you (with this particular blog at least), but I will leave you with one last tip. Use your user-generated content to your advantage. User-generated (or consumer-generated) content is any content about a brand created by people and not by the brand. People love talking about their experiences, which can be both good and bad, and that’s extremely important to capitalize on. Create a fun space at your winery for people to take photos; a great example of this is the big painted monkey on the side of Bonobo Winery‘s building. People tag themselves there all day long! Make sure to comment when someone posts a photo from your establishment, even something simple as, “thank you for joining us today!” or “cheers!” will go a long way. One of the easiest, and most fun, ways to do this is via Instagram stories. Instagram stories only last for 24 hours, but they are the easiest way to capture the fun happening at your winery in real-time, so stay on top of those. It’s always more powerful for people to see what your winery offers based on other people’s experiences because it shows an unfiltered way of evaluating what you’re offering. Easy ways to do this are, again, sharing other people’s stories that you are tagged in, responding to your company reviews (to all of them, the good and the bad), and commenting on all tagged photos.
So those are my 101 tips on social media, but social media is ever-evolving, and my #1 tip will always be, just do it (yes, Nike is one of my favorite brands). Pay attention to it, care about it, put thought into it. Doing those will benefit your business greatly and make your customers HAPPY, which ultimately is the goal.
Have questions? Feel free to send me an email at [email protected]; I’m an open book!
