Social Media for Wineries Your how-to guide for the - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Social Media for Wineries… Your how-to guide for the #InstaTweetingFaceSnap

Merlot Mike The Vineyard & Brewery at Hershey Mike@VineyardAtHershey.com @Merlot_Mike

Who Is This Friggin’ Guy?

• Merlot Mike – Owner, The Vineyard & Brewery at Hershey
• Background in marketing and social media
• Opened The Vineyard & Brewery at Hershey in 2012
• Built the operation entirely through social media efforts
• Drives The #MerlotMobile

Proof That I Am Who I Say I Am…

Proof That I Am Who I Say I Am…

Proof That I Am Who I Say I Am…

Proof That I Am Who I Say I Am…

Ahh!!!

Social Media – Too hot! Like Uptown Funk…but with a longer shelf life – hallelujah! Platforms – Differences & Common Pitfalls #Winning vs. #Fail

Social Media 101 #Winning vs. #EpicFail

Those youngsters…don’t just hand them the keys!

• Much like your 16 year old, they may have better

vision physically, but do they have the experience?

• Your brand, your “voice,” your presence are at

stake.

#Winning vs. #EpicFail

Do your research The platforms:

• Know who is using them and how

they are using them before you use them yourself

Platforms – The Big Guys

#TheTwitter

• Conversation/discussion, events, breaking

news, trending topics and ‘chats, e.g. #WineWednesday.

Platforms – The Big Guys

Facebook

• High engagement to drive traffic to your website and

cultivate conversation.

• Good for specific “call to action.”
• Growing “older” audience (i.e. income).
• Don’t fall into the “boost” pitfall. Read your analyitics!

Platforms – The Big Guys

Instagram

• Visual extension of your destination or winery.
• Brand awareness, less “call to action.”
• Growing “older” audience (i.e. income).
• Watch where your Facebook dollars are

going…guess who owns Instagram!

Platforms – The Big Guys

YouTube

• Wider audience for your videos.
• Warehouse for video content.
• Use tags to increase visibility.

Platforms – The Big Guys

Snapchat

• Younger audience, but fastest growing.
• Not just for naughty pictures anymore!
• Photo and short video driven.
• Geofences and filters.

Keep Your Eyes Open

Emerging & alternative platforms:

• Untappd: show off your beer knowledge &
• expertise. Business owners can be “found” by
• tourists. Tie in to social media channels and

build your following.

• Periscope: cover live events & offer sneak
• peeks. Weigh Twitter and Facebook Live.
• Google+: good for search discovery.
• Pinterest: like online scrapbooks.

Great for craft and recipe ideas using your products.

• Tumblr: mini version of your blog –

find a specific, unique angle.

• New ones come along all the time.

Overwhelmed Yet?

• The social media landscape is diverse and it

changes…fast.

• This year’s Snapchat is last year’s Instagram,

which was Facebook 5 years ago, which was really MySpace 15 years ago, which was AOL Instant Messenger before that.

• You can’t be everywhere at once. Just focus
• n maximum engagement on what makes

sense for you for best results.

Success in Posting

Plan a strategic posting schedule:

• Post regularly and daily if possible…but

focus on quality over content.

• Always Quality over Quantity.
• On Facebook, the sweet spot is about 2x/day.

Or at least 5x/week.

• On Twitter, somewhere between 3-5x per day.
• On Instagram, 1x/day.
• The analytics will tell you when your audience

is most active on some platforms. Post accordingly.

Success in Posting

Maximizing Visibility:

• Visuals: Images, video, gifs, etc. = higher

engagement.

• Ask questions: e.g. “What are you drinking tonight?”
• Link to your blog, relevant articles or other content.
• Respond to people & acknowledge your

fans/followers. Engage.

• Diversify how you distribute a single piece of content

across platforms. Remember your analytics.

• Don’t just self-promote; be open to discussion.
• Don’t be a troll.
• Personalize your business. People will develop an

emotional connection with you.

• Be transparent! If you make a mistake, be open,

honest and forthcoming. Have a truthful conversation with your followers/customers. It works!

• Example from August event.

Tag…You’re It!

Do tag, mention & hashtag. This translates to sharing, visibility and engagement:

• Do mention others on Twitter, Facebook,

Instagram, and be sure to tag them.

• Do leverage popular/trending topics or

hashtags on Twitter & Instagram.

• Super Bowl example.

Keepin’ it Fresh

Do design a content calendar:

• Plan ahead to avoid hiccups in your

content.

• Take advantage of existing weekly

trends, e.g. Thirsty Thursday or Flashback Friday.

• Keep up with relevant holidays, like

“Drink Local Wine Week.”

• Plan your event calendar in advance

and promote accordingly using your analytics to schedule.

Don’t Be a Tool… But Use Them

Do use tools to make managing social media easier:

• Buffer’s optimal timing tool.
• Scheduling tools like Tweetdeck, Hootsuite or Buffer.
• Hootsuite and Tweetdeck are also good options for

listening tools.

• Google Docs to create a very basic content calendar.
• Insights on Facebook and Analytics on Twitter.
• Bitly as a somewhat reliable way to track clicks.
• Storify can help you aggregate all the content you’ve

shared on a topic.

• IFTTT or Zaps to automate where necessary.
• Followerwonk to grow, analyze your audience and

who you follow.

• Crowdfire to show you those who unfollow – look at

trends/times.

Who’s Doing it Well?

That’s Up to You!

• Know your competition.
• Research other styles and brands that you

can relate to.

• Be dedicated to the efforts and have

consistency in your style…not different voices.

Most Importantly…

Just Be You!

• There are tons and tons of

wineries.

• What is it that makes yours

unique? Showcase that!

Merlot Mike

The Vineyard & Brewery at Hershey Mike@VineyardAtHershey.com @Merlot_Mike