Social Media for Wineries: Make it a Priority (and do it right)

If you work anywhere in or around the wine business, you know just how tough the past year has been. Your stress levels might have hit an all time high as you watched sales drop off. It's been bad for just about everyone whose name isn't Amazon.

The good news is we're now seeing a return of business, but there's still a long way to go.

If you own or manage a winery, you need to take advantage of every opportunity available to find new customers and keep sales to your fans going strong.

One of the best ways to do this, which the past year made very clear, is through using your social media pages.

A well managed social media presence goes a long way to engaging your fans and growing your brand's exposure and sales, keeping you in front of your customers when they see your posted content. It also allows you to connect with them, answer their questions and most importantly, provide customer service as needed.

In this way, social media has leveled the playing field. Small brands have the same platforms and opportunities available to them on social as the big ones. You don't need a huge ad budget and a big marketing team to get your message out. That's the real game changer. Many small brands have done well with modest budgets and a dedicated social media manager.

Where you run into trouble is in thinking about your business pages the same way you think about your personal social media: checking and posting on your pages only when you have the time. This can do more harm than good.

Think for a second about customers who have questions or complaints--you need to respond to them quickly. Leaving someone hanging for a few days or a week, won't go over well. According to Forbes, 66% of consumers stopped doing business with a company whose customer service on social media was considered "poor". On the other hand, 71% of consumers who've had a positive experience with a brand on social media will likely recommend that brand to family and friends.

Your social media amplifies the good and the bad, so if you don't have time to check and update your pages on a frequent, consistent basis, you need to have someone who knows how to do it for you or you run the risk of losing credibility (and sales) with customers and prospects. Don't let that happen.

The platforms themselves, Facebook and Instagram in particular, will reward regular, consistently posted content that engages conversation and sharing. When done this way, you'll get better performing posts and more exposure than if you just post here or there, to highlight a sale or a discount. It's all about creating a connection with people and growing it. That's how you build a following, and fans that will know, like, trust - and buy from you.

Currently, almost 70% of American adults are actively using social media and the latest statistics show an average daily use that has grown to 2 hours and 25 minutes a day.

There's no other opportunity to market your business quite like it, so make sure you're taking care to manage your pages daily and if you can't, find someone who can, so your business reaps the benefits, which will only grow over time for those who do it the right way.

Have I convinced you?

Please email me at Lee@offthevinepr.com & let's chat.

Cheers! 🍷🥂

~ Lee

OfftheVinePR.com