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Social Media Marketing for the Wine Industry Presented at the Wine Intensive Executive MBA at Sonoma State University | January 18th, 2013

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About the Presenter Founder and Principal at Earthsite, a digital media agency for sustainable brands.

Learn more at JoeyShepp.com

+Road Map

n  Social Media Overview and Best Practices

n  Wine Industry Case Studies and Resources

n  Specific Tools (Time Permitting)

Ask Questions Anytime!

+Social Media Marketing, Defined

n  Social media marketing as building a social network of fans, followers and connections using relevant and interesting content that allows businesses to reach and engage more people and drive more sales.

+Wine Industry Slow to Adopt Social Media n The wine industry has

been one of the slowest industries to adopt internet-based technologies

n Big opportunity for Wine brands to engage directly with those who drink the wine

n Relationships sell wine

+Social Media Marketing is Story Telling

n Consumers expect more than just a product or service, they want a story to engage with.

n What is your brand’s story? How can you make storytelling a practice?

49% of American wineries have a dedicated marketing manager who creates and publishes content on social networks.

+Social Media Marketing is Getting People to Talk about your Brand

n The number one reason people buy wine is based on recommendation.

n Professional critics no longer rule wine popularity

+The New Media Model

+Develop a Content Strategy

n Predefine Topics

n Content Schedule

n Designate Content Producers

n Cross-Network Posting

n Get comfortable with transparency

+Develop a Social Media Policy

n  Define your Brand tone and voice n  What to talk about

n  What not to talk about

n  What to do when negative comments arise n  Who to alert when certain

issues come up

n  Ultimately, a training guide for new managers to ensure the brand voice stays consistent

+Common Questions

n What should you measure? n  Community: Fans/Followers/Subscribers

n  Engagement: Likes/Retweets/Shares

n What is the right ratio of activity to fans? n  Depends on specific social network

n  Generally, the more the better, so long as they are quality

n  See competitors for baseline

+Social Media Return on Investment

n  Expect 6-12 months to see an impact on sales

n  Allow time to grow your network… like growing a vineyard, you must allow the the vines to grow before you can expect to get fruit.

n  Think of building “Social Currency” … the more good will you generate with fan, the more likely they will share your product.

+Measuring Social Media ROI n  Online Purchases

n  Relatively easy to track marketing sources to purchases and correlate which efforts are selling the most wine.

n  Offline Purchases n  Retail is much harder to track n  Use a “baseline” method

where you check sales before and after social media campaigns

n  Use VinTank to compare your social media stats with compeditors

n  Use physical coupons that can be tracked offline

+Common Concerns

n  Negative Feedback / Complaints n  Respond quickly and

privately

n  Seek to satisfy and delight, not defend

n  Time to Manage Social Media n  15 minutes a day

n  But must stay consistent

+Social Media Don’ts

n Don’t pitch, overtly self-promote or offer incentives to get reviews or sharing

n Avoid sharing personal information about politics, religion or other controversial subjects

+Wine Industry Social Media Case Studies and Resources

+WineLibrary.tv – Changing the Wine World

n  Gary Vaynerchuk, author and public speaker drives social media.

n  Launched February of 2006

n  Regular video series, 1000+ episodes

n  40,000 Fans on Facebook

n  966,000 Followers on Twitter

+WineLibrary.com

n  Super wine shopping website

n  Delivered to your door

n  Extensive selection, lots of “deals”

n  Known for excellent customer service

n  Use WineLibrary.TV as a marketing vehicle

+Cork’d: Social Network for Wine Lovers and Wineries, Aquired

n  Launched in February 2006

n  Acquired by WineLibrary.TV in May of 2007

n  User generated content

n  Ad revenue model

n  2,000+ new users per month

n  2,000+ reviews per month

+Vintank – Powering Social Intelligence for the Wine Industry

n  The Wine Industry’s best tool for connecting your customers within the social ecosphere

n  1 million wine-related conversations tracked per day

n  Brand mentions, customer profiles, top customers

n  Context to commerce, timing/customer match, waiting for the right signal, then taking action

n  $35-$150/month

+Winery Social Index – Top 50

+Sample: Bonny Doon Vineyard

+Snooth.com – Drink Better Wines

n  Focused on the shopping experience, allowing users to compare prices across merchants.

n  Facebook integration in 2012 allows wine tasking review to be posted on personal timelines

n  28,000 Facebook Likes

n  12,000 Followers on Twitter

n  328 on Google+

+Wine-Searcher.com – Price Comparison

n  The Wine-Searcher search engine lists 5,468,814 wines and prices from 37,883 merchants around the world

n  Wine retailers can include their price lists for free

n  Pro Version

n  Access to complete, current and historical data

n  $39/year

+CellarTracker.com – Inventory Management Gone Social

n  Focused on inventory management, with integrated professional wine reviews with personal inventory and premium service offering automatic inventory valuation.

n  Launched 2004

n  Popular Wines

n  Tasting Notes by Users

+VinCellar (Powered by VinFolio)

n  Online wine cellar management system

n  An active online community

n  Tasting notes and reviews

n  Seamless integration with Vinfolio, online store and marketplace

n  Mobile App for Price Checking

+Adegga – Social Wine Discovery

n  Track your favorite wines and get recommendations from people you know.

n  Organize your wines – track the wines you taste, make a wish list or organize your home cellar.

n  International focus

n  4,100 Likes on Facebook

n  2,840 Follows on Twitter

+BottleNotes – Good People. Great Wine.

n  Bottlenotes is the premier online wine community, where wine enthusiasts come to learn about wine, share wine tasting notes, and buy great boutique and estate wines from around the world.

n  Wine Clubs, Gifts and Registries

n  Track Wine in “My Wine Cellar”

n  The Daily Sip Email Newsletter

n  167,000 Fans on Facebook

n  11,600 Followers on Twitter

+Using Social Media to Promote an Underdog Wine n  Pacific Rim decided to buck traditional wine

industry marketing tactics and go after that group, investing nearly $10,000 in a social media campaign to establish its niche.

n  “We wanted to turn passive wine drinkers into riesling zealots”

n  Campaign components n  Custom website:

http://www.rieslingrules.com/

n  Created and published the “Riesling Rules Book,” gave away 65,000 e-book copies

n  Facebook Page Pacific Rim Riesling Rules n  Catchy videos and calendar cube

giveaways for liking page, 11k fans in first two weeks

n  $1,000 Contest, 15k fans in 10 weeks

n  Results

n  30,000 Facebook Fans today

n  Selling 200,000 cases of wine a year n  Total Campaign Budget: $10,000

CASE STUDY: Pacific Rim in Portland, Oregon

+Specialized Marketing Firms for Wine and Food

Able Social - NY Grow Creative - Portland

+SF Bay Area Wine Marketing Firms

n  Jean Arnold / Founder, Jean Arnold Group, President, Hanzell Vineyards, 103 E. Napa St., Ste. C, Sonoma 95476; 707-935-7020; www.jeanarnoldgroup.com

n  Veronica Barclay / Owner, Barclay & Company, P.O. Box 71, St. Helena 94574; 707-963-3185; www.barclayandco.com

n  Jeremy Benson / President, Benson Marketing Group, 2700 Napa Valley Corporate Drive, Ste. H, Napa 94558; 707-254-9292; www.bensonmarketing.com

n  David Biggar / Managing Director, Vintage Point, 564 Broadway, Sonoma 95476; 707-939-6766; www.vintagepoint.com

n  Barbara Bowman and Jan Mettler / Partners, Boss Dog Marketing, P.O. Box 1494, Healdsburg 95448; 707-433-8484

n  Elizabeth Candelario / Director of Consumer Sales & Marketing, Chateau Montelena, 1429 Tubbs Lane, Calistoga 94515; 707-942-5105; www.montelena.com

n  John Gillespie / Partner, Wine Colleagues, P.O. Box 536, St. Helena 94574; 707-963-9009; www.winecolleagues.com

n  Mark Feinberg / Vice President of Marketing, White Rocket Wine Co., 455 Devlin Road, Ste. 210, Napa 94558; 707-254-4811

n  Dan Leese / President and partner, 585 Wine Partners, 585 W. First St., Sonoma 95476; 707-933-2640; www.585winepartners.com

n  Christopher Lynch / Chief Marketing Officer, Beam Wine Estates, 375 Healdsburg Ave., Second Floor, Healdsburg 95448; 707-433-8268; www.beamwineestates.com

n  Mike Lynch and Jean Jacoté / Partners, Big Bang Communications, 10 Brookside Drive, San Anselmo 94960; 415-250-2373; www.bigbangcommunications.com

n  Christine Martin / Owner, Firefly Creative Co., 432 Center St., Ste. A, Healdsburg 95448; 707-433-6044; www.fireflycompany.com

n  Michael Merriman / Owner, Paladin Wine Marketing, 2081

Cuttings Wharf Road, Napa 94559; 707-253-9065; www.paladinwine.net

n  Paul Novak / Owner, Novak & Associates, 3448 Young Ave., Napa 94558; 707-246-3060;

n  Jim Razzino / Weibel Family Wine Group, P.O. Box 87, Woodbridge 95258; 800-932-9463; www.weibel.com

n  Gib Rockwood / Senior Vice President of Marketing, Wilson Daniels Ltd., 1201 Dowdell Lane, St. Helena 94574; 707-963-9661; www.wilsondaniels.com

n  Craig Root / Owner, Craig Root & Associates, 10 Upland Road, St. Helena, CA 94574; 707-963-7589; www.craigroot.com

n  Don Sebastiani Jr. / Director of Marketing, Don Sebastiani & Sons, P.O. Box 1248, Sonoma 95476; 707-933-1704; www.donandsons.com

n  Jay Schuppert / President, Director of Marketing & Sales, Cuvaison Estate Wines, 4550 Silverado Trail North, Calistoga 94515; 707-942-6266; www.cuvaison.com

n  Elaine Smith / Wine marketing consultant and owner, Wine Savvy, 2924 Marty Way, Sacramento 95818; 916-444-1909; www.winesavvyconsulting.com

n  John Stallcup / Principal, Stallcup & Associates, 3513 Foxridge Court, Napa 94558; 707-252-7340

n  Neil Tallantire / Senior Vice President of Marketing, Diageo Chateau & Estates Wines, 240 Gateway Road West, Napa 94558; 707-299-2600; www.diageowines.com

n  Paul and Jennifer Tincknell / Partners, Tincknell & Tincknell, P.O. Box 1879, Healdsburg, CA 95448; 707-433-3671; www.marketingwine.com

n  Dan Wildermuth / Vice President of Marketing, Rodney Strong Vineyards, 11455 Old Redwood Highway, Healdsburg 95448; 707-433-6521; www.rodneystrong.com

+Social Media Jobs in Wine

n  14 Jobs Listed Currently on WineJobs.com relating to “Social Media”

+Social Media Recommended Tools & Tips

+Facebook Stats 2012

n  Over 1 billion users

n  71% of US Population is using Facebook

n  40% of Facebook users are age 35 and older

n  Wineries on Facebook

n  94% of U.S. Wineries Are On Facebook (73% on Twitter)

n  47% of US wineries said that Facebook helps them generate sales (72% sell wine on their website)

+Facebook Page Strategy

n  A “Page” is different than a personal profile

n  Graphic Setup

n  Content Production

n  Apps (i.e. Contests)

n  Wildfire

n  Social Candy

n  Insights (Stats)

+Facebook Content Examples

n  Questions: Polls and surveys

n  Event homepages and registration pages

n  Archived email marketing newsletters

n  Links to Blogs (yours and others’)

n  Links to Websites (yours, and others in your area of expertise)

n  Relevant videos, photos and podcasts

+Twitter – Pulse of the Planet n  Short Format Blogging

n  140 character limit n  Totally public forum n  Focus on headlines/links

n  Content n  Listen/Respond n  Frequent updates

n  Gaining Followers n  Monitor keywords related to your

brand and competitors n  Follow others, hope for follow-

back

n  Recommended Tools n  Hootsuite n  TweetBot for iOS and Mac n  TweetDeck

+Facebook vs. Twitter

n Facebook is the superior social media platform for generating sales (48% for Facebook vs. 28% for Twitter).

n But Twitter is seen as better at capturing media attention (53% for Twitter vs. 32% for Facebook).

+YouTube – The New TV

n  Get comfortable with video n  People love video n  Reveals transparency n  Demonstrate Lifestyle n  Single Cut Videos avoid

editing!

n  Setup YouTube Channel n  Graphics and branding n  Regular video uploads n  Build playlists of other

favorite videos n  Respond to comments

+Pinterest – A Social Scrapbook n  What is Pinterest?

n  Pinterest is a visually-beautiful, digital bulletin board that takes your magazine cutting and scrapbooking habit online, and makes it searchable for others with similar interests.

n  Visual Lovers Paradise n  Pinterest is perfect for

wineries and wine regions looking to engage potential customers online with cool visual (image + video) elements of their winery and wines, pairings and recipes, new label ideas, etc.

+Instagram – Photo Blogging

n  Mobile-Based Platform n  iPhone/Android Smartphone

Cameras

n  Filters for the Romantic

n  Easy to apply filters allow for artistic photos

n  Photographer on Staff

n  Define Instragram photographers who can take photos of the everyday work, events, behind the scenes and lifestyle shots.

+LinkedIn – B-to-B Networking

n  Setup Complete Profiles n  Employee Profiles

n  Company Profile

n  Participate

n  Join Groups

n  Read News

n  Post Links/Info

n  Input Contacts

n  CardMunch Mobile App

+Email Marketing

n  Email Still Vital n  People Check Email First

n  Setup Mechanics n  Email Template

n  Subscription Forms

n  Import Subscribers

n  Recommended Services

n  MailChimp

n  Constant Contact

n  Vertical Response

+Questions?

+References & Sources n  http://www.slideshare.net/pierrickbouquet/social-

media-marketing-in-the-american-and-french-wine-industry-in-2012

n  http://www.winesandvines.com/template.cfm?section=news&content=104433

n  http://www.winesandvines.com/template.cfm?section=news&content=104433

n  http://readwrite.com/2012/05/28/94-of-us-wineries-are-on-facebook-73-on-twitter

n  http://www.slideshare.net/pierrickbouquet/social-media-marketing-in-the-american-and-french-wine-industry-in-2012

n  http://www.winebusiness.com/classifieds/winejobs/?go=search&q=social+media&s1=&country=&region=&state=

n  http://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/15200/who-who-in-wine-marketing/

n  http://ablesocial.com/

n  http://grow-creative.com/

n  http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/06/using-social-media-to-promote-an-underdog-wine/

n  http://www.rieslingrules.com/

n  https://www.facebook.com/pacificrimwine

n  http://vincellar.vinfolio.com/do/vincellar/home

n  http://www.cellartracker.com/

n  http://cruvee.com/brand-index/score

n  http://www.slideshare.net/jonjoseph1/corkd-case-study

n  https://winelibrary.com/

n  http://tv.winelibrary.com/

n  https://winelibrary.com/

n  http://garyvaynerchuk.com/

n  http://www.winesandvines.com/template.cfm?section=news&content=104433

n  http://www.vinography.com/archives/2012/02/social_media_and_the_wine_indu.html

n  http://www.1winedude.com/where-can-wineries-really-innovate-in-engaging-the-people-who-actually-drink-the-stuff/

n  http://readwrite.com/2012/05/28/94-of-us-wineries-are-on-facebook-73-on-twitter

n  http://www.vinography.com/archives/2012/02/social_media_and_the_wine_indu.html

n  http://www.winesandvines.com/template.cfm?section=news&content=104433

+Creative Commons Copyright

n  This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

n  To view a copy of this license visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/ or send a letter toCreative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.