Does your social media content fall short? This one pitfall is guaranteed to lose you online followers! Find out what you should be posting instead…
Social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter are excellent ways to build relationships with wine consumers, and drive traffic to your website. It’s safe to assume your winery has at least one active social media account. (Right? If not, learn which social media sites your winery should be on to reach your ideal wine drinker.)
Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram let’s assume you’re already consistently posting or tweeting, responding promptly to messages and comments, and interacting with your fans or followers. Now, let’s talk about WHAT you’re sharing online!
The posts you share on your winery’s social media accounts are called content, and having quality content is essential to maximize your social media results. Good content will keep your followers around, but GREAT content will get them to interact with your brand, and attract new customers.
Yet what makes a piece of content great? Before you share something on social media, ask yourself two questions:
- Is this content relevant to my target audience?
- Does it provide value for my followers?
If you answered YES to both questions, you’re almost there! Great content is helpful and interesting. Social media is a conversation after all, and no one wants to talk to someone who only ever talks about themselves.
One of the biggest social media pitfalls that cause people to tune you out and even unfollow your page is too much self-promotion. There’s something called the 80/20 rule in social media marketing, which means that out of every 10 posts or tweets, 8 of them should provide value, and only 2 of them should be sales or advertising related.
Some experts say given the sheer volume of content being shared every day, that ratio should be closer to 90% value-add and only 10% promotional! So what’s a busy winery owner or marketing manager to do? Mix it up with a combination of text, images, links, videos, questions, and stories:
- INFORM – share local news stories, job postings for open positions at the winery, event invitations, profiles of your key employees with pictures so customers can recognize them on site, links to interesting articles, and useful infographics about wine. Create a video tour of your winery. Interview your winemaker about the new wine or his/her favorite wine. And don’t forget to tell your brand story about how your winery got started!
- INSPIRE – share wine-related quotes that resonate with your audience. Create branded memes of personal empowerment. Talk about who inspires you. If your winery is connected to a specific charity, tell your followers about it and link to their web page, Facebook page, or Twitter account. Host a fundraising event for the cause at your winery. Modify your favorite recipes for entrees, desserts, and more to include your specific brand of wine.
- ENTERTAIN – share funny wine memes or jokes; don’t be afraid to embrace humor if it suits your brand. Connect with fans over books you’ve read and events you’ve attended. Upload pictures of yourself, your team, your pets or your family. Create a video of you and your employees having fun, or explaining a process such as bottling the wine. Feature a favorite customer and their experience with your winery.
- DISCUSS – share your opinions on topics relevant to your customers. Start a conversation about a current trend. Write about the best customer service experience you’ve ever had and how you strive to recreate it for all your customers. Talk about your favorite wine and invite customers to share their favorite varietals or food pairings.
- ENGAGE – question your audience and do some low-cost market research at the same time! Ask about their favorite product, service, or menu item at your winery. Get them to vote on a new product, service, event, or wine name. Host a fun drawing where people guess how many wine corks fit in a wine barrel or other container to win a prize.
Some final content considerations: Is it a positive reflection of your winery owner or brand? Negativity is rarely well-received. Does it offer insight into the owners’ personality? Sharing a personal interest or something others can relate to (pets, hobbies, home improvement project, etc.) creates common ground to develop relationships. Does it position you as an expert, or your winery as a resource? Determine what you have to offer that’s different than your competition and share content that reinforces it.
Creating and sharing high quality content definitely can be a full time job, but you don’t have to start from scratch. Repurpose internal sources such as your blog, email newsletters, event calendar, wine list, FAQs, etc. Explore external sources for content inspiration including online reviews and testimonials about your winery, and wine industry news or blogs. Make sure you optimize posts and tweets by using relevant hashtags, and tag related people or businesses to increase your exposure.
Bonus Tip: Another big social media pitfall some wineries fall into is creating a social media account and then neglecting it. You can’t have a conversation with someone if they’re never around! Use an editorial calendar to plan out your content for all social media channels, and try to avoid sharing the exact same thing across the board. Each social channel should provide value to its followers, so give your target audience a good reason to follow you on Facebook AND Twitter AND Instagram if you can manage all three well. A calendar will help your winery have a consistent brand presence, which is another key to success online.
Don’t want to DIY?
Read what happened when we took over one winery’s Facebook page. We can help you with content creation and social media management, too! Contact us to set up a time to discuss your specific situation; we’ll provide you with a free estimate customized for your specific goals.