Learn what content marketing is, plus our top tips on why your winery should use it.
What is content marketing?
Forbes.com defines Content marketing as:
Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.
Not the easiest description to read is it? Think of it this way:
- Traditional media talks AT people. Traditional media: ads in magazines, billboards, radio
- Content marketing talks WITH people.
Another way to explain it: You had a pipe burst at your winery. Do you get in your car and drive to the billboard that has a plumber ad on it? Do you turn the radio and wait for the plumber ad to come on? No, you pull out your smartphone and either:
- Go to social media and ask who knows a plumber
- Go to Google (or ask Siri) “Plumber near me”
It’s the same process when people are searching for wine or wineries. More than 81% of shoppers, shop online before they step into any business. There are people right now googling wineries in your area. What is going to make them pick your winery? Consumers have four steps before they make a purchase: Know me. Like me. Trust me. Buy from me. How can your winery do these steps online? Through a solid content marketing plan that is focused on:
- The demographics of your wine consumer (not sure who that is? Check out this research study on the 6 different wine consumers). Knowing who your targeting makes developing content a breeze. Are you targeting a Wine Enthusiast that enjoys recipes paired with your wine? Or are you targeting a Millennial that prefers to try new varietals at restaurants?
- Branded content: It is essential to post content that promotes how you are unique from other wineries. Not sure what that is? An easy way to think of it is to fill in the blanks: Only (your winery) delivers (unique differentiating benefit) to (target audience). Not sure what that is? Read more about building a strong wine brand here.
Once you have those two steps down, you can now apply it in a content marketing plan. A few of the ways we do this for wineries are:
- Having a mobile friendly website
- Adding new content to your website each month, so you show up search
- Posting branded content regularly on social media
- Having a consistent email marketing plan
- Using Hashtags: Hashtags are an easy and free way to grow your audience. Promote your #YourBrandName or #Slogan by piggybacking on fun trends such as #tbt (Throwback Thursday)
- Use Online company listings, like Trip Advisor, Google, etc: Keep your listings up to date and make sure any reviews have responses. Read Why your response rate on social media is so important.
Next, what type of content should you post?
Read our blog post 5 secrets to improve your winery’s social media results.