This presentation describes the relationship between the modern day wine industry, and the use of Social Media in the advertising and showcasing of their products.

1. Wineries & Social Media: The perfect
pairing!

2. How does Social Media help the wine
industry?
Small wineries are among the first people in the industry that I think of when it comes to
Social Media and Wine. They need to utilise every available tool in order to promote their
winery, and let the locals know about potential events that are being planned. Not only that,
using media outlets such as Twitter and Pinterest help give the wineries feedback on their
product, and allow guests to comment on their good or bad experiences at that winery.
Social Media also allows the smaller wineries to compete against the larger wineries.
Wineries that already have their name well established within their market, or even
internationally, may not care for the use of media outlets. This gives small scale wineries the
chance to advertise online, creating more sales, and eventually that same “small winery”
may become a large scale competitor.
It is quite important that you remain active online if you are using any form of Social Media.
The last thing you want is to have people noticing your online neglect, and commenting on it
for the world to see. Even the negative comments should be addressed, and if you are
professional about it, these complaints can be dealt with, and can result in a positive
experience for both parties.

3. If you don’t have the budget to hire a professional to handle your online media, don’t
sweat it! Odds are if you have younger people working at your winery, they’re involved
in some form of Social Media. They may love the opportunity to help out their winery,
and put a fresh spin on the way media and wine work with each other.
Just be careful to monitor any posting on the companies behalf, make sure that the
posts are appropriate and positive, and that any comments are being replied to. If
they’re doing a great job, giving them an extra bottle of wine at the end of the month
won’t hurt!

4. Blogging is another fantastic way to promote your winery and wines! Blogs allow you to go
into greater detail as to how your winery operates. These can create a more personal
experience for visitors at your winery. If they read your blog before going on a tour, or even
just before visiting the winery, they will have a better appreciation for your wines.
These are great for giving visitors a little more insight as to how wine is made, and what
steps must be taken in order to provide them with high quality wine, with reasonable prices.
You can also help people with food and wine pairings via blog posts! This can be an excellent
marketing tool, offering food & wine pairings with your wine, or even hosting events at your
winery. Just make sure that your blogs under this topic aren’t too pretentious!

5. I have a website for my winery, is that
enough?
Websites are crucial to the sales and advertisement of your winery. However, they aren’t
typically a place where people gather online. Your website probably won’t be a “hang
out”, it will be a destination. Through careful advertising via Twitter/Pinterest/Facebook, you
can help your website grow in popularity.
Online wine sales are becoming increasingly popular. Make sure that your website allows
your customers to make purchases. Making your wine more accessible is essential to upping
your sales. If people are hearing about how great your wine is, but aren’t able to purchase it
at their local LCBO or liquor store, and you don’t provide online purchases, you’re not
making money!
Posting pictures of your winery and having an in depth description of your techniques, your
staff, and a list of awards you have received are all great additions to your website! From
what I’ve seen, almost every winery website allows you to book tours and tastings online as
well!
Make sure that you post a link to your website whenever, and wherever possible!

6. Pinterest is taking off in popularity amongst wineries! This site allows you to post
pictures and links relating to your wines and winery, and is an excellent way of
advertising your winery. The website is very well laid out and organized, making it quite
easy to navigate.
You can also advertise upcoming events, and provide pictures to help attract customers
who may be on the fence as to whether or not they want to go or not. Additionally, you
can post a link to your website on the material that you pin! Pinterest seems to be one
of the best media outlets to advertise, especially if you’re just starting out.

7. Live streaming has made its way into the world of wine as well. Professional
tasters, winemakers and wine enthusiasts alike have started streaming their
tastings, allowing them to instantly express their opinions of that particular wine with the
world! This can be a great way of advertising your wines!
Live streamers try to create an authentic wine tasting experience, and can come in handy if
you have loyal consumers that love your wines, or new customers that are very interested in
what you are producing that live in regions where your wines may not be as accessible. I feel
like live streaming and website advertisement go hand in hand, they complement each
other quite nicely. Advertising your website on your live stream is a great way to attract
eager consumers to your website to order your product online!

8. Having a YouTube channel can give you the ability to show potential customers what your
winery looks like, and provide them with some reviews of your wines. If your winemaker
has won any awards, you could also post those ceremonial videos to help back the quality
of your wine. Having a virtual tour posted online could be a hit or miss. If you are going to
have a tour posted, perhaps only provide a preview of what the winery has to offer.
There are numerous YouTubers who review wine and upload their tasting experience to
their channel. Sending them a bottle of your best wine and prompting them to review it
could assist in the sales of your wine. The most popular wine review channel that I have
found seems to be WineLibraryTV.

9. Facebook is incredibly useful to both big and small wineries. By creating a profile and
adding pictures, bits of information about the staff and contact information for the
winery, you’re doing a lot of work in one place! People can also “like” your page, which
gives them the ability to get back to your page with the click of a button! The more
people that “like” your page, the more popular and relevant you become.
Setting up events is incredibly easy through Facebook. The people who have subscribed
to your page, and who have your posts on their news feed are able to see exactly when
these events are taking place. It also gives you the ability to post about positive reviews,
or awards that you have won.

10. Wine & Social Media: Moving Forward
With the assistance of Social Media, wineries across the world are able to quickly reach
out the all their fans throughout the world. As Social Media progresses and becomes even
more popular, wineries and wine writers alike will have an even easier time reaching out
to people and attracting new customers!
Next time you have an extraordinary bottle of wine, consider posting on that wineries
Facebook or Twitter page and congratulate them on their success! It will make both
parties feel good, and work wonders for that winery!
Cheers!

11. References
Mickey Butts (2005), Seven Best Wine Blogs
Retrieved from: http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/seven-best-wine-blogs
Tom Wark (2013), Top 10 Winery Promotional Tools
Retrieved from: http://fermentationwineblog.com/2013/02/the-top-10-winerypromotional-tools/
Leslie Poston (2012), 10 Ways to Be a Social Media Savvy Winery
Retrieved from: http://www.salesforcemarketingcloud.com/blog/2012/08/10-ways-to-bea-social-media-savvy-winery/
Julie (2013), 4 Ways for Wineries to Uncork Social Media
Retrieved from: http://synthesio.com/corporate/en/2013/uncategorized/4-ways-touncork-social-media-for-wineries/
Natalie MacLean [Natalie MacLean] (Sept. 19, 2013), Wine and Social Media: Do Wineries
Need Social Media?
Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddBnZjdGZ28