Fourth of July weekend is a time for fun, friends, fireworks, food and wine (4FW); please don’t mix the wine and the fireworks. I’m up at Lake Tahoe with a bunch of wine friends, and instead of me giving you social media food for thought, I’m going to send you out to others today.
First, let’s go visit Tom Wark’s “Fermentation”. At this link, Tom reviews five years of wine blogging, and considers where blogging might be going. Do read the comments, where folks get into what’s blogging and what’s not. Where would you put GaryVee in all this?
Millennials. Those kids are at it again, getting everybody’s attention as the coming wave of BUYERS. Everybody needs people to buy things, and in this article, Sonoma State’s Liz Thach provides tips on marketing wine to Millennials. It’s a small sample space, but some good observations are presented. You won’t be surprised on the emphasis on social media, but what might be surprising is the apparent low use of Twitter by this demographic; if you want to find Millennials, go Facebook (and that, we will).
Check out some really nice blog work at Artisan Family of Wines, where Jeff Miller has a five (or more?) part series on Why Wine Costs What It Does. This is an outstanding example of making your site “sticky”, where followers are compelled by the content to come back for more. Wine folks need to understand that wine-savvy consumers are drawn to this kind of “insider” content.
Finally, for a bit of fun, head over to http://www.areallygoodejob.com/ to view some of the video entries of the top 50. A lot of thought and work were put into these videos, and it’s clear that this event has brought the concept of Social Media into the front office of many wineries which had previously not given it a second thought.
You guys have a safe and sane Fourth of July, and I promise to try to not to blow up the Tahoe fireworks barge. See you next week.
Thank you for referencing the news article in question! I want to raise one point in response, as this is the umpteenth time I’ve seen “Millenials” and “Authenticity” paired up in the press … My question is, since when does “word of mouth” equal “authenticity?” Just my two cents, as always …
Regards,
Christopher Watkins
Tasting Room Manager
RIDGE Vineyards/Monte Bello