Comments on: Wineries on Twitter: Sokol Blosser

By: drinknectar

drinknectar — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:34:38 +0000

Ron, I wonder the same thing. There are only 5000 people in Spokane on Twitter (of a population of 350,000), but Facebook has about 75000 Spokanites on it. For those businesses, what harm is their being on the leading edge. For me, of my 1000+ followers, less than 50 are in Spokane, but that will change and grow. On facebook of the 250 fans, about 200 are from Spokane. So, I guess what I’m saying is, you have to know your audience and use the tools that reach your target market. For those business in northern Colorado, they need to get in now, while the audience is small. It may be easier to connect with the few dozen and then growing will be even easier as they’ll be seen as leaders and influencers.

Josh

By: Ron

Ron — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:42:20 +0000

It’s not just wineries that need to get on this, it’s local wine and liquor shops as well. Here in Colorado I talk to some of the owners I know, and they talk about how bad business has been (in a business that’s supposed to do well in a down economy, following the logic that people drink when they are happy, and drink even more when they are down). I see huge potential, but none up in northern Colorado are on it. A few are in Denver though. So I’m wondering if the size of your audience is the crucial factor. A winery with a nation-wide distribution has incentive to get on Twitter. But what about a local shop in a small city where the adoption of Twitter may only be in the thousands?
Your thoughts?

By: drinknectar

drinknectar — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:48:21 +0000

Argh – what a total bummer. Hopefully you reached out and let them know…sometimes the only way to learn is through failure. Thanks for the comment.

By: drinknectar

drinknectar — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:06:33 +0000

Brent, – very great advice indeed. Connection is what social network is all about. The world is getting increasingly connected to each other. I recently read that now more than ever the individual voice can shout the loudest.

As consumers we have such a strong voice because of networks like Twitter and Facebook! Great insights!

By: MVineyards

MVineyards — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:00:17 +0000

I think it is really important to understand that people come to Twitter not to be sold but to connect. People share small part of their lives with no expectation. When we jump in with an advertisement they turn off.

My cousin wrote a book “Bassackwards Business”. He model was to help people and genuinely engage with no expectation of return. He says to become “mayor” of your community.

The payback is genuine kinship with fellow Tweeple. And IF we are interesting enough they will go to our Facebook or blogs. There is where we should focus our marketing.

Lastly there are those who think they are too important to follow back. All you have to do is look at who has thousands of followers and follow only a handful. I have gotten rid of those including some very famous social media folks. If you don’t care about what I have to say why should I care about you?

By: Sip with Me!

Sip with Me! — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:27:51 +0000

So true Josh, excellent series and I look forward to reading more. Sokol Blosser does a great job w/their social media campaign and as you show here, it was well thought out. The obvious key is to follow a plan. I’ve seen other wineries try and fail. In fact, just today got word from a local winery offering free gift for answering a survey. After spending time to answer their questions, the link to their free gift didn’t work, frustrating people instead of rewarding them for their efforts. Like you quote SB, don’t promise what you can’t deliver!