1 Wine Dude

1WineDude TV Episode 38: Why The Argument Against Wine And Social Media Is Illogical (Getting’ Groovy With Cruvee)

Posted on by 1WineDude

Part of me is really just sick and tired of making this argument… but what the hell, let’s throw more kindling on the fire and talk about why saying social media isn’t for wineries because “the brand is too small,” or “it takes too much time because we’re really farmers and we’re too busy,” or “it doesn’t connect us with local customers” is, at this point, a stinky pile of total bull honkey.

Mentioned in this episode:

18 thoughts on “1WineDude TV Episode 38: Why The Argument Against Wine And Social Media Is Illogical (Getting’ Groovy With Cruvee)”

  1. What's up with Cruvee? I have sent an email from their website 2 weeks ago and left 3 phone messages saying I want to to know about their service and I can't get a phone call back? Doesn't inspire confidence.

  2. Good morning,
    I have had the opportunity to talk to Cruvee and Evan Cover (great team, great guy) about their Service and what they are trying to accomplish. It's a no brainer and all wineries should be using their service; not using it is like shooting yourself in the foot. Steve (in an earlier comment) is speaking about "What should I be doing exactly, and how will I know when I'm doing it right? The answer: Cruvee is the starting point. To generate buzz, which turns into leads and customers to either your web site or the merchants selling your wine, you must start by entering all your wine information into Cruvee (Free), which in turns makes it available in a relevant and reliable format to the rest of the world, especially the marketers, app developers, etc building products and services around wine. Instead of having to harvest each wine information from every single winery's web site (when it exists) is a daunting task. However, if the marketers can simply go to Cruvee and access the wine info from all producers in a format that has been approved and validated by each wineries, then creating products and services around these wines become easy. So in short, if you're a winery, simply create your account on Cruvee, add your wines (or claim your wines if they're already listed), and once it's done; sign up for the Cruvee's social media service and as Joe showed on the video, start looking at the buzz and check your web site analytics to measure the increase in visitors and leads/customers. Those are the first basic
    "free" steps every wine producers should be doing. Have a great day. Disclaimer: I'm not a winery, but I'm one of those marketers building a new innovative product around wine information, which in turns generate buzz and sales for wines I'm including in my product. Today, one of my source of wine information is Cruvee, and only those wineries with their wine(s) in Cruvee will be incorporated into my product. Thanks to everyone. As always, Joe brings up great discussion topics on the table ;-)

  3. I don't think we exactly disagree. These arguments turn into angels-dancing-on-pinheads affairs. It's not "Is social media good for wineries?", it's "What should I be doing exactly, and how will I know when I'm doing it right?" This makes for good, lively conversation. You tend to be more of a booster than I am, but we're both obviously closer together than apart. I expect the conversation will continue. Anyhow, it gives us plenty to write about!

    1. Hi Steve – I should probably note that I didn't have your log posts in mind when I recorded this vid, it was a response to conversations I've had with wineries themselves. Having said that, I do think you are right, we agree on the social media stuff more than we disagree. It's not a question of If it should be done, but how and to what extent. Cheers!

  7. Joe – thanks for revisiting the conversation about wineries on social media and the mention of Cruvee which we work so hard to give to the wine industry as a free social media monitoring service. We have lots of hopes and aspirations as it relates to what Cruvee will become and how it can help wineries, wine retailers, and restaurants. Wait till you see what we do next . . .

    Now onto the meat. Should we be listening to social media? As my first mentor said, "math doesn't lie." So here are some (slightly dated by a month) stats:

    200+ million conversations about wine analyzed by Cruvee.
    18.5+ million "quality wine conversations" (brand, variety, region).
    6.5+ million wine consumers online talking about wine.

    If those numbers don't make you believe that wine consumers are special in social media, almost nothing will.

    What is really important (especially for the small winery that uses the three tier system) is that consumers that are in market will self identify allowing that winery to create a connection with them that has the potential to transform into customer loyalty, increased word of mouth exposure, and possibly even a direct sale. These platforms are like answering machines, if they call and leave you a message you don't have to respond, but you better at least be listening. Would you ever not answer a message from a customer that called your winery?

    1. Thanks, Paul.

      "Would you ever not answer a message from a customer that called your winery?"

      I don't think *any* brand can afford to not answer those messages (not just wineries, of course), but part of the secret sauce of social media is that with a little time and very little other expenses, smaller and smaller brands have the ability to do that now. Sh*t, I even do that for my brand, and that brand (like my stature :) is not enormous!

      Cheers!

  8. Joe- Have you seen the Marketing + Millennials conference in SF coming up in 2 weeks? Seeing as how you keep getting into the Social Media debate and to what degree wineries should engage in it, this would give you the latest most relevant studies.
    I am a millennial and wine lover, at one point my husband and I belonged to 10 wine clubs at once! My marketing firm is co- hosting this event, and one night last week I was enjoying a glass of local pinot. It dawned on me (like only wine can unlock), that wineries would really benefit form attending this conference.

    I would see you there!

  9. Cool content and very interested to check out Cruvee now. I find it interesting that some businesses including wineries can be more comfortable with print ads than free tools of social media. I suspect it goes back to what makes people comfortable and what they know…..like those that rebel on screw caps (which I love btw) ….I suspect they want to create some business plan to link to direct sales…..which I do not think can be done…..do you? Social media has not been taught in business schools and another reason I suspect mom & pop business shy s away from it…..despite the fact that major companies like Ford

    1. @awanderingwino – Thanks! In terms of the social media plans with a direct link to sales, they do not exist, I think. The social media stuff is better viewed as customer outreach and loyalty-building, and brand-building, all of which pays off longer term and needs to be part of a much more comprehensive approach to building brand awareness, etc.

  10. Thanks for pulling up the Modus page as an example Joe! To be honest, I used to be a non believer of social media but in the last year have seen the power of it. I've found (actually, he found me) a client who I am actually making wine for now, I've sold a good bit of wine (nothing crazy, but respectable), and I've signed up wineclub members- all via Facebook.
    Anyway, the point is that I was discouraged at first because the returns of social media aren't immediate all the time. It takes time to build "the relationship" just like it would with direct interaction with a group of people you either already know and are reconnecting with or are getting to know for the first time.
    On a side note, it really hit me when I realized that I was spending more of my time looking around on Facebook than I was surfing winery websites directly. Therefore, perceivably, as a small winery your Facebook page could be more important in telling your message than your website. I plan on improving what I already have in place…. but probably after harvest.

  11. By the way, I found and looked at this blog post because I saw that you mentioned or tagged my winery Modus Operandi in my Cruvee daily email. It works folks!!!! No kidding

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