There appears to be two commonly held misconceptions that we hear continually flaunted throughout the wine industry:
- Social media is not for making sales
- Facebook doesn’t work for my wine brand
Please, let me put these two bold statements into context and hopefully give you another perspective.
Social selling
According to social media site, Wikipedia: Social media broadly refers to ‘the many relatively inexpensive and widely accessible electronic tools that enable anyone to publish and access information, collaborate on a common effort, or build relationships’.
It’s a catchphrase for electronic technology that allows for one to one or one to many conversations. Where it gets confusing is that people assume social media only covers social networking sites, which is so not true.
There are reported to be between 6 to 12 different types of social media – here’s our take on it:
- Social Networking Sites (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn)
- Collaborative projects (e.g. Wikipedia)
- Social publishing platforms – Blogs and micro-blogs (e.g. Twitter, Medium, Tumblr, Blogger)
- Bookmarking sites (e.g. Pinterest)
- Content communities (e.g. YouTube)
- Virtual game worlds (e.g. World of Warcraft)
- E-Commerce Sites (e.g. Etsy)
- Review Sites (e.g. TripAdvisor, Yelp)
Now here’s the thing, some social media sites are perfect for making direct to consumer sales – Pinterest and Instagram are great examples.
Consumers actually expect to see beautiful photos of products or experiences they would love to purchase – Pinterest even makes it super easy with a link back to the eCommerce (online) store or website.
Obviously, there are strict laws in place with alcohol. So it’s not as easy to make direct to consumer wine sales through social media as it is, say for hospitality or tourism. BUT, social media still should play a strong role in your wine sales funnel.
Important to note:
Before undertaking any social media or indeed, digital wine marketing, acquaint yourself with the laws of the land and also the social platform guidelines.
Australia – ACCC Social Media Guidelines
New Zealand – Fair Trading Act and the Consumer Guarantees Act
The misconception that social media is not for making sales directly, possibly came from how we originally used it for business – where the aim was to gain brand awareness and networking opportunities.
What we need to consider though in 2016 is how we strategically use social media to grow both brand awareness (online presence, I like to call it), offer customer engagement (through a strong content strategy hopefully) and draw consumers through our sales funnel creating loyal customers, brand ambassadors and Sales!
Easier said than done – right?
That leads me to…..
Facebook doesn’t work for my wine brand
One of the most common reasons I hear why wine brands aren’t using Facebook in their Digital Marketing Strategy is – “my customers aren’t on Facebook”.
Balderdash!
With a reported 1 billion users per day, let me put this as plainly as possible – your customers are using Facebook!
What you might have said is “I’m not getting the instant engagement I get with Instagram or Twitter” or you may have said “Facebook doesn’t suit my personal marketing style”. These are two important factors and really should be taken into consideration for your wine brand marketing.
Honestly though, they’ve got nothing to do with your customer not using Facebook.
With over 50 million business pages on Facebook all vying for attention, that engagement issue is something we are all trying to contend with.
Also with the increasing need to ‘pay to play’ it’s seemingly all too hard and many wine brands are looking elsewhere.
My suggestion is stop looking for the instant gratification of LIKEs and shift your Facebook marketing strategy towards social search and remarketing.
Let me explain….
Firstly, you STILL need a Facebook Page presence in 2016.
Why?
Quite simply, your customers expect it.
Social Search
When they visit your cellar door, they may want to check-in. Thanks to the viral capabilities of Facebook – this is a huge bonus as your brand is reaching new consumers through a bit of user generated content smart practices.
Also, search engines use your Facebook Page in search results – it does help improve your wine brands search results.
AND… consumers regularly look at your Facebook Page. They may not see it in their Facebook newsfeed, but if they love your wine they’ll search you out and scroll through old posts – then LIKE or comment. It’s a delayed response, but it still works and again thanks to the viral nature of Facebook, others may then see an old post of yours.
Consider for a moment how a loyal customer feels when they land on your Facebook Page and you haven’t posted in 3 months or worse, you’re posting straight from Instagram or Twitter and using hashtags all over the place! That just screams to customers – “We don’t care about you”.
A resonating presence on Facebook is still required in 2016 for wine brands to drive sales – CLICK TO TWEET
TIP:
Don’t use more than one or two hashtags on Facebook. The search capability of Hashtags on Facebook is still under debate – research is showing that no hashtag with posts gain greater engagement on Facebook.
Remarketing
It all goes back to sales – no one is going to purchase from a brand that they don’t like, know and trust.
Social media helps attract that audience, grow brand awareness and then eventually allows for selling, depending on your unique sales funnel of course.
These days, the crowded space of social media and indeed how it’s evolved now demands that paid advertising makes up a key component of amplifying your brand stories and reaching new customers.
Facebook hands down offers the best targeted advertising of the social media sites.
Facebook Pixel
Have you heard of the Facebook Pixel? It’s a piece of code you can put onto your website to help Facebook track activity on your site. Depending on your traffic numbers, you can then use this code to remarket (advertise) to people who have already visited your website and know your brand.
Think of it this way – have you ever Boosted one of your brands Facebook Posts?
You may have ticked the box saying “Page Fans and their friends”. Now that’s all great if you’ve grown a huge Page following, but in most instances especially for smaller wine brands, it’s just family and friends plus a few customers. These people know your wine and purchase from you already.
What you really want to do is actually find, engage and grow numbers of new customers – and Facebook can help with this via a solid marketing strategy incorporating targeted advertising (note – it’s still cheaper than print advertising and did I mention ….. targeted!).
Just a thought….
Next time someone tells you social media is not for sales – explain the different types of social media! AND, if you hear someone whinging about Facebook’s lack of reach, please ask them have they thought about the long term search capabilities or indeed the possibilities of targeted advertising.
Social media platforms are continually evolving (Facebook more so than any other). It’s up to us as savvy social media wine marketers to think how we can best ensure we stay top of mind through brand awareness campaigns and continue to gain those wine sales. That might just mean changing our thinking of how we use Facebook in our digital marketing strategy….
