3 Simple Ways to Elevate Your Wine Business Social Content
Written by Lilia Alvarez Nevarez
(5 Min Read)
Many wine businesses tend to fall into the generic social media content trap of posting goings-on and resharing posts from others. There’s nothing wrong with any of that. BUT, if that’s ALL you post, your social media content is likely getting lost in the sea of wine industry sameness, and it’s not helping you grow your business.
If your content doesn’t convey what’s unique about your wine story, taste, quality, wine-making process or experience, and isn’t thoughtfully executed with attention to your brand style and voice, it may come across as obligatory and expected. That’s just simply not what people get on social media to see from you.
It’s important to remember that:
People are on social media to connect and be informed, inspired and entertained. So when your social content becomes a repeat of the above, your following will stop paying attention to you after a while.
You are not the only winery, wine shop, wine influencer, etc., that your audience is following. They are likely following MANY similar to you. You don’t want to blend into their feeds.
The BEST WAY to make standout social media content is to create it through the lens of your unique wine brand story! Your content should be specific to your brand and be considered an extension of your wine experience.
As a wine business owner, it can be daunting to imagine carving out time and effort to improve your social media presence. However, there are plenty of easy ways to elevate your content that simply require rethinking some of what you already know and do. Let’s discuss three of them!
#1: Inspire + Inform Your Audience With Pairings.
It’s no secret that pairings are a great way to teach people what’s special about your wine in a way that creates context that they can relate to and tips that they can put into action. But even pairings can become generic if they aren’t concepted through your wine brand’s lens. Let’s take a deeper look at three pairing possibilities and how they can be pushed beyond the expected.
Food Pairings
Use content as an opportunity to show how well your wine pairs with specific food or meals, and explain why and how. For example, your audience wants to know what’s special about YOUR Chardonnay and why it uniquely pairs with the dish you select. What is it about the terroir where your grapes are grown or your wine-making process that gives your wine the perfect characteristics for the flavor pairing you’re suggesting? Don’t leave them feeling like just any Chardonnay will do!
Special Occasion Pairings
Show how appropriate your wine is for special occasions, like weddings, graduations, anniversaries, holidays and parties, etc., and explain why and how. For example: What is it about the character of your bubbly rosé that will enhance the joy and celebratory feeling at an outdoor anniversary party? And why does your wine story make it the most appropriate addition to the table? Go beyond the surface to help your audience envision what YOUR wine will contribute to the occasion that no other wine brand can.
Unconventional Pairings
Use social media as an opportunity to show how well your wine pairs with specific books, music, movies, shows, seasons of the year or other creative, unobvious occasions. Get playful, descriptive and fun. Help them imagine themselves in these moments with YOUR wine, and help them understand the unique tie between YOUR wine and whatever it is you recommend they pair it with. Thoughtfully conceptualizing these nontraditional pairings through your brand lens is a wonderful way to showcase your wine’s unique story and personality.
#2: Inform Your Audience With Wine Knowledge.
The more your audience understands YOUR wine, the more they will enjoy, feel connected to and talk to others about it. AND the more they will buy it! Don’t wait for them to come into the tasting room to enhance this opportunity. Use social media as a platform to teach them about:
your wine-making process.
your history and story.
the role of the workers behind the scenes.
why it is that you do what you do.
how place and terroir influence the character, quality and taste of your wine, etc.
Bonus: In addition, consider using social media as an opportunity to act as an informative wine concierge! Encourage your following to ask you questions and answer them thoughtfully. This attempt at being their partner in wine will make them rely on you as their go-to wine expert and the wine brand they chose more often over others.
#3: Visually Entertain and Inspire Your Audience Through Brand-Designed and -Composed Photography and Video.
Social media is visual, so consistently posting generic video or photography with no attention to style, composition or what might enhance and amplify what’s unique about your wine brand will ensure many people scroll past your posts. To stand out on social media, it’s critical to prioritize a cohesive style and tone that is unique to your brand that’s visually eye-catching and scroll stopping.
This can be challenging for the average business owner to do when you don’t have a creative team or person on staff. It’s possible to make some improvement by using carefully selected filters and practicing composition and cropping. But we recommend you work with professionals to, at the very least, acquire some consultation that will point you in the right direction.
And Then … Experiment!
Once you start to implement the suggestions above, feel free to experiment with your content. You should probably attempt to lean into video creation because that’s what attracts the most eyeballs, but keep posting a mix of content types and topics. Pay attention to what your audience seems to engage with the most and post more of that!
Drinking wine is about enjoyment, discovery and exploration. Making wine social media content can be too. So put on your wine brand lens, get creative and have fun using social media to show off what makes your wine or wine business the best. You’ll find going beyond typical generic posts will lead to more discovery of your wine and more connection with your audience. That’s good for business!
