Engage or Get Out – Don’t waste your time with Social Media

February 14, 2012 in Consumer marketing with 5 Comments

 

So you have a Facebook page? Great! And a twitter account? Bravo! Even posted a couple of photos, maybe uploaded a video? Good for you. What?? You say you even have a blog? You’ve posted an article or two and have comments enabled? Wow, great job! You’re on your way. Now just stick in there for a few more months, or even years, and you’ll be headed in the right direction!

Today, as I wander around the internet, I see more and more blue and white icons showing up on winery websites as I poke about online. Little reminders that businesses are getting online and “engaging” the consumer. Yet today I want to call Bulls***!

Social media is “social”

Seriously, you do not get points for putting an icon on your website. You do not get credit for being ‘engaged’ because you have a Facebook page. Most of all, you do not get benefits from just pretending to play the game. Social media is about being a social being. I know it’s hard to believe but it is. It’s not just a marketing tool, it’s a way of living. It’s a change in how you think about your consumer. It’s a conversation that actually takes place online, with real people. It’s a conversation that also tends to jump offline into the real world from time to time.

If you want to use Twitter/Facebook, or even start a blog, be ready to change what you’re doing. Don’t come to me and ask “How do we keep doing what we’re doing but at the same time appear more social” because the answer is YOU CAN’T!

If you really want to use Twitter to build your brand, start asking people questions, start engaging your followers, start playing the game. Don’t bother putting up a twitter logo unless you’re going to answer anyone who sends you a tweet! It’s not worth your time, and in the end it will just make you look bad.

If you can’t respond to people who ask you questions on Twitter, or engage in conversations in your blog’s comments, the humans that use these tools will notice, and then they will ignore you. If you don’t want to engage, stick to traditional marketing. It still works, and it can work well. Stick to that, and stay there till you are ready to commit, or ready to hire someone to do it on your behalf.

Just remember that while you can still get away without the “social web” today, those days are numbered, plus the cost of catching up to others later on is getting higher. Social media engagement is at its core an investment of sweat equity. There are no silver bullets. The sooner you start, the easier it will be.  The longer you wait, the sillier you’re going to look.

Get going! Follow me: @ryanopaz – And if you don’t know how to, well then you have a lot to learn.

Ryan

Image via: Daddy Design

Enhanced by Zemanta

About Ryan Opaz: I am cofounder of the European Wine Bloggers Conference, Born Digital Wine Awards and run fun things like: The Access Zone at the #LIWF. Contact me if you want someone to speak about where the internet and wine intersect. I am a Liquid Agnostic.

All Posts by  |  Website  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Share By Email
  • WineBusProf

    That’s it, Ryan! Let’s get this bandwagon rolling! What many wineries are trying to do reminds me of a great quote that a marketing consultant once told me during my studies: “It’s all about sincerity. Once you can fake that, you’ve got it made!”

    The shame is that too many ‘marketers’ think that this is what it’s all about.

    We need more professionals to realise that wine marketing is not a solution to a wine business problem. It’s an essential foundation for running the business. As much as laboratory equipment and grape vines are necessary to produce great wine, If you don’t know what your consumers want, then the investment in production equipment is little more than guesswork in regards to market needs.

    Being social is an advantage in that we all do it to some degree. The e-medium is merely a new ‘location that we all use to interact. Just interact with people (you’ve probably been doing it for years anyway…). Even for the hermits who don’t want to invest time in marketing to begin with; just remember that to continue to succeed, you will need to employ someone who can do it for you!

  • http://www.robertgiorgione.com Robert Giorgione

    Thanks for the great advice, Ryan. Once again a true inspiration.

    Best wishes

    Robert

    Robert Giorgione

    Founder of http://www.robertgiorgione.com and rovingsommelier

  • VinoPigro

    ” Social media is about being a social being. I know it’s hard to believe but it is. It’s not just a marketing tool, it’s a way of living”. I put it in some slides in my lesson about SM at University in Verona.

    Thanks, Ryan!
    ;-)

    L.

  • http://www.blogyourwine.com/ krischislett

    “Social media engagement is at its core an investment of sweat equity. There are no silver bullets. The sooner you start, the easier it will be. The longer you wait, the sillier you’re going to look.”

    Very true! Now if we can only convince the wineries….

  • zodot

    Thanks so much for this post, Ryan. My favourite line, hands down: “Social media is about being a social being”. Creating a social media presence for your brand is so much more than signing up for a few social media accounts. Be prepared to invest time and resources in your social media presence, develop a strategy, and approach it with curiosity, enthusiasm, and genuine desire to engage with your customers.

    Cheers,

    Zoe Geddes-Soltess

    Community Engagement, Radian6

    @zodot