Real Life Social Media Success: The Influence of a Great Campaign

Sorbet at Russells Dining (@RussellsDining) in Bothell, WA

Picture this scene. I’m a gorgeous restaurant (that I frequent often) on a date with my snookems. We were dining fireside, great wine, nice shoes… the works. Before I go further, I digress a bit… I tend to have a one track mind and bore the hell out of him with Social Media talk, so on the way to the restaurant I mentioned something about having a Social Media and Seattle Wine Gal free dinner. I will tell you now that it was NOT an evening void of Seattle Wine Gal, and here’s why.

[Keep in mind how this directly relates to the real power of influence that exists within the walls of Social Media].

We were talking about an upcoming trip possibility and how we can go about it since we have a new puppy when I was interrupted mid sentence and told by him that someone in the restaurant was talking about “Seattle Wine Gal”. We both listened quietly and finally spotted the table of 6 who were enjoying a bottle of one of my favorite wines a few tables away. Phones all out in a tweet-friendly position, one of the gents was saying: “Seattle Wine Gal highly recommends this place. She’s become one of Seattle’s prominent tweeters and has awesome recommendations for wine and cool events.” I phased out and let them have their privacy back, but I did notice my name come up again a few times later that night. I must also mention that the wine they had ordered was a wine I recommended last week on Twitter.

Now folks, it is imperative that you know that I am not writing this to ‘toot my horn’. I was literally SHOCKED to hear this, and didn’t quite know if I liked the little bit of notoriety. It really did, however, get me thinking a lot about spreading a message through Social Media platforms such as twitter and Facebook, and how very powerful it can be if done well and with honesty and enthusiasm.

I have worked with many restaurants, wine shops and wineries to help them get on the Social Media Map. I am sure to check in with them up to 6 months afterward to see how their campaign is influencing business. They have all reported super positive things, and I can see just how well their campaigns are developing.

I am having an absolute blast with Seattle Wine gal, and meeting so many new and great people as a result. I did not set up this persona to make money, but I have been offered countless job opportunities, free event tickets, meals, wine etc. as a result. I sometimes feel that I am sitting on a gold mine of sorts. The fact of the matter is that everyone has the same opportunity to be doing so.

Thanks for letting me share this thought with you. Please contact me at Contact@SeattleWineGal.com if you have any questions, or would like to touch base about your own Social Media Efforts and how I can possibly help you.

Thanks all for the support folks, I truly appreciate it.

-Seattle Wine Gal

Social Media Strategy or Tacky? Putting Twitter/Facebook Info on Wine Labels

“Oh c’mon Seattle Wine Gal, I know you’re ‘into’ Social Media Marketing, but Twitter names on wine bottle labels? That’s just stupid”. Was something like that going through your mind when you read the title? OK, OK, understandable. While it may seem a little tacky, it could also be one of the most progressive social media marketing decision a winery could make right now! Here are a few pros and cons that I can think of for an idea like this. Please comment below to share your thoughts and to add to my pros and cons list.

Con:

1. Social Media platforms are always changing; Twitter/Facebook/your blog may not always be around, how embarrassing for you when people cellaring your wine, see an outdated twitter/facebook/blog 5-10 years later when they open the wine!
2. You may turn off a lot of people who feel that it is tacky and tasteless; losing some of your potential/existing clientele- it’s just too risky!
3. Wine marketing has always been about selling more than just wine; you are selling an experience. A Twitter name on a wine bottle causes the wine to lose all romantic and traditional appeal.
4. It creates a stressful situation for winery staff or vintners, who then have to constantly stay on top of their social media efforts, even during crush and other very busy times… too overwhelming!
5. The marketing worth of the back of a wine label is alluring tasting notes and winery history- a Facebook web address is not alluring and will not help sell wine.

Pro:

1. MAJOR increase in visibility in online social media communities, which IS the next/new way to market products.
2. Increase in Twitter/Facebook/blog follower counts, which will help establish industry leadership in the social media space.
3. You will be viewed as fun, hip and appealing to a younger target market.
4. You are making yourself immediately accessible to your clientele (they can contact you and get ‘real time’ interaction with you and your followers).
5. People WILL talk about you for having done something so bold- this is always a good thing.
6. Your buyers will follow you on Facebook and Twitter and buy more wine after seeing your tweets/posts about upcoming deals; it is a way of continuing a relationship with them and creating loyalty- you will sell more wine!

Lets face it folks, when t.v. came out, companies were apprehensive to spend their marketing dollars on it; they stuck with radio until they realized how lucrative it was. When businesses started creating ‘websites’, many were apprehensive to do so (some companies still don’t have one)! We are in the age of twitter now; why not strike while the iron is hot? What do you say, is a Twitter name on a wine label like screw caps- beneficial and will slowly gain acceptance but currently risky due to potential alienation?

Wine Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous: The Truth About Owning a Winery

The Glamorous Life of a Vintner: Don Scrubs the Toilet

Thanks once again Don Phelps of Hard Row to Hoe in Chelan WA for joining me for another guest blog post in my “Ask a Vintner” series. This one’s a good one folks. Pour yourself a glass of wine.

Seattle Wine Gal:

“So Don, What is it like to own a winery? It seems so glamorous! Out in the vineyards with the sun shining on your face, lavish wine dinners and parties, 1,000 bottle cellars, midnight candle-lite barrel tastings”…

Don Phelps: I was thinking today about the nice aspects of owning a winery which includes meeting great people, living in a beautiful area, being your own boss, etc. That got me to thinking about all of the folks that come to the winery and say how much they admire the place and wish they could take the plunge to do it themselves. And that is about where reality came into the picture..

We spend the lion’s share of each day:

Paying bills

Handling payroll

Doing the taxes

Ordering wine glasses so everyone has something to drink out of

Getting change from the bank for the till

Ordering toilet paper and paper towels for the bathroom

Buying bags and boxes

Getting ice for the white wines

Taking out the empty bottles

Restocking the shelves

Cleaning the bathroom and tasting room

Picking up garbage outside

Working with vineyards to grow next years grapes

Worrying about freezing weather, insect infestations, bird damage, too much water, too little water

Ordering barrels

Spending entire days in the truck hauling grapes from up to 5 hours away

Working 7 days a week from daylight to 10 at night during Sept and Oct

Worrying about things like:

Equipment breakdowns

Enough help

Enough bins to ferment the red grapes in

Enough stainless steel tanks to hold all of the white wines

Inoculation with the right yeast

The fermentation process itself

Punch downs

YAN and FAN

Secondary fermentation…

along with a million other things that have to be done in the right manner and at the right time to make it all work; finally going to bed at night thinking about what needs to be done, and waking up in the morning still thinking about it.

And if that was not enough you still have to figure out how you can sell your product and have enough money left over to pay the mortgage. That means back on the road promoting the sale of the wine, trying to get restaurants and stores to carry it, negotiating with distributors, dealing with frozen shipments in the winter months and over heated ones in the summer, and then staying open that last 45 minutes for the straggler that just could not come back tomorrow and loves your wine but leaves with a single 15 dollar bottle.

One more thing before I forget it – you need a second job to live on.

No question about it – this is the memorable life!!

Yep, if it was not for the pure gold customers that become your friends over the years we would probably sell the place and let one of you enjoy the life of Riley – owning your very own winery.

-Don

Seattle Wine Gal: “Oh, I see”.

Wine Industry Tweetup: The Social Media Benefits of Hosting

Sat Jan 9th Tweet-up at Alexandria Nicole Cellars, Woodinville WA

A wine Tweetup is when a group of people who ‘tweet’ about wine on Twitter meet in real life to taste or drink wine. Before, after and at the event, the attendees tweet about where they are and what wines they are drinking. Whether the host business is on Twitter or not, the business receive a great deal of online mentions and recognition for having hosted the event. In return for the mentions, they provide the group with a complimentary wine tasting (hopefully), and sometimes food as well. The level of what the host business offers can range from a complimentary small flight of wine to a fully catered wine dinners.

Lately, I have been tweeting about recent wine tweetups, and how I am planning on organizing some in the future. I have gotten a barrage of messages asking me how to organize a wine tweetup. I have also received a lot of attention from restaurants, wineries, and wine shops asking me if they can provide the venue. I am so glad that these businesses realize the benefits of hosting such an event, and how exponential the ROI (return on investment) can be for them.

Getting in good with people who have the ‘power’ to tell thousands about your business is one smart move!

Social Media methodology and tactics range greatly from business to business; within the wine industry there are very unique and exciting opportunities. Whether it be giving complimentary tastings for online recognition, or offering special Facebook or Twitter customer discounts, it is a wonderful space to utilize. I speak with many Businesses that have a social media campaign, or host tweetups who tell me of the amazing benefits. Here is what Ali from Alexandria Nicole Cellars (who hosted an excellent tweetup last week) recently told me:

“We really enjoyed meeting a group of people who love wine & introducing them to ours. We look forward to continue talking to them on Twitter, reading their blogs & Facebook pages, seeing their photos & seeing them again in person at our tasting rooms & events. We are strong supporters of social media & believe tweetups are one of many social media approaches to build relationships with a very valuable community of wine enthusiasts.”

If you have a wine or food business and would like to host a tweetup, find a few influential wine tweeters who live in the area and invite them to come to a tweetup event that you will host. Another way to be a venue host is to ask an influential wine blogger or tweeters to organize the attendees of the event, and you will provide the wine/food and venue.

A special thank you to Russell’s Restaurant for the amazing wine pairing appetizers provided at the Alexandria Nicole Cellars tweetup.

See more about this topic: What can Social Media do for Your Winery?

All content written by Seattle Wine Gal.

Free Wine for Tweets: Bribery, or Clever Use of Social Media Marketing?

Will Trade Wine for Twitter Mentions.

I received this email this morning. As an Interactive Internet Marketer, I thought it to be a great use of  Twitter for Social Media Marketing (and quite common methodology actually). Upon further thought, however, I realized that it is just as easily can be seen as a bribe. Here is what the email read. *All names and wineries have been changed to non-existent names [with quotes], but the content remains exactly the same.

I wanted to pop you a quick note to invite you to an exclusive Live Tasting Tweet-Up with [Red Wine Winery].  The event is hosted by [Super Cool Online Buying Wine Company] and will take place January X at 6:00 p.m. EST.

As a participant, you will have the opportunity to sample 3 bottles of [Red Wine Winery's wine], which we will mail to you before the tasting.

To keep things flowing and lively during the Tweet-up we recommend the following:

• Tweet about the event four times during course of event
• Tweet twice prior and twice following
• Use a designated hashtag in your Tweets:  #Super Cool Online Buying Wine Company

If you’d like to participate, please confirm and provide an appropriate shipping address by January x.

Don’t hesitate to let us know if you need any additional information or have any suggestions on how we can keep things going during the Tweet-up.

Thank you. All the best, [Mike]

Last year, as Director of Social Media for an online retail company, I sent ‘free’ samples all of the time in trade for reviews and never thought of its potentially unethical merits. Now I wonder: Is there a way of doing Social Media Marketing to it’s fullest extent without giving free products in exchange for online recognition? Is this ethical? Am I being bribed, or simply offered a great chance to taste wine and let other know what I think?

PLEASE COMMENT!

Note to Wineries: if you would like for me to tweet/blog/Facebook about your wine, please send bottles to Seattle Wine Gal P.O. Box….. Just kidding!

All Content Written by Seattle Wine Gal.

Social Media for the Wine Industry: How Important is Your Follower Count?

Social Media for the Wine Industry: How Important is Your Follower Count?

I’m going to skip the quality over quantity banter for a second here and answer this question truthfully as I see it. YES, your number of followers on Twitter, Facebook, your blog subscribers etc. IS important if you are attempting to use Social Media for business. Here are a few reasons why.

1. As controversial as this can be in the world of Social Media junkies like myself, a higher number of followers DOES give you more clout. Not everyone is impressed by someone on Twitter with 15,000 followers (for reasons I will discuss below). I assure you, however, that the number is glanced at by most people who pop onto your page, and (at least part of) your ‘tweet worth’ is assessed instantly. This is done even by people like myself, who feel that engagement is second to nothing, and that large quantities of followers may say nothing about the quality of the posts and the postees ability to entertain/teach/engage me.

2. The second reason that a higher follower count is important is that if you amass your followers carefully and in the right places, a larger number of followers will spread your message further. Obviously, from a business perspective, this raises your chances of reaching new clientele by increasing your visibility. I must caution you that the more followers you have, the more work you will have to do to keep the beach ball floating over the crowd while letting everyone get a hit at it. Keep focused on your goals and strategy to increase your chances of being able to manage a larger following. Don’t ‘drop the ball’ on other peoples attempts to engage with you- answer people’s RT’s, posts, and emails, and do so as publicly as possible.

Getting back to Quality over Quantity. I DO feel strongly that posting messages to 15,000 followers who don’t care is pointless. It is extremely important to target ‘follower growth’ efforts towards people who want to hear your message, and may ultimately purchase your product. There is no point in seeking out a taxidermist in Hong Hong when you sell wine in Woodinville, WA. While I would ‘follow’ the taxidermist back, I would not ‘look’ for him. I recommend focusing your efforts first in your own backyard.

How to create a strong, quality following. While I could delve deep and start getting into cross posts, link-backs and pings, social bookmarking and even SEO visibility, I will instead offer you a very do-able Social Media 101 Twitter, Facebook, and blog subscription tip: Seek out and Follow the followers of people like you, follow people who live in the demographic of your business, do key word searches for people who may be interested in what you have to say; follow these people and engage with them. Following is so important because many of the people you reach out to and follow WILL follow you back.*

How to manage that goofy looking unbalanced number of followers/followees on Twitter? Check out Twitter applications such as TwitterKarma or FriendorFollow to un-follow people who do not follow you back.

Now go raise your follower count with a target audience in mind, and plans to engage and listen to them and you are a step closer to business success within Social Media.

If you would like to create a strong and effective Social Media Campaign and live in the Seattle area, please contact me. I am not a contractor, I do one on one sit-down appointments with people in exchange for wine or food! Also, Get on My Radar Screen!

Email: contact@seattlewinegal.com

*There is so much subjectivity within Social Media, and so many varying ideas. I encourage you to listen to other forms of methodology to find the one that fits best for you and your goals. This is just one of many ways of “doing Social Media”.

All Content Written by: Seattle Wine Gal

Why Do Wineries Have Tasting Fees? One Perspective by Don Phelps, Hard Row to Hoe Vineyards

I would like to warmly welcome and introduce Don Phelps, of Hard Row to Hoe Vineyards in Chelan, WA. Don is the author and guest of today’s post “Why Do Wineries Have Tasting Fees”. Having been a tasting room administrator myself for a number of years at a wine shop, I know very well why wine shops have a fee, but I wondered if this reason differed for wineries; it does! It’s surprising how many people do not understand just how much goes into getting that one taste of wine into their glass, and why, in fact a tasting fee is applied. Here is one vintners perspective:

As a small winery (2000 cases) we (Hard Row to Hoe) elected to institute a tasting fee at our tasting room. We did this primarily to protect ourselves against large groups that come on bus tours that historically taste wine, take up staff resources and leave without purchasing. This does happen! We also found that there were a small percentage of our visitors only interested in one thing – drinking free wine!

In our case the tasting fee is five dollars and applied toward the purchase of a bottle of wine if the customer decides to buy, so you can think of it as a non-refundable deposit.  It has been our experience that most folks buy at least one bottle of wine so we actually collect very few tasting fees, other than in the case of the large group tours.  For those that do winery tours just to taste and not buy, the tasting fee allows them to taste and leave without feeling an obligation to buy wine as you might if you tasted for free.

We welcome everyone to our tasting room and encourage big limo and bus tours to visit.  We believe that even if they do not buy on this visit, they will spread the word about the quality of the wine and the good time they had in the tasting room and will eventually be back. Word of mouth is our best advertising.

The bottom line to all of this is the fact that not charging a tasting fee drives the cost of wine up to every wine buyer because a winery has to recover their costs and make a return on their investment or go out of business.

So the next time you are out wine tasting think about the effort and expense the owners went through to produce a bottle of wine to open and share with you and you will better understand and appreciate the purpose of the tasting fee.

Thank you so very much Don, I really appreciate you taking the time to share your insights on tasting fees.

Find Hard Row to Hoe on Facebook and Twitter!

Visit their tasting room: Directions from Chelan: Follow Highway 150 towards Manson. Take a right at Mill Bay Casino on to Wapato Lake Rd., Ivan Morse Rd. is the second right. Look for Hard Row to Hoe winery signs, we are at #300 Ivan Morse Rd.

Or contact them by email! jumpintheboat@hardrow.com

Seattle area and Woodinville Winery Tasting Room Guide From Social Media’s Seattle Wine Gal

WOODINVILLE WINERIES	TASTING ROOM HOURS	PHONE	ADDRESS
Adams Bench	By Appointment only	425.408.1969	14360 160th Pl. N
Alexandria Nicole Cellars Anton Ville Winery	Thursday- Sunday: 12:00 am – 5:00 p.m. Closed Monday – Wednesday. Saturdays and Sundays 1:00 – 5:00pm	425.483.2968 425.883.8386	19501 144th Ave NE., Building C-900 19501 144th Ave NE, Suite D300
Baer Winery	Saturdays 1:00-5:00pm and by Appointment	206.683.3393	9118 222nd St. SE
Betz Family Winery	By Appointment only	425.861.9823	13244 Woodinville Redmond Road NE
Brian Carter Cellars	Daily- 12:00 – 5:00pm	425.806.9463	14419 Wood- Red Rd NE
Chateau Ste-Michelle	Daily 10:00am – 4:30pm	425-415-3658	14111 NE 145th St
Columbia Winery	Daily 10:00am – 6:00pm	425.482.7490	14030 NE 145th ST
Covington Cellars	Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays – 1:00-5:00pm	425.482.7490	18580 142nd Ave NE
Cuillin Hills Winery	Saturdays – 12:00 – 4:00pm	425-415-8466	19501 144th Ave NE, Suite C-200
DeLille Cellars	Daily 11am – 4:30pm	425-489-0544	P.O. Box 2233
Des Voigne Cellars	Saturdays 1:00 – 5:00pm, Sundays 1:00 – 4:00pm	206-415-8466	19501 144th Ave NE Suite B-500
DiStefano Winery	Fridays -3:00 -7:00pm, Saturdays and Sundays 12:00 – 5:00pm	425-487-1648	12280 Woodinville Dr. NE
Domaine Ste. Michelle	Same as Chateau Ste. Michelle	425-415-3658	14111 NE 145th St
Edmonds Winery	Saturday and Sunday – 1:00 – 5:00pm	425.774.8959	19501 144th ave NE D-700
Efeste	Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays – 12:00 – 4:00pm	425.398.7200	19730 144th Ave NE
Facelli Winery	Saturdays and Sundays – 12:00 – 4:00pm	425-488-1020	16120 Wood – Red. Rd. NE, Ste 1
Guardian Cellars	Saturdays and Sundays 12:00 – 4:30pm	206.661.6733	19501 144th Ave NE # F1100
Hestia Cellars	Saturdays 11:00am – 4:00pm	425.333.4270	18572 142nd Avenue NE
Hollywood Hill Vineyards	Fridays 3:00 -7:00pm, Saturdays and Sundays -12:00 – 5:00pm	425.753.0093	Apple Farm Village, 14525 148th Ave NE, Suite 114
Januik Winery	Daily -11:00am -5:00pm, Wednesdays -12:00 7:00pm	425-481-5502
JM Cellars	Fridays -2:00 -6:00pm, Saturdays and Sundays 12:00 – 5:00pm	206-321-0052	14404 137th Pl. NE
Mark Ryan Winery	Thurs. thru Sunday 12:00-5:00pm	206-910-7967	19501 144th Ave NE #F-900
Matthews Estate	Mon. -Wed -2:00 -5:00pm, Thurs -Sun. -12:00 5:00pm	425-487-9810	16116 140th Place NE
Matthews Estate Tasting Room	Saturdays and Sundays 12:00 – 5:00pm
Northwest Totem Cellars	Saturdays – 12:00 – 4:00pm	425.877.7111	15810 NE 136th Place, Redmond
Novelty Hill Winery	Daily -11:00am -5:00pm, Wednesdays -12:00 7:00pm	425-481-5502	14710 Woodinville-Redmond Rd. NE
Page Cellars	Saturdays – 12:00 – 4:00pm, Sundays 1:00 – 5:00pm	253-232-9463	19495 144th Ave NE , Suite B 235

Patterson Cellars	Friday, Saturday and Sunday 12:00 – 5:00pm	425.483.8600	19501 144th Avenue NE, Suite D-600
Pomum Cellars	By appointment and select events	206.349.8159	18654 142nd Ave NE
Red Sky Winery	Saturdays – 12:00 – 5:00pm $5.00 Tasting Fee	425-481-9864	19495 144th Avenue NE B220
Ross Andrew Winery	Thurs. thru Sunday 12:00-5:00pm	206-369-3615	18512 142nd Ave. NE
Saintpaulia Vintners	By appointment only	360-668-8585	14522 NE N Woodinville Way
Silver Lake Winery	Mon. -Sat. -11:00am -5:00pm, Sunday 12:00 5:00pm	425.485.2437	15029 – A Wood – Red Rd
Sparkman Cellars	Special Events and Appointment only	425-398-1405	19501 144th ave NE D-700
Stevens Winery	Saturdays – 12:00 – 4:30pm	425-424-9463	18510 142nd Ave. NE
Vine & Sun	No Tasting Room Hours
William Church Winery	Saturdays -12:00 -4:00pm, Sundays 1:00 -4:00pm Feb. – Nov.	425.427.0764	19495 144th Ave NE suite A100
Woodhouse Family Cellars	Daily 11:00am – 5:00pm	425-527-0608	15500 Wood-Red Rd. Ste C600
Woodinville Wine Cellars	Saturdays – 12:00 – 5:00pm, Fridays by Appointment	425-481-8860	17721 132nd Ave NE
XSV Wines	Saturday – 12:00 – 5:00pm, Sunday – 12:00 – 4:00pm	425.210.1554	19501 144th Ave NE #C300

THE Most Important Social Media Marketing Business Strategy: Be Authentic

Like most small business owners and “self- branders”, I used to have the wrong idea about how to ‘use’ Social Media.

Are you a wine shop owner or winery looking to add Social Media to your Marketing campaign? One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to focus solely on an increase in bottom line sales and conversion rates. Here is what happened to change my thinking, and why you should change yours now.

I ran a Social Media Campaign for a large international online retail fertility supplies corporation. I adopted the persona of @FertilAidAmy, the infertility world’s online source of trusted and accurate infertility information (having attained a degree in Women Studies and health, I was actually a legitimate trustworthy source of information). I will be frank with you. The number one goal we had as a company was to use Social Media to increase bottom line sales. Is this a bad thing? No, not at all; most companies are using Social Media for just that reason. It’s not so much about why you’re doing it, it’s how you go about it.

As FertilAid Amy, I slowly built a community, employed clever tactics to increase clicks on our website (and conversion rates), used coupons, contests and games to engage people, and ultimately increased bottom-lines sales quite significantly.

Here’s what I never bargained for, and what I realized the moment we saw this campaign become truly successful: I began to really, truly care. I was involved in the lives of the people in my online community, well beyond just trying to sell them stuff. I established trust, create a raport and gained a huge following for the simple reason that I began to honestly care and love my ‘target audience’ as real people, and friends. I believe that this reality was ’sensed’ by my community, and this was the moment the campaign began to thrive. All of my aforementioned goals of bottom line sales etc. began to increase. I was being rewarded for being authentic, and my reason for doing Social Media began to change. I went from a sales person to a friend and trusted source of information, both seemingly and in reality.

When done well, the lines between Social Media done for profit and done because you care will begin to blur.

You may be asking yourself what is the intent behind Seattle Wine Gal? I am in no way going to mask the reality of my reasons for starting this Social Media presence. My Seattle Wine Gal campaign (using my love of wine) was originally intended to show future employers the level of Social Media engagement I am capable of. The moment I began to truly care for the people in the community I am engaging in, and my campaign shifted from ‘putting myself on the map’, to meeting new like-minded people, and creating real, true friendships, was the moment I realized that Seattle Wine Gal was a success. I do not feel like the timing was coincidental.

Be Authentic, create REAL friendships and connections, engage, stop trying to sell stuff (or at least do it in a more elegant way), Go beyond your business sense and enter an arena of mutual respect and care.

Start Giving a Damn… you will be amazed by the ‘results’, and the shift in how you view your clientele and the Social Media Community you created.

-Seattle Wine Gal

Social Media for Wineries and Wine Shops: Why is Everyone Talking About Gary Vaynerchuck?

Wineries and Wine Shops interested in Social Media Marketing may be hearing the name Gary Vaynerchuck floating around. Even if you haven’t heard of him, or have some sort of objection to him, it’s important to at least know about this pioneer of wine marketing and personal branding. Author of Crush It, Gary is known as the Social Media Sommelier. Gary entered the wine industry by taking over his small family wine and liquor business. With a lot of hard work, he is now considered THE face of Interactive Internet Marketing for the wine industry (and well beyond). Check him out, read the book and get your butt in gear with your Social Media Marketing! If you would like more information about how to start your Social Media campaign, feel free to email me at SeattleWineGal@yahoo.com or find me on Linked’In, Twitter, or Facebook.

Check out this VIDEO! Gary Vaynerchuk – Social Media, Marketing & Personal Branding Guru