We’re all hearing it from all directions: The wine industry is in a bit of a slump. We all know the reasons, so there’s no need to go over them here. The question is, what can be done about it, from a digital marketing perspective, in the short-term and the long-term?
In the long-term, it’s about a coordinated strategy across multiple digital channels. It involves data analysis, website analysis, content creation, list building, and consistent and ongoing email, social, SMS and advertising campaigns. It’s about increasing online sales, increasing visitation, increasing wine club sign ups, and showing distributors that you will support them in their markets.
But, again, that’s a long-term process that can feel overwhelming to many small wineries. And, right now, you might not feel comfortable investing in something that doesn’t have immediate results. So, what’s a good short-term digital strategy that isn’t going to overwhelm you, and will bring results? Focus your current digital efforts on one thing: Visitation.
Why visitation? Beyond the obvious answer that visitation is down and we need to get it back up, we have seen, after years of running digital ads for clients, the ROI for visitation ads is higher (and faster) than the ROI for online shopping ads. That’s not to say online shopping ads don’t work. They do, and they should be part of your long-term digital strategy. But online shopping ads take more time and investment to get churning. They are often a part of a longer customer journey. Visitation ads, on the other hand, have quick results. Instead of asking people to spend money on a wine they haven’t tasted, you’re asking them to experience your winery (so they can spend money on a wine they have tasted). What’s more, people are more comfortable and spend more when they are in the tasting room, than they do online (and, of course, sign up for wine club at a higher rate).
Keep in mind, your visitation ads should speak to the customer you want to attract. Looking for the collector? “Wines that can only be purchased in our tasting room, each receiving 95+ points”. Looking to attract the wine newbie? “Introductory flights start at $30, refundable with wine purchase”. You can bring in the audience you want with well-executed visitation ads.
How can you focus on visitation on social media? Like your ads, it depends on your winery and who you are trying to get into your tasting room. Returning to our wine newbie example, show what a tasting experience at their winery looks like, as the intimidation factor for this audience is pretty high. For the collector? Focus on the wines and sprinkle the ads with a little FOMO (limited quantities available, 2 bottle maximum purchase, only available for our highest level club members, etc).
Of course, ads will be more effective than social media, but it’s always best to have a multi-pronged approach.
