Wednesday at Unified: Wine and sales meet social media’s tricks of the trade

After Moderator Andrew Healy introduced the panelists presenting New Technologies and Social Media session today at Unified Wine & Grape Symposium (#UGWS), Ashley Teplin, the first panelist, jumped in head first with advice for winemakers.

Tell the world who you are, she said, or details about your brand: “Tell. The. Story.”

“There’s a lot of wines out there, and you need to make sure that your brand resonates with the people who will consume it.”

Teplin is the owner and co-founder of Teplin+Nuss.

Outline your brand via a six-month plan, and stick to it, she said.

And jump in.

“Everyone notices, and everyone notices everything you say” on Twitter, or Facebook. So be yourself, she said, but draw a line between your brand and who you are when you’re not making wine. Be careful not to cross that line too often, or do so with care.

Her tips:

— Befriend your local journalists. Be their plus-one and a wine event. (And, I might add: Ask your new journalist buddy to explain how journalism works so you’ll understand more about ethics, and what Off The Record really means).

— Less is more. Do not take on more social media than you can reasonably accomplish in a given time frame. Stay on it, or don’t take it on.

— Don’t be out of line, or in poor taste, in posts on your Facebook page.

— Ask for help from social media experts and continue to educate yourself.

The second panelist to speak was Kristy Sammis, funding partner of Clever Girls Collective.

Know your market; who will you target? “When the ‘how’ and ‘who’ come together, that’s when you’ll actually see traction,” in your social media efforts, she said.

Social media is just one channel of marketing, Sammis said, and not an end in itself. It’s just part of a larger plan.

That said, blogs are much more influential than ads in print media, Sammis said. Viewers may not purchase because of an ad on a blog, but they are “influenced” by the blog. In other words, social media resonates with viewers.

“Content is king.” Use your content — your story – in a unique fashion. And then make it easy for your target audience to find you.

Reach out beyond wine bloggers: Find crafters who blog about, say, knitting and drinking wine. Or beer. “Use your social media outreach skills for good and find who is willing to talk about your product,” Sammis said.

Mark Gordon, the third panelist, is direct social media manager at Jackson Family Wines, and opened with “the best places to be” on social media.

Number one choices: Facebook and Linked In. “Nice to have” is Twitter. But it takes time. Instagram would be his fourth choice, followed by YouTube, Google+ and a blog — if you’re ready and have the time. Pinterest, again, if you have the time. And vimeo, for its quality.

He echoed Teplin by reminding audience members not to open an account in any of the above if “You don’t have the time to maintain it.”

Time your posts around the holidays, and what might be seasonal in the vineyard — harvest, pruning, even planting, he said.

Gordon shared several ideas for winemakers’ best use of the various social media outlets:

For Facebook: In your posts, use 80 characters or less, for fewer words pack more clout than paragraph after paragraph. Be mindful that people don’t read as much as they once did.

Pose your questions so that viewers can respond to you with yes or no or very short answers: Facebook users favor “like,” “share,” and the ability to comment very quickly.

Best time to post: 3 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday are considered the “best days,” he said, citing research. Posts that include photos receive more attention than those that do not.

Twitter: Retweet regularly. Follow others, especially those in your industry. Tool up. Hook up, but don’t sell. Reply when you are mentioned. Use #hashtags. Use Instagram to tweet your photos. And finally, engage people directly.

Panelist and musician Alan Kropf, founder of “Mutineer” magazine, opened up with a bugle call that got everyone’s attention and laughs — and underscored his point: Winemakers have a battle for the mainstream consumer.

Viewers crave a personal connection to your brand; without that “hook,” your brand is just that: Yours.

This goes back to Teplin’s advice to tell your (own) story. Be yourself, because everyone else is taken.

Many distributors, he noted, tell small producers looking for help that “you’re too much like everyone else.” Find what sets you apart Kropf said, and run with it.

“We’re going through something of a Wild West period (as far as social media), and you don’t want everyone else to discover the results when you’re still waiting to get on the train,” he said.

Healy and all four panelists all live and work in Napa or Healdsburg.

Copyright centralcoastwinepress.com

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At Unified: Globalization of wine and how that affects U.S. production

In experts’ opinions, what in recent years was the biggest trend affecting the U.S. wine production market?

The rise of imported bulk wines, giving consumers decent to good wines for great values.

Bulk wines took center stage Tuesday during the first general session at Unified Wine & Grape Symposium, “How the Global Wine Market Affects U.S. Production.”

Panelists were Kym Anderson, Greg Livengood, Stephen Rannekleiv and Mike Veseth (details on each follow).

From margins, to production to wages, “globalization is a two-way street,” said Mike Veseth, writer for The Wine Economist and an instructor at the University of Puget Sound in Washington.

Down the line, it’s packaging and how the wine itself is shipped around the world.

What is another product like wine that is a little further along the route of globalization — one that those in the wine industry can learn from? Veseth: “Apples.”

Or: “Juice boxes.” Read the ingredient list, he urged the crowd. Apple juice comes from the “U.S.A, Argentina, Austria, Chile, Austria, German and Turkey.”

And: This means apple juice sources are “interchangeable and highly sensitive to exchange,” and can this be the future of “basic wine?”

Or, a step further, the future of branded wines?

The next speaker was Kym Anderson from the University of Adelaide in Australia. While the latest wave of wine globalization began in the mid-1980s, it was in the 1990s that the share of the global exportation rose in the Old World to 25 percent from 15 percent, he said.

In the New World, the rate rose from 3 to 20 percent within that same decade, he noted.

And that New World increase was a “big challenge to Old World wines.”

Moving along, the exports of bulk wines from today’s biggest players — Australia, Argentina, Chile and New Zealand — have obvious consequences for grape growers and winemakers in the United States.

Retail buyers, for one, have access to better wines at lower costs, and in turn offer those benefits to supermarket consumers, Anderson said.

Nations with the largest increase in consumption are Northern Europe, and Asia.

In the latter, especially in the “developing” regions, Anderson said, dollars (billions) spent on wine consumption are forecast to rise from 11 to 28 percent between 2007 and 2030.

Residents of China, in particular, are forecast to represent the world’s largest jump in consumption, which means countries such as Italy, Spain and Australia are spotlighting China for export, he noted.

Third to speak was Steve Rannekleiv of Rabobank in New York.

Fresno has seen the most explosive growth, followed by Lodi, and then Napa, he noted.

On the North Coast, sales of bottles priced $20 and above show the most increase, and that demand, he said, matches middle-class income — families making around $90,000 per year.

How will this improve in 2013? Consumers are making strides paying down debt, the banking system has recapitalized, and both the housing and labor markets have improved, he told the audience.

In Fresno, the supply of both grapes and prices of wine are increasing, which, by itself, doesn’t make a lot of sense, but when we factor in globalization of bulk wine, then, yes, it does, Rannekleiv said.

Global inventories have tightened, but Fresno continues to outpace, if you will, the world, as far as total inventory. This is quite the opportunity for Fresno, and for California, Rannekleiv noted.

“California is very price competitive,” he said.

That said, however, he expects that the weak U.S. dollar will remain weak — but stable — for the immediate future.

The session’s final speaker was Greg Livengood of California’ Ciatti Company, a global brokerage company.

Imports, he said: Who wins? Who loses? Who are the importers?

They are either foreign-based and foreign-owned companies, or U.S. companies with value brands or potential line extensions, such as with muscato, Livengood said.

Why go overseas? Price, for one. Consumers want deals. Second, in search of a pecific varietal, such as pinot grigio, which is enjoying an upswing. Third: Consumer-driven demand, such as that of New Zealand sauvignon blanc, for example.

Grape varietals most commonly imported: cabernet sauvignon, merlot, chardonnay, muscato, malbec and sauvignon blanc.

Livengood said that of the 347 million cases of wine sold in the United States in 2011, 61 percent was California-grown, and 34 percent was wine imported to the U.S.

Looking ahead, California had a big crop in 2012, which is good news all around.

On the other hand, grape and bulk prices could have reached greater heights (in certain varieties) without foreign competition, he said.

Since wine consumers will continue to drive global competition, Livengood urged winemakers and growers to “have a global strategy.”

A member of the audience questioned the panel about how and if future water needs will affect global grape production, and in particular, the conditions faced by China.

Anderson noted that the vineyard regions of China are quite similar in size of those of Australia, and while water is plentiful in sections, water rights are issues in others.

Another question: What country is poised to be the next “wine nation” as far as promoting an identity for itself?

While the name on everyone’s lips might be China, Livengood said, Spain has recently moved a lot of its wines to overseas’ consumers after Chile “opened the door” with its lower-priced wines.

This morning’s panel was moderated by Jeff O’Neill, O’Neill Vintners & Distillers of California.