The 7 Harsh Realities Of Social Media Marketing

Here are a few cautions from CopyBlogger:

1. No one is reading your blog.
2. You've got to give (some of) your best stuff away.
3. It will eat your life if you let it.
4. Social media hates selling.
5. What they say is a million times more important that what you say.
6. A blog is not a marketing plan.
7. You don't get to opt out.

It's not exactly encouraging, but the article has suggestions on how to deal with these realities.  As usual with a general marketing article, not all items apply directly to wineries (e.g. #2).  But for wineries looking to use social media for marketing, the last four are especially relevant.

(Social media, of course, includes blogs, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and a raft of similar sites.)

For your winery, what are the best and worst aspects of social media?  Please leave a comment.

Comments

[El Jefe]

Actually #2 is most relevant to wineries! I give my best stuff away every day in our tasting rooms and at tasting events (including tomorrow at the Convention Center in Sacramento, but I disgress.) You might also give your best stuff away by sampling wine to bloggers, or making a loss leader offer (I disagree that Social Media hates selling. Social Media has a low tolerance for selling. Social Media also wants free shipping. ;)

[Mike Duffy]

I stand corrected! :)

An excellent point, which just goes to show that I don't always think from a winery owner's perspective.

[Jon Bjork]

I'd say the best aspect of social media is getting back in touch with old friends and getting to know new ones. It is also fun having access to the media in a seemingly personal way.

The worst aspect is that social media has become a HUGE time expendature. Like having a thousand email messages a day. Remember "intelligent agents" from the 1990's? They are in use by Amazon and others, but a heavy networker is going to have to become proficient at strategic use of intelligent filters.

[seo services]

Harsh but fair! The internet is becoming saturated with blog posts and it's increasingly difficult to find relevant, quality content. Social media tools need to be used as part of a greater strategy for promotional purposes.

[SEO Web Analytics]

The internet is becoming saturated with blog posts and it's increasingly difficult to find relevant, quality content. Social media tools need to be used as part of a greater strategy for promotional purposes.