Page 7 - Grapevine July-Aug 2020

In The Winery

Webster is the founder of Meaghan W. Marketing nity involvement because it’s inspirational and aspi-
and current marketing manager for First Batch rational. If your team is volunteering, share a photo
Hospitality, the group behind urban winemaking of employees at the volunteer event. If you made
and events at Brooklyn Winery in New York, District a charitable donation, ask the recipient to share
Winery in Washington, D.C., and RiNo Point Winery digital assets that align with the cause you’re help-
in Denver. She told The Grapevine Magazine that ing them support,” the Happy Medium media team
how you use social media to enhance alliances in said. “This demonstrates how your brand builds
the community—both with your charitable partner- and supports communities in a way that’s relatable
ships and to celebrate the efforts of employees and and impactful. Write a brief caption about why the
customers—matters now. So steep your posts with cause you’re supporting is relevant to the brand.
gratitude. “For example, if a winery is donating a Always tag the organization!”
percentage of its sales to recovery for their laid-off
employees or a special industry fund, then social Creating Evocative Content
posts referencing these efforts should thank fol-
lowers and customers for contributing to the stat- The critical nuts and bolts of pandemic commu-
ed cause,” she said. “People love when you show nication are still necessary. On your website and
them the impact that their purchase has made. across all social media channels, points about safe-
Therefore, follow up and post about how much ty, sanitary practices, operational hours and tasting
ended up being contributed to the cause.” room traffic allowances, among others, must be
continuously updated and with proper sensitivity.
Chad Richards is vice president of Firebelly, a But, Webster added, you can also use this time to
“social media marketing agency on a mission since create a haven of comfort.
2007” based in Indianapolis. Firebelly has worked
with JUSTIN Winery and Landmark Vineyards, as “Offering a bit of escape from reality is received
well as breweries and restaurants. Richards also very well, according to social media analytics for
recommended taking a less self-serving approach. the wineries I work for,” she said. “People are long-
“Whatever you do, make sure the hero is the char- ing for normal times of the past, which means they
ity or community you’re supporting. Nothing elicits enjoy seeing photos of what wineries were like
eye rolls faster than ‘Look at us—we’re so charita- before everything shut down. All businesses should
ble!’” be especially cognizant of the tone they use, and
always acknowledge the current state of the world
If you shredded your social media plan already, in their captions in some way. But providing the
don’t worry. There’s still strong potential for nostalgia and temporary escape that followers are
authentic communication. “Humans like stories, looking for right now is a good way to keep people
and we’re storytellers by nature. It’s how we con- engaged.”
nect to one another, and right now, people are
seeking connection more than ever,” Richards said. Webster suggested showing the human side of the
“And don’t worry about trying to be creative or business through Instagram stories and static posts
clever—just be honest.” to “connect people of the business with people
who want to support the business.” What’s going
We all appreciate uplifting stories right now, on in the vineyards right now? Who’s putting wine
according to the media team at Happy Medium, a shipments together while the winery is closed?
full-service digital creative agency in Des Moines, What’s the origin story of the winery and vineyard,
Iowa. Keeping this intent in mind helps you craft how did it evolve pre-COVID and how is it navigat-
social media content that showcases community ing this difficult time?
involvement as a result of the energy of your brand
and, by close relation, all your customers. “While the entire story may be long and not
fit into one social media post, a winery should
“Overall, audiences tend to react well to commu- know its full narrative, so when it writes a short-

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