We are starting from the ground up today and talking about how to get going with marketing your business on Instagram!
I had no idea what I was doing when I first started marketing on social media, but I did know that I needed to have a strategy.
Today, we are going to go over the steps I took to create and build up my first two wine brand accounts, as well as a few tips I’ve picked up in my four years of marketing wine on Instagram.
Here they are:
Bonus: get consistent by scheduling what days you’ll post moving forward
Okay, now it is your turn! I find that it’s easy for people to just listen to podcasts like this and then NEVER take action on it, so, YOUR MISSION SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT: Put half an hour on your schedule today to outline each of these steps we talked about above for your wine brand.
And because I really care about you and I want you to succeed, as an incentive: the first three of you to do this will receive a FREE Instagram bio audit from me when you email your finished outline to podcast@craftandcluster.com
Alright, get outlining!
Brands mentioned in this episode:
Resources Mentioned in this episode:
Get weekly Instagram tips delivered to your inbox every week: www.craftandcluster.com/subscribe
If you found this episode super valuable, be sure to spread the love by screenshotting, sharing, and tagging @craftandcluster on Instagram so I can connect with you and see all the awesome ways you’re implementing what you learn here. And to make sure you never miss an episode, be sure to subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you listen! I’ll see you next Monday!
Disclosure: Some of the resources mentioned in this show and in the show notes contain affiliate links. I may make a small commission from purchases made through some of those links, at no extra cost to you. I promise to only ever link products I know and believe in! Do know that any purchase you make via one of these affiliate links is greatly appreciated, as it will allow me to continue to provide free content to you!
Disclaimer: The information contained on this podcast and the resources available for download through the accompanying website are for educational and informational purposes only. The information contained on this podcast and the resources available for download through the accompanying website is not intended as, and shall not be understood or construed as legal, financial, tax, medical, health, or any other professional advice.
We are starting from the ground up today and talking about how to get going with marketing your business on Instagram!
I had no idea what I was doing when I first started marketing on social media, but I did know that I needed to have a strategy.
Today, we are going to go over the steps I took to create and build up my first two wine brand accounts, as well as a few tips I’ve picked up in my four years of marketing wine on Instagram.
Here they are:
Bonus: get consistent by scheduling what days you’ll post moving forward
Okay, now it is your turn! I find that it’s easy for people to just listen to podcasts like this and then NEVER take action on it, so, YOUR MISSION SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT: Put half an hour on your schedule today to outline each of these steps we talked about above for your wine brand.
And because I really care about you and I want you to succeed, as an incentive: the first three of you to do this will receive a FREE Instagram bio audit from me when you email your finished outline to podcast@craftandcluster.com
Alright, get outlining!
Brands mentioned in this episode:
Resources Mentioned in this episode:
Get weekly Instagram tips delivered to your inbox every week: www.craftandcluster.com/subscribe
If you found this episode super valuable, be sure to spread the love by screenshotting, sharing, and tagging @craftandcluster on Instagram so I can connect with you and see all the awesome ways you’re implementing what you learn here. And to make sure you never miss an episode, be sure to subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you listen! I’ll see you next Monday!
Disclosure: Some of the resources mentioned in this show and in the show notes contain affiliate links. I may make a small commission from purchases made through some of those links, at no extra cost to you. I promise to only ever link products I know and believe in! Do know that any purchase you make via one of these affiliate links is greatly appreciated, as it will allow me to continue to provide free content to you!
Disclaimer: The information contained on this podcast and the resources available for download through the accompanying website are for educational and informational purposes only. The information contained on this podcast and the resources available for download through the accompanying website is not intended as, and shall not be understood or construed as legal, financial, tax, medical, health, or any other professional advice.
Welcome to Episode 1 of the Craft & Cluster podcast! A show all about marketing your wine brand in the digital age. I’m your host, Heather Daenitz, a photographer and social media consultant based in Santa Barbara Wine Country. I help wineries tell the true stories of how they get their wine from grape to glass.
In today’s episode, we are starting from the ground up and talking about how to get going with marketing your business on Instagram.
In 2017, I was working for a vineyard management company here on the Central Coast of California. I performed many a duty for them, from pest scouting to grape sales, to creating powdery mildew reports. Amidst all of that, the company owners had also tasked me with starting an Instagram account for them.
I had no idea what I was doing at first, but I did know that I needed to have a strategy if this social media thing was going to work.
Today, we are going to go over the steps I took to create and build up that account as well as a few tips I’ve picked up in my four years of marketing wine on Instagram.
Get a pad of paper and a pencil, or if you’re driving, listen intently.
Here we go:
The first step you’re going to take when establishing or optimizing your Instagram profile is to understand Your Purpose.
Your purpose is the reason you have an Instagram account for your business.
It could be obvious, like “To Sell More Wine Online.”
or “book more tasting experiences.”
Or it could be more along the lines of “to increase brand awareness.”
For the vineyard management company I worked for, the purpose of their Instagram was to increase brand awareness and to educate the community about what the hell a vineyard management company even does.
My own business Instagram is to increase brand awareness and to sell my services.
You have to have a purpose for your Instagram account. Without it, you will have zero direction for your content.
Your purpose will help you figure out what the main focus of your content is going to be.
If you’re trying to sell more wine or experiences, you’re likely going to create more posts ABOUT your wine or experiences, and your focus will be more on increasing your website clicks and post engagements.
If your purpose is brand awareness and PR, you’re likely going to be heavy on educational content and will want to focus on audience growth rather than post engagements.
You’ll create posts about all of these things, but your purpose will inform which topics and goals you are MORE focused on.
Okay, Your next step is to ID who your target audience is. This is important, so don’t skip it.
You may already know who this is based on who frequents your tasting room or website, but perhaps this is new to you. Here are a few examples from my clients on who their target audiences are
One client focuses on folks in their mid 40s- 60s with a household income of over $150K living in the Los Angeles County Area.
They like bold reds and an elegant, high-end, personalized tasting experience.
They likely drive or aspire to drive Teslas, Audi’s, and BMWs.
They pair their wine with filet mignon
Another client is focusing on folks in their early 30s to mid-50s living in beachy or mountain towns.
They probably listen to The Grateful Dead, are laid back but adventurous, and like a funky, earthy wine.
Their hobbies include surfing, hiking, and listening to awesome music. They’re probably in a band.
And They like to pair their wine with burgers and tacos.
Do you see how different those audiences are? These brands market in entirely different ways because their audiences are very different people.
One brand uses darker, more elegant imagery and has a serious, more refined voice in their content. They invite their audience into a glamorous scene.
The other brand uses more bright and vibrant imagery and speak in a goofy, sarcastic voice. They invite their audience into an adventurous story.
Now, you may end up attracting folks who are adjacent to your ideal audience, and that’s okay too. But anytime you plan your content, you should be speaking to your target audience.
For example, my target audience comprises small wine brands who are bootstrapping their marketing, but…
I sometimes attract breweries, chocolate makers, other photographers, wine influencers… etc. But again, my first priority is to write content that my target audience will find valuable.
Now that we’ve established WHY you’re on Instagram and WHO you’re talking to, we are going to get into the meat of setting up (or optimizing) your Instagram bio:
First, your Username: Your username should be your company’s name, and I recommend having it all be one word, rather than broken up by underscores. This simply looks cleaner and people trust it more.
So instead of @your_brand_name your username would be @yourbrandname
It’s also important to consider what your website domain is. If your domain is blahblahwines.com then your username should be @blahblahwines but if your domain is blahblahwinery.com then your username should be @blahblahwinery. Ya dig?
Basically, you want there to be consistency across your domain and social media platforms. This will increase your search ranking and will solidify what your customers look for when they are seeking out your brand. Too many deviations can be confusing and as Donald Miller says in his book, Building a StoryBrand, “if you confuse, you’ll lose”
Next up is the Name Field: This is the field directly under your username.
Important note: Both your username and name field are searchable, so I always recommend using keywords your target audience might be searching for when looking for accounts to follow.
My username is @craftandcluster on Instagram, but my name field is Heather | Wine Photographer. This way, if people are looking for a wine photographer, my account will pop up, and if people are looking for Craft & Cluster, they’ll find me too.
Your name field can only be 30 characters long, so you have to be concise here:
Another thing to note: You can only change your name field twice every 14 days, so I highly recommend carefully planning out what your name field will be before you commit, instead of just throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping it will stick. I learned this the hard way recently.
Here is an example of a wine brand that is using keywords effectively in their username and name fields:
Their username is @camins2dreams, and their name field says Natural Wines-Sta. Rita Hills
This way, if people are searching for Camins 2 Dreams, they will find them, but if they don’t yet know them and are searching for natural wines or wines in Sta Rita Hills, their account will still pop up.
Side note, you should check them out; they make awesome wine.
Bio: Aight! Your bio. This is where you give your elevator pitch of what your brand is in 150 characters or less.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that your bio is NOT the place to be cute or clever. it’s also not the place to use industry-specific terms; save that shit for your posts and stories.
The person who is stumbling across your page for the first time does not give a single crap if you make “terroir-driven wines” or “bespoke whatever.”
What they care about is, “Do you have good wine?”
Some good examples of good bios are:
Camins 2 Dreams, who in their bio informs the viewer that their tasting room is open by appointment, they specialize in syrah and Gruner veltliner, and they are a wife & wife winemaking team.
Another good example is Brave & Maiden, who says, “appointment-based wine tastings and intimate venue in Santa Barbara Wine Country. Wines crafted by Joshua Klapper.”
What both of these bios do is tell their potential audience WHO they are, WHERE they are located, and WHAT they can offer them.
HOT TIP! I mentioned this book earlier, but I highlighly recommend Reading Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller to learn how to write a one-liner. A modified version of that one-liner is what will go in your Instagram bio.
**I will be referencing the Building a StoryBrand book often in this podcast, so seriously, READ IT. It will help you SO much.
CTA: Now, onto the MOST crucial part of your bio: The Call-To-Action.
It’s a fact that most people will not take action on something unless you call them to action. This means that you need to tell your audience what you want them to do at the end of your bio.
If you want them to purchase your wine, then you need to say “Buy Our Wine.”.
If you want them to join your wine club, then you need to say “Join Our Wine Club.”
Again, this isn’t the place to get cute and clever. Tell them exactly what you want them to do with simple, direct words.
Some examples of good calls-to-action are
“Click Link to Taste Safe at Home” (a link to Brave & Maiden’s virtual wine tastings)
the very simple and straight to the point “SHOP” with a downward pointing arrow emoji is very effective
Links/Contact Info/Buttons
Speaking of Links: Your bio is one of the ONLY places on Instagram to put a clickable link, so you want to use this spot to your advantage. You always want your link to direct your customers to exactly where you want them to go, but there are a few ways to accomplish this:
With a direct link
Advantage: Your audience will land precisely where you want them to
Disadvantage: you have to change this link with every call to action you do.
A LinkTree link: LinkTree is a third-party link where you can create a landing page with a list of a few different calls-to-action with links to each one
Advantage 1: You don’t need to change your link in your bio
Advantage 2: if you don’t have an easy to update website, linktree is super easy to maintain
Disadvantage 1: You send people first to a link that ISN’T your domain, which makes it hard to track where that person came from once they do land on your page.
Disadvantage 2: People can get overwhelmed by too many link options, resulting in losing them. (remember, people have very short attention spans these days)
A dedicated landing page via your own domain with a few different links
Advantage: Like linktree, you won’t need to update your link in your bio, AND it’s on your domain.
A disadvantage, also like linktree, your audience can get overwhelmed by too many options
Disadvantage 2: if you have a difficult to update website, this could be hard to maintain
You need to do what works best for you, but I personally like to use direct links that I change with my calls-to-action.
The final step to setting up or optimizing your bio is that you should always include your address. This will make it that much easier for your customers to find you (and therefore buy from you) on Instagram.
If you are a brick and mortar this should be your direct address where people can visit you for tastings.
If you don’t have a dedicated location, then you should include your general location.
For example, I work remotely, so my address is listed simply as Orcutt, California, which is in the middle of Santa Barbara Wine Country (where I’m based)
Okay, so once your bio is optimized, the next item on the agenda is to create a list of 9-12 content categories that you will cycle through when you are creating posts.
These should be general topics that are important to your brand and to the type of content your target audience will find valuable. Some examples of categories for wineries could include:
Winemaking Behind the Scenes
Vineyard Operations
Sustainability/organics/biodynamics
Activism/Values
What the tasting experience looks like
Wine Scores/Accolades/testimonials
Wine & Food
Events
Nature Sightings
Some of these topics may overlap and that’s okay. The idea is to give yourself several topics to cycle through that you know your audience will find value in, so they aren’t getting fatigued by the same type of post every month.
A big thing to remember with your content categories is that people are instagram for one of three things, which I like to call the three E’s of social media:
They are there to be Entertained
Educated
And to be engaged.
If your topic doesn’t do one of those three things for your TARGET AUDIENCE, then it shouldn’t be on your list.
Now that you’ve selected your 9-12 categories, it is time to actually create your content.
When you’re starting a brand new account, you’ll want to create 9 posts to establish your feed so when people start discovering you, they have some valuable posts to consume to decide if you are worth following.
*IMPORTANT NOTE: Remember, people aren’t on instagram to be sold to, so only make a sales post once every 4-5 posts if you can.
I recommend using a feed planning and scheduling app like later, planoly, or (my favorite) PlannThat to help you plan out how your feed will look, a link to PlannThat is in the show notes.
Select 3-4 different photo or video topics that answer the questions: WHO? WHAT? WHERE? And WHY?
For example you could have 3 photos each of people, places, and products, and post them in random order.
Some ideas for each of these photo categories could be:
People: a photo of your owner or winemaker with a caption about who they are and how what your winery makes is going to make your audience’s life better
Places: a photo of a vineyard you get fruit from with a caption about what makes that vineyard site unique (this is a great post to establish WHERE you are located)
Product: a photo of a bottle of your most popular wine with a caption about what kinds of foods it pairs well with
But remember, the first question you should always ask yourself when creating your content is, “Will my TARGET AUDIENCE find this valuable?”
Side note: we will talk about caption writing and growth strategies in future episodes, but today is all about getting established.
BONUS TIP: in order to be successful on this platform you need to BE CONSISTENT.
This DOESN’T mean that you need to post every day to your feed (in fact, I recommend only posting to your feed 2-3 times per week--something we will go deeper into in a future episode).
What it DOES mean is that you should find a posting schedule that works for you and STICK to it.
I recommend starting by naming the exact days you are going to do what because I believe what can be done at ANY time is often done at NO time
For example, I go live on my Instagram every Tuesday at 10:30am pst
I try to post a feed post every Wednesday or Thursday,
and I try to post a Reel every other Friday.
Don’t try to overdo it right out the gate. Set a schedule for yourself that is manageable at this time. You can’t improve on a habit until it exists, so right now you’re just establishing the habit of being consistent on social media. Once you’ve got that down, then you can start increasing the frequency of your posting (if you feel you need to).
Babysteps, my friend. You’ll get there!
Alright! Those are all the steps you will take to get your account up and running! Good job!
So, in each episode, I want to give you examples of brands who I think are doing a great job at whatever it is we are talking about that day. I gave you a few examples earlier in the episode, but I thought we might also do a little case study of a brand who is starting from the ground up using the strategies we talked about today.
I am helping my friend Chelsea Boss of SeaBoss Marketing get started with her new brand on Instagram. For a long time, she was marrying her personal Instagram with her business Instagram, which she said stifled her creativity in both and confused her audience. So, she recently launched her business account as @seabossmarketing (that’s S-E-A-B-O-S-S) on Instagram to keep those two things separate.
Chelsea is going to be a regular contributor to this podcast; you will get to meet her in episode 2, where we will be talking about planning your marketing calendar for the year (a little teaser for you nerds). She will give us an update on the progress of this brand launch that day as well, so be sure to tune in for that!
Okay, now it is your turn!
I find that it’s easy for people to just listen to podcasts like this and then NEVER take action on it, so, YOUR MISSION SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT: Put half an hour on your schedule today to outline each of these steps we talked about above for your wine brand.
Write out your
And because I really care about you and I want you to succeed, as an incentive: the first three of you to do this will receive a FREE Instagram bio audit from me when you email your finished outline to podcast@craftandcluster.com
I will go through your outline and make suggestions on ways you can make it even better.
Again, the first three people to email me their outline at podcast@craftandcluster.com will get a FREE bio audit, valued at $150
Friends! We did it! Thank you so much for joining me for the VERY FIRST EPISODE of the Craft & Cluster podcast! WHAT?! You are so awesome and damnit, I’m going to say it: I love you!
If you found this episode super valuable, be sure to spread the love by screenshotting, sharing, and tagging @craftandcluster on Instagram so I can connect with you and see all the awesome ways you’re implementing what you learn here. And to make sure you never miss an episode, be sure to subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you listen! I’ll see you next Monday, bye!