50% off at Spa Willamina

This is just a friendly heads-up that Lunabean Media client, Spa Willamina, is currently in the midst of a huge 3-day sale: Get a $100 gift certificate for $50! Here’s more info:

Spa Willamina Super Special

Custom Facebook tab for the sale

Keys to a Successful Winery Website

Having recently launched the R. Stuart & Co. Winery Website I thought it might be instructive to go through some of the key elements that we feel all winery websites should have, using the example of the R. Stuart site.

While this is, by no means, an exhaustive list of every feature we packed into the site, it does cover the most important. I hope you find it useful!

Wine Detail Page

While it seems obvious, many wineries forget that their website’s primary purpose is to introduce (and sell!) their wines to a passionate audience. You’ll see sites that are so jumbled up with things like Flash splash pages, music pairings, and navigation systems that bury the wine pages that it’s almost criminal (a crime against the wine). We focus on the wine. Each wine detail page is easy-to-read and offers layers of information for both the wine newbie and wine geek alike. These include: a detailed description, a large “buy now” button, previewable and downloadable tasting notes, spec data for the vineyard, vinification, and final products, a Google vineyard map, and photos.

The Store

Speaking of selling wine, we created a custom Volusion store (the store used by both Barack Obama and John McCain in the 2008 election and by the new Kangaroo) for R. Stuart which gives users a standardized (Amazon.com-esque) shopping experience. The store can handle quantity discounts, free shipping, price groups for the wine club, and gives a number of opportunities for marketing including coupon codes. It’s also PCI compliant and hosted on Volusion servers so critical data and transactions are ensured to be safe.

Contact Information in Obvious Locations

There is nothing more frustrating that going to a winery’s (or any company’s) site and having no clue where they are located or how to contact them. You are then forced to find the “contact” dropdown item where they may or may not have what you’re looking for. With R. Stuart, we placed the pertinent info in the upper right of every page. It’s also at the bottom of every page, in the footer. Another bonus, pull up the site on an iPhone and the phone number is automatically a link to call.

Blog / Social Media

While wine is the product and, if it’s tasty can sell itself, a good dose of personality is also required. Enter social media and the blog. We place the social media all in one spot (the jquery drawer on the left of the site) so that users aren’t distracted by it, but can easily access it at any time. The blog is integrated into the site and is divided into three sections: winery postings (From the Winery), trade postings (On the Road), and recipes. We give the power to the winery staff to update the blog (and all content, for that matter) themselves. The more they blog, the more they look like a happy, vibrant business and the more it helps their searchability. Oh, and check out a recipes page and note the “Share and Print” button. You can easily print any page of the site (practical for recipes) and even instantly create a PDF of it. Very cool.

Trade Page

Every winery should be as accomodating to trade as it can. We gave trade a one-stop page for all necessary information. This includes: contact information, distributor list, winemaker bio, logo art, and tasting notes, label image, and bottle image for each wine.

Simple Navigation

This isn’t so much a wine-specific feature, but a website feature in general. We subscribe to the philosophy that less is more. This is particularly the case when trying to relay a large amount of information in an easy-to-understand manner. Navigation needs to be obvious and consistent. If a user doesn’t know exactly where a link is going to take them, they aren’t going to click (example, if you have a blog, call it a blog for goodness sake…don’t try to be cute or clever with its name).

Calendar of Events

Most wineries have a calendar of events but make two major mistakes with it: 1) It’s rarely updated so it looks like your winery doesn’t do any events and/or 2) The calendar is difficult to navigate. We created a simple and clean list of events which quickly gives the user all of the necessary details. If the user wants, she can click “Calendar” to see the classic calendar view. Clicking on any one event brings the user to a detailed event page where they can comment on the event or share it via their social networks.

#wamerlot Twitter Tasting – March 25

After the success of Rick Bakas’ #calicabs twitter tasting there has been much interest in similar events for other regions and varietals. We are happy to be part of the first ever Washington Merlot (#wamerlot) Twitter tasting which will happen on March 25th between 5pm and 7pm PST.

RSVP to the Event

If you’re not familiar with the concept of a Twitter tasting, just think of the good old days (c. 2001) of chat-room tastings where a winery’s customers would all sign in and taste wine along with the winemaker on AIM (or some now irrelevant service). Well, the year is 2010 and chat-rooms have been replaced by Twitter. In this case, the goal is to get some delicious Washington Merlot into the hands of as many people as possible and then have them all talk about it on Twitter between 5pm and 7pm PST on March 25th.

For those of you worried about the juxtaposition of something “social” yet seemingly done in a dark room in front of your computer, do not fret. Many wineries will be hosting TweetUps during the event where you can meet up with some real life Twitter-folk and tweet from your laptop or phone, while of course engaging in some real-life conversation and sipping some amazing wines.

For more information about the event, please visit @drinknectar’s website: http://drinknectar.com/.

If you are a winery and would like to participate, please check out the information here.

Oh, and we’ll both be there…well, here, but there. Can’t wait!

Why Your Winery Should be Using Foursquare

Some social media experts have declared that Foursquare, the geolocation application for mobile devices, to be “the next big thing” in social media. Others believe it to be a passing fancy that will disappear when people tire of the novelty of it.

I, for one, don’t care about the longevity of the product. It is my job to use these tools, trendy or not, to help people increase business. This week, it’s my job to help wineries. So, here we go with a list of why your winery tasting room should be making use of Foursquare, trend or not.

The Whys

1. Drinking Games are Fun – I know, it’s inappropriate and even crass to say to a high end winery, but, it’s a fact: Drinking games are fun. That doesn’t mean Joe Bob and his friends (they’ll be starring in the rest of the article) will use FourSquare to get tanked, but it does mean it adds that extra je ne sais quoi to the wine tasting experience. Foursquare is, at its core, an online game that incentivizes visitors to real world establishments with virtual points, badges, and titles.

I worked off and on in my family’s winery tasting room for over a decade. Some of our biggest days were those when we took part in various treasure hunts or stamp events. People got very excited about collecting stamps…probably a bit more so than they would have had wine not been involved. So, in summary, Foursquare and booze, in any form, are a good match.

2. People who don’t know about it, don’t know about it – Let’s be honest. People who don’t get social media, or even specific social media applications, tend to be hostile toward it. You don’t want to annoy those who want nothing to do with social media. Foursquare is kind of like a secret club. Joe Bob can check in via his own personal web device without Crotchety McGee having a clue.

3. FourSquare check-ins disseminate through various social media networks – When Joe Bob checks in to your establishment, this information is not only shared with other FourSquare users, but, if Joe Bob set up his account in a social way, that information will be shared with his Twitter followers and Facebook friends. Bonus: If Joe Bob happens to have 20,000 Twitter followers and 600 Facebook friends, you just got a lot of word of mouth advertising.

4. FourSquare is a user generated review site – While FourSquare isn’t necessarily billed as a geolocation tracking Citysearch or Yelp, that’s pretty much what it is. If you provide an excellent product and your staff provides excellent customer service, FourSquare users will let other FourSquare users know about it. Better yet, since the the “reviews” are billed as “tips” these reviews tend to be a bit more specific, thus more helpful, than those found elsewhere. For example, instead of saying something like, “Good wine, staff was nice”, Joe Bob may say something like, “Ask to try the Temperance Hill, it’s wonderful,” or “Katie works Saturday afternoons, and she knows her stuff!”.

5. Chances are your tasting room will be added, with or without your permission – Foursquare users can add businesses to the directory themselves. It’s always my opinion that your business should be listed in the way you want it to be listed. Take control early. Not only will you be able to name your business as you want to name it, but putting your business in the Foursquare directory will increase the likelihood of being visited by Foursquare users.

The Hows

1. Nothing required – As mentioned above, Foursquare is primarily a user driven game. You don’t have to do a thing for your business to be involved. Just trust that, some day, it will be. So, do nothing, or add your business yourself.

2. Incentivize the incentives – Foursquare, itself, provides great ideas of how to use Foursquare for your business. Specific to tasting rooms? Offer a 10% discount to anyone who checks into your tasting room. Again, think of it as word of mouth advertising. If you’re a Wine Bar, and have regular customers, offer a higher discount to the Mayor (the person who has checked into your establishment the most), thus creating a little discount competition. Get together with other wineries in your area and offer a small prize to anyone who checks into all of those wineries.

If you’re not ready, yet, to offer any discounts, a simple chalkboard with the Mayor’s name on it can be enough to create buzz for your company’s presence. Not to mention, there’s wine involved, so you’ll probably be taking pictures of many Mayors…which will, inevitably, be uploaded to various social media networks.

Best social media reads of the week (thus far)

It seems people were thinking hard about social media over the holiday break, as some FANTASTIC social media articles and blog posts have been published this week. Below you will find a list of the writings we considered to be the best of the best (thus far).

1. Pepsi Chooses Social Media Over Super Bowl (Media Bullseyse) – If you’re only going to read one article about social media this week, make it this one. Just as the title suggests, Pepsi is redirecting its Super Bowl fund to a Super Social Media campaign. In other words, “It’s been decided that they would rather be talked about in a positive light by millions than have their ad seen by millions of people, even it is the Super Bowl”. Cool move, Pepsi Co.

2. Why Social Media is Still a Red-headed Stepchild (Web Worker Daily) – So true, it’s almost painful to read. Highlights reasons why there is so much resistance from PR and marketing departments regarding social media.

3. How to Say Stupid Things About Social Media (The Guardian) – “Why do people care what I ate for breakfast?”, is a common comment we’ll hear from Twitter skeptics. This article explains why…and they don’t care what you ate for breakfast, so there.

4. 91% of Companies Used Social Media in 2009 (Simply Zesty) – Nice analysis of stats released by the Center of Marketing Research at UMass.

5. 3 Helpful Social Media Marketing Predictions for 2010 (Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide) – Jeremy liked this one so much, he wrote a full analysis of it here, that is equally important to read.

6. Breaking Up in a Digital Fish Bowl (NY Times) – This one doesn’t have anything to do with social media and business, but it is a fascinating read about dating (and breaking up) in the age of Facebook. So happy I’m married. So happy.

Three important and interesting social media trends for 2010

John Bell, managing director of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide has written a good article distilling many social media predictions for 2010 into three very important ones. Pay particular attention to the third prediction, “Blogs Will Resurface As The Popular Hub for Brand’s Social Media Effort.”

This year blogs will redefine themselves for brands. They will be the fast-publishing and ‘voice of the brand’ option for many brands who now have experience in social media via Twitter and Facebook and have a new confidence in expressing themselves socially. It is likely that many brand web sites will merge with their blog. Rather than the awkward examples of this to date where the blog no longer looks or behaves like a blog (more like just another page within the Web 1.0 Web site), we will see Web sites that bear many of the attributes of blogs and Web 2.0 (spontaneous, shareable, subscribable, etc…).

Blogs are not passe. Quite the opposite. They will become a valuable “get more” destination that corporate Twitter handles and Facebook “walls” can point people to.

A few thoughts…

1. We’re seeing, and have been seeing, the need for brands to merge their “web site” with their blog. I say “web site” in quotes because, truthfully, your web site these days should basically be a blog. That is, it needs to have social media and blogging built in with the attributes listed above, “spontaneous, shareable, subscribable.” I would add to that list a clean design with a low user learning curve (standardized navigation, buttons, etc.) and an editorial calendar to keep regular content flowing, which is then supplemented by the spontaneous postings.

2. There is a myth out there that making your web site a little more Web 2.0 (meaning a blog and social media features as a back bone) means that your site will be ugly, basic, square, and text-based. While it certainly can be and that would be perfectly fine as long as the content and messaging are good, it doesn’t have to be. In fact, many company sites can be redone with a CMS (content management system) and blogging built in, yet still look basically the same. In other words, just because your site is blog doesn’t mean it has to be stripped down, basic, or ugly.

3. I agree with the assertion that blogs can be valuable as a “get more info” tool via Facebook and Twitter. There is no harm in promoting your brand, product, etc. via the popular social media channels and then saying, “for more info, visit this page on my site.” With that being said, there are some philosophical and theoretical questions to be asked in regard to driving traffic to your FB page for more info, or to your site for more info, but that’s another discussion altogether.

4. One important use for company blogs, which is not directly mentioned in the article, is that blogs provide a central place for your info, promotions, communications, etc. It’s truly where you own your message and brand. Granted, once that message is out there in the social media ball pit, you will lose a bit of control, but your blog is a safe harbor in a violent sea.

The company blog is also important as a central place for postings because those postings, via an RSS feed, can be sent out to Facebook, Twitter, et al. without you having to do a thing, thus saving a good amount of time. This is particularly important for many of the small businesses with whom we work, who do not usually have dedicated social media and/or PR teams.

Source: 3 Helpful Social Media Marketing Predictions for 2010

I am lovin’ Groupon!

If you like saving money, hop on over to Groupon.com and sign up for e-mail alerts now. If you run a business, hop on over to Groupon.com and sign up for e-mail alerts now. If you like watching success stories in action, hop on over to Groupon.com and sign up for e-mail alerts now.

Personally, I’m a sucker for the site. I love the simplicity of it. I love the colors. I love the hidden menu at the top. And, of course, I love the deals. Here’s how it works.

Every day you will receive an e-mail alerting you of a 24 hour Groupon deal in your city. For example, two weeks ago I was notified of a 10 class yoga pass at a local studio for 50% off, or $50 ($5 for a yoga class, btw, is crazy awesome).

If you want to take part in the deal, sign up. If a pre-determined minimum is reached (25 was the minimum for the yoga studio), the deal goes through. Your credit card will be charged and you’ll receive a certificate for your purchase. If that minimum isn’t reached, the deal is a no-go. No harm, no foul.

Businesses benefit by getting new customers through the door (priceless), and a nice wad of cash from all who signed up. And, keep in mind, businesses set the minimum, meaning, if it’s only worth their time for a guaranteed $1000, they can make that happen.

Returning to that yoga studio (link to the deal here), 132 certificates were purchased. At $50 a pop, that studio brought in an extra $6600 in that 24 hour period (minus Groupon’s percentage, which changes depending on the business, but seems quite reasonable). That’s 132 customers trying out that studio, and $6600 they didn’t have at the beginning of the day. Not too shabby.

So, what are you waiting for? If you’re looking to save money or find some great holiday gifts, sign up for Groupon alerts now! If you’re looking to expose your business to a large audience and, perhaps, get some extra cash flowing, contact Groupon today.

Our social media reads of the day 11/03/09

1. Social Media in Healthcare Cheat Sheet – Just a quick blog post that got my wheels turning. Doctors using social media? I find it creepy and fantastic at the same time.

2. Six Social Media Trends for 2010 – BusinessWeek and HarvardBusiness.org present a list of social media trends to look out for in 2010. There’s nothing mind blowing to be found in the list, but it’s worth a glance. I do hope to see #4 happen, as we’ve seen a lot of damage done to various brands due to lack of social media policy.

3. Five Ways to Make your E-Mail Marketing Campaign Shine – The reason I like this one is because it focuses on e-mail marketing, and we’ve seen this most effective means of communicating with customers overlooked in this new world of “social media marketing”. Social media is about reaching out to the people. Why would you ignore the people who have voluntarily signed up for your e-mail newsletter, essentially saying, “Please contact me anytime you have anything to sell…because I am interested”???

These are your best customers. Don’t ignore them.

LB Media Recommends: Crush it!

From our e-mail newsletter sent 10/29/09

Have you picked up your copy of Gary Vaynerchuk’s “Crush It” yet? While some may find benefit in the book’s motivational “live your passion” pages, we’re recommending it to our clients because of Gary V’s sagacious approach to social media.

Most people receiving this e-mail have already expressed to us interest in social media. Some of you have embraced this new marketing opportunity and are beginning to reap the rewards. Others remain a bit hesitant.

To those who have already embraced social media, Gary V will continue to broaden your awareness of your social media reach. New promotions will come to mind. New platforms will be introduced. To those who have remained hesitant, we believe Gary V can alleviate your social media fears while assuring you that any time spent in the world of social media will be greatly beneficial to your business or organization.

Finally, we’re recommending this book to you, our clients, because Gary V chooses, in many instances, to play the role of photographer, wine shop owner, restaurant manager, real estate agent, non-profit organizer and public relations manager. Since so many of you fall directly into these categories, and so many more fall into closely associated categories, we felt obligated (and excited) to share this book with you.

Again, if you want the motivation, it’s there for you. However, if you’re like us, you’ll want to focus on the social media sections. It’s a quick 120 page read, and spending the afternoon absorbing it may forever change the way you think about your business…and that’s a great thing.

Buy Crush It! from Amazon.com

For Borders Rewards members, feel free to use this 40% off coupon if you choose to buy from Borders.

Social media certification programs? Tweet me to be Lunabean Media certified

Does anyone else get the feeling that these social media certification programs that a popping up across the country are a scam? Pay upwards of $3000, take an 8-week course, and you can walk away with a certificate saying you’re “certified” in social media?

I’m all for the education and the spreading of the social media love, but, seriously, if anyone came to us with a resume that included their social media certificate, the first thing I’d think is that they got scammed, which isn’t a great personality trait to display when seeking a job.

The second thing I’d think is their brain doesn’t work in the way I’d expect from a social media “expert”, because, this early in the game, the true experts out there either get it or they don’t. In that eight week course, that expert might learn a couple of new techniques, but $3000 worth? The true experts aren’t going to bite, so those who are certified are going to be the people who weren’t at the top of the social media game to begin with.

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe these courses are creating social media geniuses, but I have yet to find one.

Feel free to prove me wrong. I’d love to get some feedback on this. Otherwise, tweet me @LunabeanMedia and ask for the Lunabean Media Social Media Certification program. It’s for those who are think that these certification programs, at this point in the game, smell a little fishy. I’ll certify you right on Twitter…for free.

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