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

The answer, of course, is yes, yes you are missing out on sales and marketing opportunities if you choose to ignore your company’s website.  You’re missing out big time.

It’s no longer enough to have claimed some turf out there in cyberspace.  That turf now has a purpose, and that purpose is to sell your product.  What’s more, as nearly two-thirds of adults in the US claim to be online daily, they have learned to associate the quality of a website with the quality of a business.  In other words, if you’re ignoring your company’s website, customers are ignoring your business.

With that being said, here is our list of five website features that every sales and marketing director of every winery should make sure are properly installed and used on their company websites. To see them in action, please feel free to look at our Sample Winery Website.

Sales and Marketing Website Tools

1. Tasting Notes – Ask any waiter or wine shop employee and they will tell you the wine they move is the wine they know.

   Providing servers, sommeliers, distributors, wine shop employees, and even the general public (people like to know what they’re serving to their friends), with detailed tasting notes will move your wine. Make sure they are easily accessible on your website, and that they are printer-friendly (PDFs are best).

   Tell your distributors, favorite wine shops, and restaurants that your tasting notes are available on your website. Even better, include a note or card in every case that tells people to visit your site for detailed tasting notes.

2. Calendar of Events – A calendar of events not only informs people of your winery’s happenings, but it helps sell the winery lifestyle.

   Include local and out of state events such as winery open houses, festivals, tastings, winemaker’s dinners, press spots, and even tasting room specials. Harvest is coming up. Include when you expect to be crushing what.

3. FAQs – Come up with a list of your most frequently asked (and best) questions. Include questions you wish were asked, and make sure your answers are the ones you’ve provided on your best days.
4. Distributor List – Due to strict shipping laws, many people can’t buy your wines directly from you, so they need an easy way to find out where they can buy your wines. Provide a state by state list of your distributors, along with their contact information (phone AND e-mail).
5. Social Media Tools – Social media is, perhaps, the greatest thing to happen to winery marketing. It’s affordable, and, when done correctly, it’s incredibly effective.

   Social media is about building relationships with current and future customers. To ignore social media is to ignore your customers. But, like a website, it’s not enough to simply have these tools and accounts set up. You need to know how to use them appropriately, or they could actually damage your brand.

   If you want to know more about social media, please check out our Social Media FAQs.