The biggest missed social media marketing opportunity on Twitter is utilizing your messaging to create “call to action”- that invitation that asks me to take a step towards fulfilling your business goals according to Susan. The reason for all the “missing” is the fact that the vast majority of Twitter messages are not strategic.
The Challenge: “What do we say?”
The biggest challenge in creating messages on Twitter, or other social networks for that matter, is understanding what to say and how to say it. This is best illustrated by the old adage “a picture is worth a thousand words.” If you examine the picture above you get a very well defined description of a desolate road surrounded by natural beauty. The picture speaks for itself.
How to find “what to say”: Wineries
Consider your winery website and blog your “picture worth a thousand words.” Try the following ideas when looking for messages or what to say about you:
1. Wine Club: mine your wine club page for descriptions, costs, benefits, features, and what makes your winery “stand out” from the rest
2. Events: list the events you host, events you participate in, and charities you support.
3. Tours: describe your tour(s) benefits, features, costs
4. History: list historical facts about the winery, land, region, winemakers, owners, and partners
5. Food: list pairing ideas, recipes, cooking techniques and how wine is a part of this experience
6. Wine Reviews: showcase reviews about your wines
7. Collecting: illustrate tips and strategies for storing wines
8. Tasting: describe the best methods to understand how to taste the various flavors of a wine, what to look for in each varietal, and how to understand the influence of terrior, barrel aging, and fermentation
9. The Arts: if you display art tell us about the artist and the type
10. Concerts: if your winery hosts musical events give us the low down
11. Innovation-Development: describe cutting edge technologes, green techniques, vineyard management or anything that differentiates your winery’s harvest processes
12. Harvest: document your harvest, interview winemakers, interview everyone during harvest that will give your audience the feeling they are right there. Help people understand the science and exacting standards you uphold in your harvest
13. Community: describe your winery’s involvement in the different issue that face the community
14. Library Wines: list and describe the library wines available for purchase
15. Foreign Properties: discuss your winery’s overseas vineyards, fruit, and wine making processes
16. Gift Shop: list gift shop items, specials, discounts, and new items
17. Release Days: describe the events of the day and all that makes it a special day
18. Newsletter: provide a description of your newsletter benefits
19. Best of Partners: list your partners from restaurants to limosine companies that you support and evangelize
20. Story: tell the winery’s story. This is not necessarily the history but rather the mission of the winery
21. Wine Competition: list the winery’s competition victories
If there is such a thing as a laboratory for studying how retail businesses are using Twitter, we have a pretty good example. Two months ago Dean and I launched 
, products, services, and companies by initiating discussions and placing positive messages on social media networks. Evangelists are the equivalent of unpaid lobbyists for your company who help legitimize your messages.
I often share how much my direct marketing background influences how I approach social media marketing. It has given me a framework from which to view social media marketing as a discipline. Yes, I know that social media is about being authentic, yet being authentic doesn’t mean you have to show up without a plan or strategy. Yet this is exactly what most companies do.
