Beverage Dynamics is the largest national business magazine devoted exclusively to the needs of off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, from single liquor stores to big box chains, through coverage of the latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/58579
one "liked" or commented on the posting, but soon people came into the store and started buying it up. Customers told him they left work to come get it and didn't want to announce that on Facebook in case anyone saw. "We sold out of that case in about 45 minutes," Mulvihill says, "and it was on a Thursday afternoon." Reach Anyone, Anytime W hen print and radio don't get the responses they used to, where do you turn? For Berbiglia Wine & Spirits, a family-owned chain of 11 stores in and around Kansas City, MO, ranging from 1,500 to 12,000 square feet, the answer was social media. Jack Bondon Jr., the VP of Operations and third-genera- tion family member, says the store needed to embrace new technology to keep up with the times. "I've learned that the old media isn't effective in driving younger dollars into our store," he says. "Social media is the way to reach anyone, anytime with your message." Berbiglia's uses both Facebook and Twitter to engage its customers. The store tends to use Twitter to announce new items or send out quick, timely messages, while it uses its Facebook fan page to tell customers about wine tastings and the like. "We're trying to stay "We currently use Facebook, YouTube and our website to reach online con- sumers, and we're just getting started with texting and Twitter," said Dave Marberger (left), co-owner of Bay Ridge Wine & Spirits in Annapolis, MD, seen here with store owner Chuck Ferrar. I Digital Dictionary App: Short for application, this is an icon installed on a computer or mobile device that acts as a shortcut to a webpage, game, or other program that performs a spe- cific function (examples: Words with Friends,Angry Birds). Blog: A personal page that reads like a journal, containing entries starting with the most recent (examples: Blogger, WordPress). The Cloud: Describes data stored on an external server and accessible through a web browser from any computer. For individuals, it eliminates the need for a hard drive; for companies, it eliminates the need for on-site servers. Information stored in "the cloud" is also generally backed up in multi- ple places to prevent catastrophic loss of information. Podcast: A (generally) short piece of audio content, often part of a larger series of audio casts on a certain subject, which can be downloaded and listened to any- time. Content can be downloaded from an individual webpage, or through a service like iTunes. RSS Feed: Like a customized newspaper, it draws in stories from a particular publication or about a particular topic that users choose to subscribe to. Feeds can be sent to an email address or accessed through a news reader like Google Reader. Social Network: A website where users can create profiles to share their interests, photos, mem- in the forefront of our cus- tomers' minds," Bondon says. "By periodically posting on these sites, we feel that when the customers choose to pur- chase wine and spirits, they'll remember us first." To drive people to its online pages, Berbiglia's posts signs in the store promoting its Facebook and Twitter presence. And by announcing tastings, special releases and sales through its social media pages, the store has made them a must- click destination for customers who want to stay informed. Social Media Primer t's easy to set up a Facebook page and Twitter account, but maintaining an online presence and avoiding the common mistakes retailers make is more of a challenge. "Be prepared and open for feed- back, and be ready to be present, listen and respond," Hite says. "Social media is word of mouth on steroids, which can be an awesome thing and can also turn into a train wreck. Always be honest and transparent, admit when you're wrong and be authentic." Most important? "Don't forget to execute the same customer service principles, standards and processes online that you do offline," she says. "Just do the right thing and you'll be fine." s ories, and connect with friends that they've given permission to access their information (examples: Facebook, LinkedIn). Twitter: A micro-blogging ser- vice where users can share short messages (140 characters or less) with other users who have "fol- lowed" them. The site's biggest draw is its instantaneous updates and the ability to create hashtags like #superbowl and #nygiants to track what subjects are most popu- lar at a given moment. URL Shortener: A site where users can shorten their URL addresses, allowing them to track which links they've posted and who's viewed them. Especially use- ful for sharing links onTwitter and Facebook, which limit the number of characters in a message (examples: Bit.ly and TinyURL). Beverage Dynamics • www.beveragedynamics.com • March/April 2012 • 59