Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/670021
1 8 V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T | M a y - J u n e 2 016 w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m "One of the biggest pitfalls I see with social media is lack of consis- tency," asserts Nott. "Some busi- nesses only post when they feel like it." Nott encourages clients to plan ahead with regard to what they'll be promoting each week. She also advises using social media planning tools such as HootSuite or Sendible to schedule posts in advance to maximize time. "The other mistake I see is a lack of integration. All marketing needs to be integrated, including social media," she notes. "Think of your overarching plan as a hub and every facet of marketing is a spoke on the wheel." FLOWER POWER For many people, flowers are like wine — one of life's neces- sary luxuries. Both bouquets are also more than the product itself; they're experiences meant to be shared, enjoyed and remembered. What's more, they're experiences that naturally lend themselves to social media. Molly McCoy, founder and chief bomber of Flower Bombers, a Den- ver, Colo.-based startup dedicated to revolutionizing the way people give and receive flowers ordered online, says social media is the keystone of her company's PR and marketing efforts. "We're hanging our hat on social media as the underpinning and key to customer engagement with this company," she states. Flower Bombers offers a small but exquisite selection of floral arrangements that are hand deliv- ered for no extra charge. "The cata- lyst for our business was that the whole experience around ordering flowers online isn't what it should be," explains McCoy. Rather than farm out the delivery of its arrangements, Flower Bomb- ers employs brand ambassadors to personally deliver the flowers, along with a social media calling card of sorts. Printed on letterpress paper stock, the card reads: "Take your best selfie, post it and follow us using #fbombed. You're now eli- gible for weekly freebies." Once the recipient has been "Flower Bombed," the handler reads the situation. "If the flow- ers are sent for a happy occasion, we ask permission to take a photo of the recipient with his or her flowers, and then text that photo to the sender and post it on our F a c e b o o k p a g e , " s a y s M c C o y, adding that most folks are open to the idea. "When someone gets flow- ers and we post the picture, it takes the bragging factor out of it because they're not the one post- ing it," she adds. Flower Bombers captures all posts using #fbombed and, at the WINE WISE MARKETING JENNIFER STRAILEY