In 2009 and 2010, the Team at 451 Marketing compiled a list of the “Top Social Media Strategists to Watch” for the upcoming year.  These were individuals that our team deemed the smartest, most talented, and most ambitious in the digital media space.  In short, the group we thought that people should take notice of in the year to come.

 

Since then, the 451 Team and the digital marketing space as a whole have grown.  With that growth, we have recognized the need for specialization.  With that in mind, we have decided to recognize individuals and brands on an industry-specific basis.

 

The first industry on our list: small to mid-sized wineries and vineyards, specifically in Northern California.  Why start here?  Well, there are a few reasons: First, we enjoy wine and have expertise in marketing companies involved with the wine industry such as Destination Cellars, the world’s first luxury destination wine club.  Second, 451 Marketing is expanding its presence on the West Coast and are exploring how businesses in Northern California leverage social media to reach current and potential customers.  We know there are thousands of vineyards coast-to-coast, so we narrowed the field to a region we were familiar with.  Finally, we feel that these wineries face challenges that are representative of the types of issues that many small to mid-sized businesses face, regardless of industry.  They reside in a highly competitive and rapidly growing space, they must create a fan base that will convert to a customer base, and they have to differentiate themselves (think about the hundreds of bottles on the shelves or online–how do you chose?).

 

This Friday, we will announce our Best of 2011 Social Wine Award winners including 15 finalists as well as our top 5 picks from Northern California, each chosen for their exceptional performance in online customer engagement, branding, and use of integrated social media campaigns.  Next month, we will be interviewing and featuring these social wine experts to hear how they approach social media and find out and how it affects their at their day-to-day interactions with customers – stay tuned!

 

To discuss this award on Twitter, use the hashtag #SocialWine

 

Have you seen exceptional social media engagement from the wine industry?  Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!