I would hardly call myself an expert on anything that has to do with social media, blogging or instagram. Everything I know about social media, like wine, I have taught myself. Still, I have learned a few things over the past year and thought it would be fun to share my ramblings/reflections with you.
Lesson 1: Your brand is worth more than free things: I am half Asian and Jewish…not to play into stereotypes, but I love free things. I still get a thrill when an email or instagram DM hits my inbox with offers. That said, I still buy the majority of the wine I drink myself and I do not feature things you would not otherwise find in my feed.
My friend Whitney is your classic ABC (anything but Chardonnay) drinker. How true is this? Well, she texted me the other weekend “I’ve had two Napa Chardonnays too many (which is two.)” So, when a local winery reached out to her about a Chardonnay campaign, she was torn. Should she agree to collaborate when she has talked very openly about not liking Chardonnay? Whitney opted to tell the winery the truth about her feelings towards Chardonnay. Their response? They appreciated the honesty and offered the opportunity to try other varietals in the future. Honesty and staying true to what you actually like is the best policy for your brand and credibility.
Lesson 2: Don’t do this if you’re only kind of passionate about a topic: We all work hard enough in our day jobs, so Instagram should not feel like a chore. Now, that does not mean it’s not time-consuming or take a lot of work. I actually only drink wine probably 3 days most weeks. So, why spend so much time talking about and learning about something I don’t even enjoy most days? Well, I really love wine. I think it sits at the intersection of entertainment, history and art. Wine is one of the only art forms you can enjoy with all of your senses (don’t believe me? Here you go: touch – stomping grapes, sight – swirling the glass and examining the color, smell – this might even trump taste in importance, sound – who does not love the popping sound when a bottle is open and, lastly, taste…because that’s the whole point). Going to wineries on the weekend and reading tasting notes is not work for me, it’s fun and what I would be doing anyways. Some days I wake up and, honestly, the last thing I want to do is go on Instagram and post a picture. But, seeing so many likeminded people with a similar interest to me reinvigorates me.
Lesson 3: Collaboration vs Competition is key: Other instagrammers/bloggers are NOT your competition. It’s hard not to sit there and wonder, “well why does ____ have more followers than me?” “why aren’t my captions as fun to read as ____’s?” The first few months, this would honestly eat at me. I was worried that I needed to outperform other instagrammers in number of likes/comments on posts and number of followers. This felt like a rat race. You know what happens though? People with more followers get offered things I don’t AND people with less followers get offered things I don’t. Since coming to this seemingly obvious realization, I have learned to focus on being competitive with myself and striving to keep posting better content. As for the others? I have open chat groups with several other instagrammers sharing tips and tricks, helping each other out and giving one another advice. I’ve gotten so many recommendations from other people and that has been a lot more fun than competing with them.
Lesson 4: It’s ok to take a break: What you think is going to happen if you don’t post for a few days or a week or two: all of your followers disappear. What actually happens: maybe you don’t grow as fast, but not everyone goes away. Think of how long it takes to grow a following – it takes a similar length of time to drive all of those people away. In an era where there is such constant pressure to keep going, it can feel exhausting. How much do I need to post? Do I need to go to an event every weekend day so I have enough content? I am happy to report – the answer is a resounding no. There is a life outside of the small squares on your Instagram feed and it’s ok to take a break from it. When I started @vinoforbreakfast, I had read you should post every day. It was EXHAUSTING. I felt like I had to drink wine all the time to keep up with it. At some point, I just stopped doing that to get my life back. I only posted stories on the weekend and limited posts on my feed to a couple times a week. I was much more excited each time I posted and, to my delight, it has not had a negative impact on my ability to grow the account.
Lesson 5: Come for the wine, stay for the people: The people are truly the most rewarding part of having a wine instagram. I’ve met several amazing wine instagrammers, many amazing winemakers and winery owners, and had incredible experiences with some of the tasting room staff. As someone who lives in San Francisco and works in tech, I find myself constantly in a bubble where there’s one degree of separation. Unbeknownst to me when creating my wine instagram, @vinoforbreakfast opened up a world of people outside of tech. I’ve made friends with people in the wine industry and also people in insurance, marketing and science who also just share a love for wine. I am grateful for the folks I’ve met in real life and those who I have only had the pleasure of meeting virtually (but hopefully real life soon!)
Thank you all for dealing with my ranting for a full year and, hopefully, I was able to teach you something or recommend something to you along the way. Cheers to a great year and an even better year two!
No. 5 is probably the one I’m looking forward the most! Thanks for sharing, Hannah!