Social Media's Relationship to Wine Sales

I want to highlight some of the main takeaways from the following article: http://bizeez.com/making-wine-sales-through-social-media-marketing/

Though many will debate the effect that social media can have on driving sales, it is particularly tricky in the wine business, where direct-to-consumer sales are limited by a network of prohibition era liquor laws. In other words, ads cannot simply link to one's e-commerce site for straightforward transactions. Therefore social media must not be valued based on its direct relationship with sales but rather how to build brand awareness and how to guide consumers through the funnel that will ultimately lead to sales. Although a winery may feel that their target demographic is not on Facebook, they must also consider the importance of Facebook in search results as well as the platform it provides for user generated content.

In addition, a social presence for a winery is one of the most important elements for building brand awareness. While this may seem obvious in today's world, the real message is that it is not enough to simply have a Facebook account. A winery needs to remain active on all of their social accounts so that the consumer is not feeling ignored. In short, social media can have a large effect on driving wine sales if one takes into account all the tangential benefits that the platforms offer.