This month we will talk about how to get your Instagram wine story started. Last month, we started off the year by talking about 5 Steps to Create a Social Media Wine Strategy. Now that we have the basic steps for a game plan set up, I wanted to focus on one of the social media platforms. In that way, you can start practicing and putting your first content plan to work.

This month I have chosen to discuss how to use Instagram. I will talk a bit about how to write a bio and the use of hashtags. Then, I will focus on the two latest additions to Instagram, namely Instagram Stories and Live Video. I will give some basic tips on how you can start using Instagram Stories and Live Video for your wine storytelling.

The translation into Italian will be added in the next few days.

Get Started with Instagram for your Wine Business

Around 50% of all brands are today using Instagram for business and the percentage will surely increase even more during the next years. The business interface has many different features, such as analytics, and it is easy to use for any business owner. There is a huge community of Instagrammers, more than 600 million people, and on average 95 million photos are shared every day. So as you can see, Instagram offers huge possibilities.

Your Bio

One of the first things to fine tune is your profile text, your so-called bio, to make it catchy.

• Add a profile photo that stands out.
• Try to describe who you are and what is typical about your winery, your wines, your area, etc. in a fun way.
• Create a brand hashtag, that is a hashtag specifically created for your business.
• Do not be afraid of using an emoticon or two.
• Refer to your Snapchat or Twitter account, to send people to check you out there too.
• Add a link to your website or to your blog. If you write articles on your blog, link to it directly.

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The best way to figure out what you want your bio to look like is to scroll through other top accounts and learn from them. Sue B. Zimmerman is one of the best to learn from about Instagram marketing. She likes to play with colors and combine the photos to tell her story. Read more at her blog here.

If we hop on over to a wine account, the consortium of Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco @proseccocv has a good bio. They combine a short description with a call to action and an emoticon.

Another famous Italian wine account, @ferraritrento, tells a short wine story about who they are highlighting two hashtags that are important to them.

Some other fun accounts to follow are, for example, @rosesandroseofficial with a mix of fashion, style, and wine…

…the Instagram account of @consorziovinochianti where they are posting some fun photos…

…and last, but not least, Soave Consorzio Tutela @soavewine which is a successful account. They are good at storytelling from different angles.

Hashtag Strategy

The use of hashtags is crucial though not always that easy to figure out in the beginning. When using Instagram for business purposes it is indeed important to do a search on which hashtags are best in your niche. In the wine sector, there are lots and lots of hashtags to choose from.

If you are a small wine business just starting out on Instagram, it is crucial to take some time to study and test which hashtags works best for you. Just tap on the magnifying glass and insert your search words.

Create Your Own Instagram Wine Story

Instagram stories is a really good addition to the Instagram feed. It allows you to snap photos and short videos. Therefore, it is perfect to tell your audience something about your wine business in an easygoing way.

With Instagram Stories you can:

• Tell a wine story with, for example, a specific theme
• Put the spotlight on the collaboration with a client/visit from a wine lover
• Show what work is going on right now at the winery

Remember to show content that is exclusive to Instagram Stories. Do not simply re-publish the images from your normal feed. Use the different functions in the upper right corner to add text and emoticons. Then you can also tag people in your Stories.

This is an example of a very simple story I created while at a lunch with Birra Poretti organized by Gnammo.

Just some week ago Instagram Live Video was rolled out in Europe. Instagram Live Video allows you to, even more, interact with your fans. Here you can show yourself and your winery in an authentic way and make people feel like they are there with you. For example, you can:

• Teach and show your viewers something you are doing in the winery
• Do Q&A to find out more about your followers and what they like
• Take them on a walk through the vineyard

There are many possibilities and many stories to tell, the best way is to just tap on the camera icon and go live. The best thing is that the video disappears right after it ends. Therefore, if you make mistakes or feel you said silly things, do not worry… Nobody will remember because the video cannot be replayed.

What have we learned?

This was a very brief look into Instagram and how some of its features works. There are many more tricks to learn about Instagram, of course, and you can learn more by following top Instagram accounts. Or contact me directly and I can help you move forward. The important things to remember are to have a good and catchy bio, learn to use hashtags effectively, try to tell a story from different angles with Instagram Stories and Live Video.

Oh, and don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter to the right here before you go.

Written by Katarina Andersson.