Hello WineDirect Community!
I hope you are all doing well. I want to start a thread to discuss Instagram and how wineries are utilizing this Social Media platform and how effective it has been. I also want to share some tips for wineries who don’t have a big Instagram following yet on how to grow their influence organically (without buying followers and likes).
- Do you have an Instagram account? What’s your IG handle?
- How many followers do you have?
- How often do you post?
If you currently have a small Instagram following you want to grow, here are some tips I’d like to share:
1. Optimize your Instagram Name
Put essential keywords in the name section of your Instagram so you can easily be found on search, even if people aren’t searching for your name.
For example, when I searched for “Barossa Wine”, Atze’s Corner Wines showed up since Barossa was a part of their Instagram name.
2. Write Engaging Captions that Starts Conversations
A beautiful photo stops people from scrolling, but a meaningful caption is what sparks a conversation in your comments section. Include questions like:
“Tell me your top 5 favorite wines”
“What’s your go-to red?”
“Tag a friend who you want to share this bottle with”
“Tell us your ideal pairing in the comments”
Or even something as general as “How did you enjoy this past weekend?”
Browse other wineries near you who’s doing well on Instagram or wine influencer pages and keep an eye out for engaging captions you can use on your own page!
3. Use Different Size Hashtags
Do not just use the most popular hashtags like #winelover which has over 6.4M posts to date. Instead, add niche hash tags that have less posts so it’s easier for your post to be found when people search that tag.
Try hashtags with less than 100k tags. These hashtags are niche and it’s where actual communities are. The people who look for these hashtags are most likely to engage with your content. Since it’s small, you’ll most likely end up on the front page of this hashtag search. (Eg. #napawine #cabarnetsauvignon #familywinery)
It’s still good to tag larger hashtags to increase reach. These are the most popular tags that people are searching for and are the most commonly used. However, I wouldn’t use too many of these as you’ll get drowned out in minutes.
As a rule of thumb, you want to include 10-15 hashtags per post. Also, remember to rotate your hashtags every time you post or Instagram may think you are spamming! Create multiple hashtag groups that you cycle through.
4. Follow your winery’s hashtags and posts where your winery location are tagged.
Follow hashtags that are related to your winery so it can be easier for you to engage with the people you don’t currently follow.
“Like” their posts or Follow their Instagram - when you engage on other people’s posts, it will increase your reach and give opportunity for people to find you and follow you!
Hope this was helpful for you! Share your thoughts and ideas; we’d love to hear more about Instagram from the WineDirect Community 