(insert mouth noise of confidence)

Back in September GUY and I were interviewed by Debbie Gioquindo, Hudson Valley Wine Goddess. Such a cool honour overall.  We met Deb thru our online Twitter program #WineStudio, where we run a 4 week curriculum program based on wines from our sponsor, LeMetro Wine. Underground.

Afer hearing the Podcast interview, my ego of course was screaming about the way I sounded. I hear myself much differently than what spews forth. And of course realizing this, I began to panic. Started really thinking about our business voices. And the small business owner in me quickly piped up: did we communicate our message effectively?

Social Media. Is it Social Enough?

With all the hub bub regarding social media lately and how that relates to how we communicate about wine, what goes through our minds is if we’re doing enough and for that matter, what are we doing. Our original concept was such that folks really couldn’t wrap their heads around it.  And as GUY continues to remind me, that’s the answer we wanted because if it wasn’t new and cutting edge then all would understand. And then, who cares?

Of course now the goal is to hone in on that “new” and shape it into a reliable, scalable and sustainable business identity. But is anyone listening?

“After a day of new towns and places to poop, Lola was in good spirits” (Rebel Packet)

I took a break from the day and my husband showed me the above site about a guy getting out on the open road with this dog. But of course his msg was clear.  And just like Lola, his Rottweiler, for a small business owner, the key to “good spirits”: an audience that gets it. We at PROTOCOL and our affiliates are a little different: irreverent, more apt to geek out over the why a particular group of folks are together to taste wine, rather than just the wine. For us it’s that emotional attachment to each bottle and who our peers are.  Doing something well is a real high. Doing something strategically well is just brilliant. We communicate with our peers who turn around and communicate with theirs. It’s the hokey pokey of wine.

Slapping the Míc

So are we social enough?  Sure, analytics are great, they put us in a direction, but once you’re there, then what? This was made so very clear to me this past weekend as I met a few Virginia bloggers in person, rather than just online. It truly was such a magical time, drinking together at Corcoran Vineyards, revealing ideas, sharing bottles, brainstorming, drinking good wine. Throw in a good poetry reading at the Aloft and voilà! Of course there’s more to it than that, but that’s the point, there always is. Could be social media is as simple as finding your own voice and learning to surround yourself with like-minded folks.  So if you don’t mind, give a listen to Deb’s podcast of us. And maybe we can be social together.

Tina and GUY, Partners
PROTOCOL wine studio