Last year we decided that if we were going to do social media, we were going to do it right. That meant going all in. Not posting a couple times a week when we remembered, but showing up every day with real content. For years we posted landscape photos and wildlife shots. They were pretty, but they were safe. We were not showing the work or the people behind the wine. Every marketing person who ever looked at our accounts said the same thing: Not enough people.
The truth is, I was a slow adopter of social media. But running a winery means doing plenty of things you don’t like. For instance, I don’t get to play online chess all day. Part of that decision meant trying TikTok. Why? Because that’s where our kids were, and our oldest had just turned 21. I was hesitant, but I figured whatever information China wanted from me, they probably already had. Getting started was harder than expected. There aren’t many wineries on TikTok, so there wasn’t a roadmap. Even setting up a business account took multiple tries. When we finally posted, we got crickets. TikTok plays by different rules. Trends matter. Audio matters. I couldn’t figure out why one video got a hundred views and another got two thousand.
Then one day someone walked into the tasting room and said they found us on TikTok. It’s working!
The following week, we were banned for violating community guidelines. It’s not working.
We never actually learned what caused the ban. There was no specific post flagged and no clear explanation. If I had to guess, it was because the content involved alcohol, but that was never stated. It was just a guess. When your entire business is wine, maybe TikTok just isn’t for you.
That raised the next question. Do we try again, but avoid the wine altogether? Do we post lifestyle content instead? The views, the land, the food, the people? The parts around the wine, but not the wine itself?
What we do know is that the bottling line does not care about algorithms, and it definitely does not care about trending audio. Which is probably for the best since my idea of trending audio might include 80s synth pop, old country, or yes, I will admit it, adult contemporary.
Josh Bendick
Co-winemaker
5 Responses
That’s so baffling. I have to admit that, as a certified “old person,” I simply don’t get TikTok. I hope Facebook (and Instagram?) continue to work for you as forms of social media outreach.
Ha! I don’t get it either but they’re obviously doing something “right.” Thanks for the encouragement and reading the blog.
What in the world?! This does not make sense to me. Love you guys and love your wine.
Love you! Thanks for the reading and for your continued support.