2010 March

Wednesday March 31st at 6pm PT you can follow our tweetchat with 4^th generation Napa grape grower, Jennifer R. Thomson, known on twitter as @ThomsonVnyrds.

Our line of questioning this week will be on the topic of “bridging the gap with social media between generations i.e. old world farming new world business”, a topic she knows plenty about! To share your questions for that event early, please contact @craigsutton by direct message or email before the event and include your questions.

All chosen questions will have there twitter handle associated with them when asked, and the best of the day will be interviewed by Craig for a blog post to be mentioned in the following #socialwine chat.

Jennifer R. Thomson’s Bio:

I’ve kicked and screamed my way into this industry fighting off the family business as long as could. A 4th generation Napa grape grower, as a woman I am the micro-minority. However, my great grandfather, grandfather, father and uncles were instrumental in planting some of the first Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in Los Carneros; back when global wine leaders insisted that you couldn’t grow good fruit in Napa Carneros and nobody knew what a clone was. As a result we’ve got one vine left of what we call Chardonnay “Tuti-frutti” clone and it’s downright comical watching the Old Farmers discuss just how they plan to take bud wood from one single vine to replant the entire vineyard.

Our name isn’t Mondavi or Sattui. But, the Thomson’s have farmed 80+ acres of pears, apples, prunes, and cattle since 1936 and developed the first irrigation system in Napa Carneros in the 1950s. As a result of this family tradition, I went to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and worked at one point for UC Davis developing social media, new technology marketing campaigns. I eventually bought off every single one of my professors with a bottle of wine while submitting my MBA thesis on the Economic Status of the California Wine Industry.

George (The Farmer) and Jennifer Thomson

I’ve held professional titles such as “Marketing Director”, “Creative Director” “Project Manager” and I currently construct and implement strategic communications campaigns in my day job for the City of San Francisco. In my spare time – my other full time job – is running vineyard operations and strategy for Thomson Vineyards. My Dad, George, affectionately referred to as The Farmer, stomped his feet at me last year and said, “I put grapes on grapevines, that’s all I can do.” And that’s where I come in, I do everything else. I manage relationships with winemakers and wineries, prospect new wineries to sell to, write contracts, coordinate harvest crews and logistics, buy and negotiate for equipment, meet with field reps to discuss water usage, new organic products and techniques, review P&L statements, watch the weather, sit on the end of the bin at harvest and pick leaves out to ensure we deliver clean fruit each and every time, and drive an ATV and tractor occasionally.

Social media and technology are huge components of that job, because they allow me to work remotely from Napa and the vineyard, which increases efficiencies. Hopefully one day these efficiencies will add to our bottom line. Until then, no one in this family business has a “title” except for The Farmer. He’s the guy that puts premium grapes on grapevines and has a lifetime of knowledge about farming, soil, irrigation, cropping and the genetic makeup of grapevines that not even the brightest star of a winemaker can compete with.

The wine industry is often overly glamorized by winebloggers and social media gurus eating oysters and drinking champagne all over the west coast. And while everyone in the industry runs around trying to answer “How will Millennials affect the wine industry!?” What do consumers want!?!”  “I need a social media director to tell my story!!!” Thomson Vineyards message is simple, “Beyond the slick wine label, underneath the over the top retail price, just next to the ambitious winemaker is 12 months of farming. Farmers battle weather, pests, equipment malfunctions, early morning hours, long days, and hard labor for 12 months to grow the fruit before it can even begin to be considered what we will eventually know it as – California Wine.” And THAT is the message the industry should be working towards to build relationships with consumers; ultimately leading them to be more brand loyal and eventually stabilizing the industry.

You can follow The Farmer through the vineyard on Twitter @ThomsonVnyrds and soak up punchy banter and wine industry insight from the Farmer’s Millennial Daughter on the Thomson Vineyards blog at www.thomsonvineyards.com

In my last social media training sessions, I asked people using social media for business if their plunge into Social Media began with signing up for accounts on Twitter or Facebook. Most respond that it was. After all, what better way to start than by gathering up the tools?

After signing up for these tools, they have come to my classes to learn how to use these tools. Many are looking for advanced ideas of using Twitter and Facebook as they are savvy with the functionality and are no longer bound by the beginner label.

I will challenge these users, though, that if they don’t have a PLAN OF ENGAGEMENT, they have not truly started harnessing the power of these social media tools.

You might be thinking, “I have lots of followers! I talk to them and they talk to me; we share ideas. Isn’t this engagement?”

Well, first tell me what you are trying to achieve!

You often see people in social media “call for followers.” I believe this is the single most overrated statistic in all of social media. Why? Because it’s just a number that doesn’t truly define your level of engagement.

If you have 3,000 followers, how many of them are really following what you have to say? How many are following you because they just want a follow-back? How many are following you because you’re their competition and they want to keep an eye on you?

If we put those 3,000 followers in a room with you, how many of them would know who you are? If they are there for a follow-back, they don’t know you. If they are there for competition, they aren’t your audience. If they are there to increase their popularity, they don’t care what you have to say. Translation – they don’t know or care who you are.

These followers’ might recognize your name and perhaps even your face, but that isn’t actual engagement. A truly engaged following will not only recognize you, but will understand who you are and what you represent. Without this sort of relationship, there is no business.

How often do you re-Tweet information that came from an untrusted source without checking for more details? I do re-Tweet information from followers, but only those who are trusted sources, someone I actually have a relationship with.

Would you recognize your followers in this same room? All of them?

If you are planning on building business using Social Media, the relevancy of your followership and the relevancy of those you follow is important. In order to build a relevant followership, you have to have  an action plan… it doesn’t happen by accident.

About a year ago, I was pushing the 5,000 follower mark and was following almost all of them back. I wanted to test the theory that many of my followers were only there for a follow-back. I started to mass unfollow the people I didn’t recognize or those I had no need or desire to engage with. I love to chat in social media, so the group I unfollowed was largely those with whom discussion never formed.

My theory was right… as soon as I wasn’t following them, they unfollowed me. I was left with a lot fewer followers but A LOT more engaged conversations with the group I had remaining. These are the people who can help grow my business. They are interested in me, and I am interested in them.

What I am suggesting is that if you spend your time developing an audience who is actually listening, your chances of growing your business will increase dramatically. After all, what do the people who are not engaged really bring to you?