Much has been said about influencer marketing in the wine industry lately. You can’t go to a conference or business forum in the industry without hearing about the problem of influencer marketing and how to deal with it. Serious wine writers are being pushed out of the industry and are unable to make a living while people who have very little wine education are taking over.
What is influencer marketing? The contemporary definition of influencer marketing is an individual with a large following on social media who posts content in collaboration with a brand for either free products or a cash stipend. What it typically looks like is, a brand pays an influencer to post photos and videos of a product that should lead to sales for the brand.
Who are the influencers? Here is where the problem lies.

“Influencers” are people with large followings on social media, specifically Instagram and YouTube who post content for money or product. But where did the followers come from? Some influencers have purchased followers or engage in practices to boost their followers inorganically, or falsely boost engagement. Also, many “wine influencers” post photos that push the envelope of impropriety, and potentially violate FTC restrictions on using sexuality to sell alcoholic beverages.

Some of these practices have given influencer marketing a bad name but it doesn’t have to be like that. There is a way to structure a marketing model that pairs brands with people who truly care about their product and have enough influence to drive sales, you just have to be willing to look for them and do some outreach. Using Influencers to help market your brand is actually an easy way to get great photos, videos and content reviews at a relatively low price considering how much it costs to hire professionals for those services.
Have questions or want to get started with influencer marketing? Contact me at jennelizabethgirard@gmail.com