We've been working in social networking and internet marketing for a while now and it is apparent that there are still far too many people who think the internet is a magic bullet which will solve all their problems.
So let's clear that up right now: it isn't and it won't.
They're often under a similar delusion that social networking is a way of making instant contact with tens of thousands of people who will instantly want to beat a path to their door and buy whatever they're selling. And when they discover it's not delivering their expected riches, they feel they've been cheated. So then they often get annoyed and complain that the internet is no good and that social networking doesn't work as a means of promotion.
Again, let's just clarify: the internet is an amazing resource and social networking can be a very effective way of spreading the word about your products and services.
The problem is NOT the internet. The problem is the expectations of the people using it.
Or in this case, NOT using it.
Because the internet is a TOOL.
I'll say that again: THE INTERNET IS A TOOL.
And like any tool, you have to USE it for it to be effective.
All too often I hear people complain, "I had a website built but it was a waste of time and money: no-one buys anything on the internet..."
Delve a little deeper and you'll discover that having the website built (often several years ago) was the last time they gave a second thought to their online presence. Since then they've been sitting back, waiting for sales to flood in, with no consideration to marketing, traffic or tiresome things like newsletters to generate interest.
Don't hold your breath, Bob...
The best analogy I can think of is the "GIVE A MAN A FISH..." story: give a man a fish and he can feed his family for a day, teach a man to fish and he can feed his family EVERY day.
Let's go one better -- let's give him a fishing rod too. Now he can DEFINITELY feed his family, right?
Well, you would think so but there'll only be fish on the dinner table tonight if he bothers to USE the rod.
I know... it's almost too obvious to mention, but if he doesn't bait the hook and doesn't put the line in the water, if he just sits at home with the rod (still neatly wrapped) waiting for the fish to magically appear, then his family will starve.
It's just common sense, isn't it?
But that's EXACTLY why so many people get frustrated with the internet: they don't understand that you have to USE it in order for it to be an effective sales tool. And if you can't use it, you need to find someone who can.
BoozeMonkey is just a resource. Another tool. It's a meeting place for wine-lovers and winemakers. If you write a blog, review a wine, send a bottle to us for review, sponsor a competition, make a few friends... all of these things will get you noticed on the site. In fact, just logging in will get your company logo on the front page. And with more than 12,000 page views per day, that's an opportunity to reach a LOT of potential customers who otherwise wouldn't know you exist.
Now I know that some people just don't get it: they don't see the opportunity or they're just not interested. And I don't have a problem with that. Really I don't.
What I DO have a problem with is those people who tell me "I signed up six months ago and I've waited patiently, but no-one has contacted me to buy my wine..."
That's like the guy in the story blaming his unused fishing rod for his lack of fish. You would be the first to slap him and tell him he was an idiot, wouldn't you? And there would be a queue of people behind you.
It's no different with the internet: you need to USE the tools.
And if YOU don't know how to use them, you need to learn: it's VERY EASY and we've even produced some basic HOW TO... videos to walk you through it.
With so much turmoil in the wine industry right now, with grape prices falling through the floor, with a surplus of wine from previous vintages and an oversupply this year, with wineries up for sale around the country and with some people talking about the need for a 50% reduction in the number of Aussie wine brands -- not to mention all the overseas competition and the crippling strength of the Aussie dollar -- with all of this going on, there are far too many winemakers sitting at home with their fishing rods waiting for a miracle.
