#Twine (Twitter + Wine)

A year ago I was one of those people. You know…the ones who scoffed at social marketing, in particular Twitter. I thought to myself, “What in the world could I possibly gain from spending my time tweeting?” Then 2 friends of mine, who I now consider social marketing gurus of a sort, sat me down and taught me all about Twitter and how it works and how they have used it to grow their business and their brand. Everything they said made perfect sense and I was immediately hooked. I mean hooked! We all have those moments where we suddenly “get it”. This moment was, for me, exactly that. Since then I have embraced social marketing and spread the gospel every chance I get. The best part is that Twitter is so much more than I ever thought it would be.

I have definitely enjoyed using Twitter to grow brand awareness for both the wine bar that I run in Vegas and my own personal brand (this blog “of course”). The neverending opportunity to make connections is exciting and each morning I find myself rolling out of bed and heading straight for my computer to see what I have missed while I was sleeping. I never know what the day will bring. Will I read an interesting post from a fellow blogger? Will I be inspired to try a new wine or food pairing? Maybe I will book an event for my wine bar or connect with someone who comes in because we met on Twitter. When I met @VegasWineChick for the first time, I was so excited. It was like meeting an old friend. Of course I kept calling her “VegasWineChick” instead of her real name. Hard habit to break.

Ultimately, what I have discovered about Twitter, above all other things, is that there is an amazing wine community out there. There are countless winos in cyber-world sharing great knowledge and expertise and helping me grow and develop my craft. Twitter is an endless resource for a person either just getting into wine or someone who is already a diehard wine lover and advocate. I learn something new every day! Then sometimes I just find myself just chatting with a wine lover in Australia, Sweden, New York, Washington or Arizona. I never thought I could feel so connected to so many people I have never met.

So, I guess my real point to all of this is to say, “Thank you”…to Twitter and all of the wonderful people (winos and non-winos alike) who make Twitter such a great tool for communication, education and friendship. My other point…if you are not currently using Twitter, check it out. It’s free to sign-up and you never know–you may too be a convert before you know it. As for all those wonderful people I have met, you can check out everyone I follow at www.twitter.com/wineofcourse. If you are a wine lover, these fine folks are a good place to start. Cheers!