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Trying to imagine how 140 characters could possibly do anything for your business? Well luckily, Gary Vaynerchuk, wine connoisseur and host of the popular Wine Library TV recently carried out an experiment that pitted traditional forms of advertising against Twitter. In the battle among traditional billboard, direct mail, and social media marketing, Twitter reigned supreme.

His experiment was fairly simple: He created three different coupon codes that would give users free shipping on their orders. His billboard coupon resulted in 300 new customers and cost him $7,500. The direct mail brought in a very minimal 200 customers compared to the $15,000 it set him back. But his tweet generated 1,800 new customers at the low, low cost of $0. It doesn’t take a genius to do the math here, the results overwhelming speak for themselves.

The reason for the disparity is also simple. With a billboard, you’ll catch eyes but that doesn’t mean the people actually care about the board’s message. It’s a crap shoot. With mail or even e-mail marketing, people get annoyed when their mailboxes/inboxes are essentially spammed. Twitter is unique in that its users can broadcast a message to followers who have an interest in what they have to say or the products they have to offer. Once you build a group of followers, your stream is essentially permission-based marketing targeted to a large group of people in a very efficient manner, especially when you include links that drive users to your site.

Social media “experts” have been touting Twitter’s marketing power, but here it is for you in numbers thanks to Gary V. And if you don’t believe him, you can have a look at Dell’s $3 million in sales thanks solely to Twitter.

I’ve had trouble accurately describing what Google Wave is exactly. At its highest level, Google Wave is the next revolution in communication. Period. And businesses would be foolish to be ignorant and not harness what will certainly be the most powerful communication tool since e-mail.

I know you’re saying to yourself, “yeah dude, just like every new Web technology that pops up … I’m sure they’ll be something new next week about which people will say the same.” This is the real deal though–at least if Google delivers on everything they promised in their demo. If any of their other projects, i.e. Gmail, are any indication, they will not let this fail. Since I doubt my ability to convey just how amazing this could be, I strongly encourage you to watch the demo below to understand its potential. (Lifehacker breaks it down nicely if you’re not inclined to watching an hour and a half video.)

In their own words, Google has described it as “e-mail, if it were invented today,” but it’s much more than that. It is a communication HUB. Think of any form of digital communication: e-mail, IM, Twitter, social networks, blogs, wikis, etc. Google Wave either improves on these or easily integrates with them so you have a central source for all your communication needs. (more…)

Have you ever noticed that none of the Technorati’s top wine blogs are written by people who actually own wineries: Vinography, Fermentation, Dr .Vino. That may seem counter-intuitive, but not if you examine what makes a good wine blog. Here are some best practices for wineries’ blogs—if you’re a winemaker that wants to get found and loyalty online.


Cultivate your terrior
Are you a California winery or an Indiana winery? Spell that out. Talk about the grapes endemic to your area, and what makes them different from those of other regions in America, and even the world. Make sure to use keywords people looking for information on the subject might type into a search engine: “Indiana grape varieties,” “Indiana wine varietals,” “Indiana chardonnel,” etc. Blog about this enough, and you’ll be an authority on the subject in search engines.

Talk about other wineries!
You’re not going to engage a lot of people just talking about your winery. But you can keep them coming back to your page if you’re a genuinely good source of information on wine—especially a niche aspect you know well. Do you use sustainable wine practices? Have some especially cool wine packaging? Feature and focus on other wineries that do the same. Trade links so you reach a larger audience. And blog regularly on these chosen niche categories.

Don’t name your blog after your winery.
It sounds like a good idea, but … if people aren’t familiar with your winery, its name certainly isn’t going to get them to your blog. Like the most popular, name your wine blog something catchy, preferably something that will get searched a lot.

Use multimedia.
Don’t just blog. Do wine tasting videos, a la Gary Vaynerchuk’s infamous Wine Library TV (by the way, he’s a wine seller!). Wine is a sensual product—you don’t just want to read about it, you want to see it and virtually smell it. Video will go so much further than print tasting notes, which will give you a leg up on the competition.

Connect your events to your blog.
Have tastings? Of course you do. Trivia night? Promote your blog at these events, whether it’s telling people to leave a comment or register for a small coupon online, or just letting them know about its existence.

Came across this new consortium of art videos in a blog-like, multimedia rich format last time I was at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. The IMA, Smithsonian, New York Public Library and others contribute to ArtBabble, which the IMA envisioned as a place where people could see and comment on art videos.

I love the illustrations on this site, and the idea. But I don’t think the IMA is going far enough with it. In the FAQ’s, it tells you there’s nowhere to send an idea for an art video, and you can’t upload one yourself. “But feel free to comment to your hearts content!” they chide. Um, somehow, I don’t think that’s enough. Can’t wait until they unleash this to be truly interactive.