Where did the name Catavino come from?
Honestly, it came after a lengthy brainstorming session when Ryan noticed that Catavino was gaining in traffic. His goal was to find name that both conveyed what Catavino was, while at the same time, being foreigner friendly on the tongue. Not an easy task, but one I feel he achieved quite well.
Where does your passion for wine come from?
Despite my long and arduous service in the fine dining industry, it wasn't until I met Ryan and we moved to Iberia when the addiction truly struck. And to be honest, I am far from a wine geek. Ask me a question about residual sugar or soil types and my eyes glaze over in boredom, but place me in a vineyard under a canopy of green with a glass of wine in my hand, and I'm in ecstasy. Each day, we, as a global culture, step farther away from agriculture, preferring convenience and quantity over quality. The more I live Spain, the more I appreciate the slower side of the life, savoring the time it takes for a single vine to grow, completely interdependent on all the climatic and human elements that surround it.
Founded by Ryan and Gabriella Opaz, Catavino is an educational website on Spanish and Portuguese wine, food and culture. With wine as its cornerstone, we interweave the stories that surround it from our day to day experience living in Iberia. Catavino Marketing, on the other hand, is a company born from the continual pleas from wineries to help them market their wines abroad. Building from our success with Catavino, it only seemed logical to expand our services to include online marketing for Iberian wineries. Currently, we have also added to our palette of social media projects the European Wine Blogger’s Conference, which will be held this fall in Lisbon.
How do you use Social Media for your business?
Maybe a better question is: how don't we use Social Media for our business? We feel that social media is an integral part of Catavino, as it directly promotes who we are and what we do. Equally true, Catavino Marketing educates wineries on how to use social media effectively to market their brand(s), and consequently, is completely immersed in social media. But to the point, we use it to increase brand recognition and traffic, to create stronger relationships with our readers, to find new clients, and to keep abreast of new tools and social media projects.
What are your most important Social Media tools?
For us, Twitter is one of the most powerful tools in helping us direct traffic to a given source, network internationally, or simply brainstorm new ideas. However, the social media tools we find most effective are directly related to wine and wouldn’t necessarily be appropriate for another field. The key is for each individual to find the tools that will work best for their toolbox.
Honestly, the majority of my time. Everything we say and do is connected to social media. It is the engine which has not only driven our business forward, but has aided us in creating new business, a network of supporters and contacts, internationally, for every project we embark on.
Can any business use Social Media?
In some way, shape or form, absolutely! The question is: which tools and what is your strategy? I'd be hard pressed to tell you a business that can't use flexible tools like Twitter, Linked-in or a blogging platform as the engine for their website. But not all businesses need to be active bloggers or have their business on Facebook, for example. The key is knowing who your audience is and finding the best way to reach that audience in a very authentic and sincere manner. Far be gone the days of hard selling a product. The new internet is based on suggestions from your client, and/or consumer base, to new customers. And the only way to reach that market is by communicating your product or service through transparency, authenticity and honesty.
Any people in Social Media you think we should be following?
There are a slew of people worthwhile of your time, but what I typically tell people is to find someone in your field that is using social media effectively, and ideally, talk to them. There are no gurus, just loads of people trying to find out what works best for their situation. I think the people we like are probably the same for most people: Seth Godin: http://www.sethgodin.com, Darren Rowse of ProBlogger and Jennifer Mattern of Naked PR.
You run a wine blogger's conference. Has there been much interest for this in Spain?
Slowly but surely. We've found that Portugal, as the underdog, has been considerably more receptive to social media in the wine sector, but I believe that this will change. Unlike Portugal, a country that needs to embrace radical ideas in order to attract attention and consequently, profit, Spain hasn't seen the need. But now that the "crisis" has pushed unemployment over 17%, it doesn't have a choice other than to sink or swim. And as social media is a key for marketing one's brand cheaply and effectively, by increasing consumer loyalty through personal interaction, Spain is beginning to recognize the value.
At least half a decade. There are still wine producers who rely on the telephone, or a face-to-face meetings, to conduct business. This would be fine if your business depends on the loyalty of your local surroundings, but for any business that extends past its regional borders, social media is key. However, when either Spain or Portugal sees their neighbors using a new tool, or strategy, they not only jump on the bandwagon, but they do so with gusto. Hence, it just takes time and little patience before Iberia gains enough of a critical mass where the entire country will hit the ground running.
For a business starting to use Social media, what tips would you give them?
Keep an open mind and heart. This may sound rather flaky and ethereal, but I couldn't emphasis this point more emphatically. Social media is based on being social, sharing your strengths and weaknesses, your successes and faults, your new projects and your old projects with those around you. Use your authenticity to your advantage. Social media mirrors friendships. By sharing both the negatives and the positives your friends/contacts/community will support you. It only takes the willingness to continually connect, be open to new ideas and suggestions, and to give feedback whenever possible.
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