Evaluating Social Media Marketing in the Greek Winery Industry

Abstract

In recent years, wineries have incorporated social media into their marketing strategies to promote their products and services. They offer wineries the opportunity to interact with their customers in real time, allowing them to share their experiences, preferences, and feelings, and create a sense of community. The objective of this paper is to investigate digital presence and consumer engagement and reactions in social media used by the Greek winery industry, using a three-step methodology. The study focuses specifically on Facebook and Instagram and compares data for the period between 2019 and 2022, including the COVID-19 outbreak, collected from the profiles of 311 Greek wineries using a social media analytics tool. The contribution of this work lies in demonstrating the change in consumers’ engagement and reactions witnessed on wineries’ profiles. The outcomes indicate consistently limited interactions on these profiles, reflecting low levels of consumer engagement and overall reactions across social media platforms. These findings underscore the necessity for additional research into wineries’ marketing strategies and the motivations driving user engagement. The proposed methodology can be used as a social media brand engagement approach that aids brands in attracting audience attention and fostering active participation in various business sectors.