We are proud to have Marcy Gordon from the blog Come for the Wine join us as our official Tweeter. Our Twitter account is @WineTourismConf and we hope you follow us!
In addition to blogging, Marcy is experienced in social media and runs her own Twitter account (@MarcyGordon) with over 2000 Twitter followers. We asked her to answer a few questions about herself and using Twitter in wine tourism:
What is your background and when did you first start getting into writing about wine and the wine industry?
My background is in consumer marketing and I worked positioning start-ups including Travelocity and OpenTable. My love of travel and writing led me to work in publishing and I was co-editor of the Authentic Italy guidebook series for the Touring Club of Italy. I started a wine blog three years ago to learn more about wine and share my travel experiences in different wine regions. In my view, wine is the very essence of a place, it’s truly travel in a bottle. Plus living smack dab in the middle of Sonoma wine country gives me a great opportunity to experience all the area has to offer and lots to write about.
What attracted you to Twitter and how much do you use it now?
I was not an immediate fan of twitter, but now I’m practically an addict! Twitter fits my communication style so well. I like to chat and comment about events and places and especially food and wine, plus it’s a great vehicle to promote my blog and other projects.
Do you think Twitter is important to wineries and other businesses engaged in wine tourism?
Absolutely! Twitter is an essential tool of communication now. Twitter gives business a very dynamic and nimble way to engage with a community that is interested in their message and eager to interact.
Where are you hoping to go with your blog and your career and what do you hope to get out of the Wine Tourism Conference?
In the last year I’ve begun to focus my wine blog on more travel related stories, and I am making it a more dedicated resource for all aspects of wine tourism. I recently did an eight part series on wine tourism in Portugal as part of the Wine Pleasures Conference and Tour and it was very successful. At this conference I hope to make contacts with people looking for help developing and promoting wine tourism in their region and also learn what other PR reps, marketers, CVB’s and tour providers see as the growing trends in wine tourism.