Wine Influencer: @sommvivant - Amanda McCrossin

XChateau is a podcast about all things wine, from vine to your glass. We tackle the business of wine and keep you up to date with new and exciting developments so you always know what goes into your bottle.

In this episode, Robert Vernick and Peter Yeung interview Amanda McCrossin (Instagram/YouTube: @sommvivant; former Sommelier at Press Napa Valley) about creating content on social media and telling the stories behind the wines. Robert and Peter discuss how Amanda works with wine brands on telling their story, her theatre background, and best practices for wine influencers and for brands to interact with them. 

Other topics covered in this episode include:

• Background in theatre, film, & TV - has always loved being on screen
• Restaurants got her into wine, wine education helped her get sommelier jobs
• Former Sommelier and Wine Director at Press Napa Valley - a “life-changing” decision
• The lack of discussion of the history of Napa Valley was the inspiration to start her social media channels (e.g. - a vlog to track wineries in Napa to visit, creating an access point for people to learn about wine)
• Finding community on social - often through DMs
• Follower demographics:
  • YouTube (~6k followers) - heavy male (65%+), 30-60 years old
  • IG (~24k followers) - heavy female, ~25-50 years old
  • Males seem to enjoy longer form content
  • Very diverse group: trade, consumers, aspirational collectors, moms
  • Global audience: US big, then South America
• COVID pandemic has increased viewership
• Content monetization - 70% non-paid, 30% paid
• YouTube content often more for brand awareness
• Tailoring content for the audience
  • As an influencer, need to be steadfast in beliefs
  • Listen to the audience - DM’s, engagement -> more than numbers
• Advice for brands & influencers
  • PR agencies can help
  • As a brand, you get what you pay for
  • Brands need to do due diligence to see how it will reflect on the brand (e.g. - dig into comments)
  • Prefers to work on a long-term basis: more like a brand ambassador model
• Types of content: posts, IG Live, YouTube videos, webinars, speaking engagements; very little on Facebook
• Believes the stigma around paid content is untrue
• Feedback from brands
  • Mostly positive
  • One winery -> says they get 20-30 signups per post
• Building a following - “don’t take the easy way”
  • Build organically
  • Respond to comments, engage with others, follow others
  • Kevin Kelly - the “1,000 true fans” essay - about finding your tribe

If you loved this episode, we would love for you to subscribe, rate, and review on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Until next time, cheers!

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