Wine Communicators of Australia Brings Social Media Guru to Barossa Valley

Heard all the buzz about Rick Bakas and his tweetups and want to know more? Tweetups and lectures have already started in the Hunter Valley and Sydney, moving on to the Yarra Valley and Melbourne tomorrow. Next week is South Australia’s turn, with a lecture in Adelaide and a Barossa tweetup. Check out all the details provided by Wine Communicators of Australia below.

Wine Communicators of Australia (WCA) is thrilled to announce the impending visit to Australia of internationally renowned social media guru Rick Bakas from Bakas Media (www.bakasmedia.com) to the Barossa Valley in April 2011.  Bakas is one of the world’s foremost social media experts and is a leader in wine communications in the digital age. He is the first Director of Social Media in the wine industry and continues to shape new ideas and concepts that connect wineries to new consumers by harnessing of digital communications. He is a prominent author and certified sommelier, and is known as a leading authority in building brands and communities online. His global reach will mean this is one of Australia’s most significant tours by a social media influencer and strategist. It will be his first visit to the Barossa Valley.

Regional Barossa Valley Tweet-up:

Whilst in Australia, Bakas will conduct a series of Regional Tweet Ups to highlight the stories and wines from that region. Participants will be encouraged to bring their own wine to engage with a global audience through a ‘tweet-up’ session – a communal tasting utilising Twitter. This will be simultaneously held in conjunction with USA influencers and wine lovers who will be following along and also expressing thoughts of the Barossa Valley  wines. Non-Twitter users are encouraged to attend to gain an understanding of the power of the medium, highlighted by global tastings that will be synchronised with our local ‘tweet-up’ events.

This is a chance to show the real gems and treasures of the Barossa Valley to one of the world’s leaders of social media marketing, and at the same time connect through Twitter to an international audience of wine lovers. Come along to Yalumba Cellar Door, bring your favourite bottle of Barossa Valley wine and watch the stream of tweets from the USA as people also tweet about Barossa Valley using #Barossawine and #WCATT.

All participants receive a complimentary e-book copy of the Rick Bakas’ book; “Quick Bites”, 75 Savoury Tips for Social Media Success.”  This is great added value for your registration fee.

Dates:  Barossa Valley: Monday 4 April

Venue:  Yalumba – Eden Valley Road, Angaston

Time:  9.30am AEST concluding at 11.00am

What to bring:  Bottle of Barossa Valley Wine (please send to Yalumba in advance)

Cost: One price:  $30

For bookings go to future events on WCA website at  –  www.winecommunicators.com.au.

For more information about Rick’s trip visit  http://blog.winecommunicators.com.au/

Can’t make it to the tweet up in person?

We know that everyone won’t be able to join in the Barossa Valley tweet-up in person. Whilst you’ll miss the opportunity to meet Rick and share your Barossa Valley Wine stories with the world, we encourage you to get involved wherever in the world you are. Simply grab a bottle of Barossa Valley Wine on 3/4 April and use #BarossaWine and #WCATT

Other ways to get involved

• Have a distributor in USA? – Encourage them to register and get involved via http://Barossawine.eventbrite.com/ – anyone in the world can participate. A great way to get involved on a Sunday night in USA.

• Spread the word and encourage people to talk about Barossa Valley Wines on 4th April via social media forums (twitter/ facebook/ youtube) – more people talking about this, the more successful this event will be

• Come along to Taste and Tweet Session and Wine Communicators Lecture where Rick will talk about Wine and Social Media in Adelaide on Tuesday 5 April – see www.winecommunicators.com.au for more details

• Produce some videos and put on your website/Youtube highlighting your Barossa Valley wine stories • Follow @winecomAust on twitter for latest updates and information

• See what others are saying about #Barossawine on  http://www.kurrently.com/search/%23BarossaWine

• Set up on twitter https://twitter.com/signup – and get involved. Remember to set up well in advance of the tweet up so you can practice and your tweets register on the day.

For further information please contact:

• Trish Barry WCA Committee member on 0411 440 168 or trish@mastermindconsulting.com.au or @mastermindtb on twitter

• Pippa Hoare on 0422862981 or Phoare@yalumba.com

About Rick Bakas

Rick Bakas lives and breathes the world of wine and social media. He has over 50,000 twitter followers and over 4,500 Facebook fans – one of the real pioneers globally of changing communication. Many will be aware of global initiatives Rick spearheaded in 2010 like #chardonnay day and #Cabernet Day (over 9,000 tweets, 4,500 Facebook posts and 75 meet ups in six countries. The estimated participation was 3,500-5,000 people.Prior to entering the wine industry in 2004, Rick created and managed brands at NIKE, Inc where he led branding efforts for the NFL’s Denver Broncos, New York Giants and the University of Oregon.

Hope to see you there!