What led you to take on a position in marketing?
I come from a family business in the wine sector so I have always had a predilection for this world. I studied Accounting, then obtaining a master's degree in Digital Export Management. The most formative experience in the workplace was in a small company in the sector. Here it was fundamental to shift the communication towards a more personal and human line as wine is, in itself, a hidden and complex product as a whole. The most significant phase was, in all likelihood, opening a sector blog during the pandemic. This allowed me to create a more practical link between production and the characteristics sought by the consumer. Just over a year ago I joined Borgo Molino, a family-run company with solid prospects that has an unparalleled ability to set new goals.
What is your role in the company and who do you interact with the most?
In Borgo Molino I cover the role of Sales Manager in some of the most competitive provinces in Italy: Belluno, Treviso and Alto Veneziano and I also follow the reception part. Furthermore, I supervise the brand's digital communication, exposing myself personally to create content for social media. I find it difficult to identify just one professional figure with whom I interface because I try to create interpersonal relationships with all my colleagues. I can say that the production side is the one with which I have the most exchanges: we have a pool of winemakers capable of enhancing and expressing the personality of each grape variety with an extremely distinctive style. Thanks to the composition of the team, each choice is studied in detail and evaluated in an important and complete oenological brainstorming.
Which social network do you use with the most involvement and which one the least?
Borgo Molino is present on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and LinkedIn. Instagram is the platform we started from while Facebook is where we can communicate with an audience more in line with our target. However, we would like to also involve a younger user base, which is why we use Instagram extensively. TikTok amazed us with the results: our communication is based heavily on reels and on that type of content that can be reverberated on other platforms. LinkedIn is, perhaps, the channel least exploited by our brand: for the moment it has very institutional contents that go a little outside the tone of voice we usually use.
The data shows that having a low number of followers damages the brand image, what do you think?
I believe this is an undeniable perception, unfortunately. However, its value varies depending on the size and, above all, the communication style of the company: I notice that companies belonging to the main groups, for example, often pay particular attention to vanity metrics of this type. This number, however, should not distract attention from the quality of the followers: in Borgo Molino we prefer a more discreet but targeted fan base interested in our contents, our challenge is to genuinely stimulate them to interact with us. Even when it comes to collaborations, we prefer partners with a quality fan base who bring added value and a competent perspective compared to large brands with more "generalist" communication.
How important are online reviews, are they important?
In our sector reviews have a relative importance: it is an environment still based on interpersonal knowledge that gravitates around events and collaborations. We are, however, aware that this is a potentially relevant element and we are trying to create a network to implement the volume of feedback released because we also want to improve on this aspect.
Have you thought about enlisting the help of professionals from the social world given the importance achieved by digital platforms and their management complexity?
Borgo Molino's communication is managed almost entirely internally. We partnered with a photography content professional to create a creative and engaging feed. We shot some videos related to last year's harvest, now available in reels contextualized in a broader strategy. In general I find that an exchange of information, visions and ideas between inside and outside can be very profitable and stimulating.
What are the future corporate communication projects?
I have recently reviewed the tone of voice of Borgo Molino's social marketing: I would like to implement more traditional content in order to also link it to offline communication. We plan to create a sort of nudge (or "trigger", Ed) using QR codes during tastings. In this way we guide the consumer towards our brand, providing information and characteristics of the wines. We want to more effectively balance the union between the bottles and the human side as added value. We will implement and improve offline communication: events will be managed more completely, starting from photography and storytelling style. We would also like to invite several guests that we don't want to spoil for the moment. Carefully selecting the partners who can best disseminate our brand is a phase of fundamental importance to guarantee the best communication conditions: mutual knowledge and respect.