Increasing sales is directly tied to brand loyalty and the value a brand places on its customers. Both these variables can be increased using social media. An article by Lousie Julig on Social Media Examiner examines how a Winery used social media to increase sales and brand loyalty.

Whitehall Lane is a 20-year-old winery located in Napa Valley. Using social media they have increase brand loyalty and there by sales. The social media channels they have are a website, a blog, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. Wineries face challenges in promoting or using social media to advertise their products as they are regulated by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, TTB. The regulations disallow wineries to run contests in which they will be giving away wine, as well as they limit user-generated content as it may promote irresponsible drinking. However, through the following ways, Whitehall has been able to achieve significant results, such as increasing wine club member sales by 39% in September 2012 to September 2013:

• Partnering with complementary brands, such as companies that sell wine glass and partnering with them to run contests

• Rewarding loyal fans and focusing on quality and conversation
• Use twitter to educate their fans about wine and giving tips on pairing wine and food

Throughout this term, these were all tools we learned about in order to create value for brands using social media. The Whitehall Lane winery has served as a case study to demonstrate and explain such topics.