The family behind Bluemont Vineyard can trace the business’ ancestry back to a small homestead farm in Lincoln in the early 1970s that grew sweet corn, mums, pumpkins, and vegetables. Today, the business has extended into Bluemont, Virginia, where they’re more than a decade into a thriving wine business and produce about 6,500 cases of wine each year. In addition to the wine business, the grounds serve as a prized venue for private groups, particularly for weddings, throughout the year. Bluemont Vineyard made social media ads part of their wedding venue marketing spend and saw a massive 33x return on investment in just one month. Here’s how.

The Project

The Stable at Bluemont Vineyard has a clear selling point over competing wedding venues: the gorgeous panoramic view of Virginia Wine Country. However, in order to get couples there for a site visit, Bluemont Vineyard first has to generate leads, making them an ideal fit for our Newly Engaged Social Media Ads product, using both Facebook and Instagram and their ad networks to target couples who have changed their relationship status to “engaged” within the previous three (or six or nine) months. Combined with other targeting (age ranges, feeder markets, ad types, messaging) and lessons that we know will drive optimum impact for other clients’ newly engaged social ad campaigns, the ads put the venue front and center in newly engaged couples’ social feeds, right when they’re deciding where to host their wedding.

The Results

In just the first month of Bluemont Vineyard’s social ad campaign, they saw 24,005 impressions, 4,210 people reached, 210 clicks, and a whopping 31 leads (brides and grooms who filled out the site inquiry form on their website) generated on Bluemont Vineyard’s website – all thanks to a $400 ad spend, plus our management fees. All told, the first month saw a whopping 33x return on investment. (You can check out the Bluemont Vineyard case study here.)

Our Take

Sometimes, clients ask us: “couldn’t I do social media ads on my own?” And the answer is…yes! Facebook’s ad platform is a self-serve model – anyone can set up an ad account within minutes. If you’re curious, go in and experiment. That said, remember: When you work with us, you’re getting all the knowledge we’ve accumulated through our past campaigns. We’ve also been a fixture in the hospitality marketing world – and specifically, wedding venue marketing – for more than 18 years and understand this business intimately. Finally, the importance of good creative (which we pride ourselves on) is uniquely important in social ads. Imagine this: On TV or in print, Company A spends $500 and runs a great ad. Company B spends $500 for the same space and runs a poor ad. The ad space costs the same, no matter how good or bad the ad is. On social, it’s different. The more engaging your ad is (as deemed by Facebook’s algorithms), the less expensive it is, making smart creative especially important.

Last Thought

It’s important to remember, but easy to forget, that leads have inherent value. No, not every lead converts to a sale, but a lead does give you, the business, the opportunity to continue the conversation with an interested potential customer until you close the deal. Believe it or not, it is possible to calculate the value of an inquiry or site visit, helping you better understand the ROI you’re getting from ad channels, like Facebook ads. Use this simple formula to figure out your numbers, and let it help you guide your ad spending.