We blogged recently about the Twitter reach of the Wine Bloggers Conference, in which we estimated the conference produced 10-20 million impressions on Twitter.

In a more professional analysis, Virginia Wine sent us the following statistics from their Row Feeder analysis of the conference:

Twitter Statistics from July 21-24 (Thursday through Sunday)

Tweets with #wbc11: 14,989
Potential Impressions on tweets with #wbc11: 43,238,099

A few thoughts:

• We underestimated. The total potential impressions is over 43 million.
• This number reflects just the four days the conference was running and does not include the many Tweets before and after the conference.
• As we all know, “impressions” does not mean that 43 million people read about the WBC on Twitter. Many of these impressions reflect multiple hits to the same Twitter user and many of them go unread. This is similar with any other form of media where impressions are counted.
• Still, 43 million potential impressions is a huge number.
• 15,000 Tweets in four days is also impressive!

Thanks to all of you who Tweeted, posted, or Facebooked about the conference.

Note: The following comes from WBC co-founder Joel Vincent, who wrote this while on his way home from the 2011 Wine Bloggers Conference.

So I did a small analysis of the Twitter hashtag #WBC11 to understand the reach and impressions it can generate. Looking into the tools readily available to me I quickly realized that the Twitter API only allows me to analyze the last 1500 tweets under #WBC11. As it turns out, that covers Sunday starting at about 3am until 4pm when I ran the analysis.

I have to admit the results are impressive! Here is a sampling

TweetReach for #wbc11

• Reached 404,903 people via 1,500 tweets
• Generated 3,006,183 impressions (that’s 6M+ eyeballs!)
• There were 431 Tweeters on Sunday meaning the community outside the WBC attendees was ACTIVE!
• So who generated the most impressions on Sunday? That would be @raelinn_wine!
• 809 Tweets were regular tweets, 245 ‘@’ replies, and 446 retweets!

Since Sunday is the LEAST active day, you can assume we had at least three days of activity like this. Extrapolating that would mean we generated somewhere near 10,000,000 impressions and reached nearly 1.2M people during the conference! That is quite a bit of exposure by any measure! (Allan’s note: Joel is being conservative here. Sunday is not only the least active but is also only 1/2 a day as compared to Friday and Saturday. Plus he is not counting Thursday. Just taking time into account, Sunday is about 1/6th of the conference and Joel’s figures above could easily be doubled to 20,000,000 impressions.)

The power that bloggers have is amazing!  What a great community!

More later when I’m not sitting on a plane…

Each year the Wine Bloggers Conference works hard to balance three things when it comes to providing the right content and experience:

And each year we reach out to you for content suggestions to fill the technical side of the conference content. We want to know what it is you are interested to learn about and from whom. Please send us suggestions that include contact information, if you have it, and clear details on what it is you want to hear more about during one of these three sessions:

Please send us your ideas via an email to info@WineBloggersConference.org ; via a Comment on this blog page (http://winebloggersconference.org/america/), or via a Tweet that includes #WBC10. Content suggestions will be harvested and the best ideas will then be presented to registered participants in the form of a survey in March.

This year we have allocated more time to academia in the form of a 1.5 hour About Wine Blogging session to take place on Friday. This is in addition to 3 hours of the popular Breakout Sessions on Sunday and the conference Keynote Speakers. For more data on the conference itinerary, visit the conference AGENDA.

“About Wine Blogging” Breakout Sessions: We will divide into three groups for a presentation and discussion about wine blogging.  Novice Bloggers will learn the basics of blogging, including blog platforms, choosing a subject, adding graphics and video, economics of blogging, etc. Advanced Bloggers will discuss high-level topics such as dealing with burnout, measuring your visitor statistics, interviewing subjects, and more.  Those who are not blogging will participate in a session on Working with Bloggers that focuses on how wineries and other wine industry professionals can improve their collaboration with bloggers.

Sunday Breakout Sessions: The Sunday breakout sessions will be presentations by industry professionals who are experts on blogging and social media. We will specifically include content geared towards both bloggers and those in the wine industry who wish to begin learning about how to use blogging and social media. There will be two 40-minute sessions running simultaneously (you need to choose which to attend) for three periods  in a row. Breakout sessions are attended on a first come first serve basis and are not assigned or registered for in advance. Sessions details coming soon.

We look forward to seeing you and your content suggestions at the 2010 Wine Bloggers Conference!

Cheers!

The number of  2010 Wine Bloggers Conference registered participants has surpassed the total number of participants who attended the 2008 WBC!  Thanks to all the bloggers and industry representatives who attended the previous conferences and to those who have already registered or who are planning to register for 2010. You are making this happen!

The 2010 Wine Bloggers Conference Scholarship Fund was put in place to sponsor selected recipients with funding to attend the Wine Bloggers Conference in Walla Walla, Washington.  This is a fund created and directed by wine bloggers and they are in need of support to help send those who can’t quite find the extra pennies to Walla Walla. Funds are generated by donations from participating wineries, PR agencies, wine business industry members, and individuals like you. If you wish to donate to this fund or if you think you know a likely candidate, please contact the scholarship fund. Skip that morning latte and donate to a needy blogger!  To contact the scholarship or donate visit the Wine Bloggers Conference Scholarship Fund today.

If you have already registered for the conference or when you do, be sure to reserve yourself a room as well. The Marcus Whitman Hotel is holding 100 rooms for June 25 and June 26 at $129 per room per night. You can call 509.525.2200 or 866.826.9422 to make that reservation. Let them know you are with the Wine Bloggers Conference to receive the preferred rate.

Approximately 35 Wine Bloggers are attending both the Pre & Post Conference Excursions to the Yakima Valley on June 24 and the Red Mountain AVA on June 27. In the near future we will be posting final details on both excursions and when that happens, we expect to see even more wine bloggers get on the bus. These excursions were created to assure that bloggers make the most of their visit to this unique and beautiful wine region. When you register or if you have already registered, please be sure to reserve a room. The Richland Hampton Inn is offering Wine Bloggers a rate of $75 plus tax for June 24 and June 27. You can reserve those rooms by calling 509.943.4400. Just let them know who you are.

Stay tuned!

It’s the first week of 2010 and there is a lot happening in preparation for the June 25 – 27, 2010 Wine Bloggers Conference. There are already 115 participants registered for this year’s event! Thanks to all those bloggers who have already signed up and for those who have not, our maximum capacity is 300 and the last two years have left over 140 on the wait list so registering sooner rather than later is a good idea. In addition, close to twenty are already signed up for both the pre and post conference excursions. These excursions are a great way see, taste, and experience more of Washington with a visit to the Red Mountain and Yakima Valley AVA’s. More details regarding the excursion’s exact agendas will be posted in the near future.

The 2010 Wine Bloggers Conference is excited to already welcome some excellent sponsors from near and far to this year’s event. There are still sponsorship opportunities available. At the present, our sponsors include the Walla Walla Wine Alliance who is sponsoring our Friday After Hours walkabout and introduction to Walla Walla, while Rias Baixas Albarino and Wines from Spain is set to sponsor the Saturday evening fiesta. Jeffrey Saad will help us pair wines provided by the Click Wine Group with local foods.  The Washington Wine Commission will host Saturday’s dinner and we are excited to have  Ste. Michelle Wine Estates host Friday’s dining experience. The conference kicks off on Friday, June 25th with four hours of wine tasting and education provided by Hogue Cellars, the Meritage Alliance, the Lake Chelan Wine Growers Association, the Indiana Wine Grape Council, Barnard Griffin Winery, and a Walla Walla Wine Woman to name a few. With that reception, we’ll pair a fun lunch sponsored by the Yakima Valley Visitors & Convention Center.

The agenda is coming together nicely too. In the months ahead, we’ll be asking you for your input and suggestions for the blogger’s educational Breakout Session content and keynote speakers. The Wine Bloggers Conference will once again host Tom Wark and the American Wine Blog Awards with 2009′s first announcement and presentation to the winners. Saturday afternoon will allow our bloggers to break into smaller groups and travel to and through local vineyards and wineries that will also be hosting lunch. This year’s Live Wine Blogging will feature separate Red and White Wine Blogging Sessions with several new and improved components that will only benefit the entire blogging and wine tasting experience. Finally, we’d like to note here that there will be WiFi, it will be strong, and it will be available for all and always!

Be sure to peruse the Wine Bloggers Conference site for more details and keep coming back to look for updates. If you are already registered, good for you. You might want to let your friends in the blogging community know that this year is not to be missed and that it is once again looking like it will sell out. If you are not registered, now is the time. We sincerely wish you all the best in 2010 and look forward to seeing you at the show. Cheers!

Arrive a day early and join a pre-conference excursion to the Yakima Valley, Washington State’s oldest and largest wine growing region. This pre-conference excursion is hosted by Wine Yakima Valley. Stick around on Sunday and visit Washington State’s Red Mountain AVA. One of the state’s smaller AVA’s producing some of the state’s finest wines and grapes.

To register for either excursion or both simply let us know when you sign up for the Wine Bloggers Conference by clicking on REGISTER.

If you are one of the 70 participants that have already registered for the conference, email us at info @ winebloggersconference.org and let us know that you want to be on the bus too!

Pre-Conference Excursion to Yakima Valley

Date: Thursday, June 24th

Pick up: Richland, WA: 11:00 AM downtown or 11:30 AM at the Tri Cities airport in Pasco (code: PSC). This allows you to fly into the area directly either that morning or the night before. We will suggest a hotel in Richland where you can stay the night before or leave your vehicle if you have one.

Drop off: Walla Walla, WA: 6:30 PM at the Marcus Whitman Hotel – WBC Conference Location with a drop off in Richland before going to Walla Walla for those who are driving and want to take their car to Walla Walla.

Cost: $35 paid in advance includes local transportation, winery visits, and lunch

Wine Bloggers Conference 2010 in Walla Walla

Friday, June 25th: Starts at 11 AM

Saturday, June 26th: WBC!

Sunday, June 27th: Ends at Noon

Post Conference Excursion to Red Mountain AVA

Date: Sunday afternoon, June 27th

Pick up: Walla Walla, WA: 1:15 PM at the Marcus Whitman Hotel – WBC Conference Location and in Richland before continuing on to Red Mountain AVA for those who will be driving and dropping off a vehicle that day.

Drop off: Richland, WA: 8:00 PM at a downtown hotel. This allows you to either take a shuttle back to the Seattle airport, fly directly out of Pasco’s airport the next morning, or to get into your vehicle and drive from there.

Cost: $35 paid in advance includes local transportation, winery visits, and dinner.

For more information click on PRE & POST or send us an email.

Driving a car? No problem. For the pre-conference excursion you can park your car at the hotel in Richland and the bus will pick you up at 11 AM and then drop you off back at your car before it continues on to Walla Walla on Thursday, June 24th. For the post-conference excursion you can drive to the hotel in Richland after the conference, drop off your car, get on the bus, enjoy the Red Mountain AVA excursion, and then get dropped off at your car the evening of Sunday, June 27th at 8 PM.

You can make this even easier by simply leaving your car in Richland the entire weekend. Get on the bus at 11 AM on Thursday, June 24th and get off the bus at 8 PM on Sunday, June 27th.

Luggage? No problem. There is plenty of room on the bus for all your baggage and wine too!

Are you on the bus?

What do you want to hear about?

Tweet Barry Schuler @BSchuler your suggestions for topics you want to know more about and he’ll do his best to cover them during his Keynote Address at the 2009 Wine Bloggers Conference.

Barry will address bloggers’ Tweeted suggestions and how they may relate to  ”New Technologies and their Application to The Business of Wine.” He’ll be  joining us from 10:30 to 11:15 at the Napa Valley’s Culinary Institute of America on Saturday, July 25th.

Barry’s multimedia firm Medior created interactive technologies for AOL; after Medior was acquired by AOL, Barry worked his way up to be Chairman and CEO of that company. Today, as managing director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, he’s funding next-thing projects in the tech world. Barry also serves on the board of Synthetic Geonomics and is CEO of Raydiance, which is developing laser technology for healthcare use. He and wife Tracy co-own Meteor Vineyard, located in the Coombsville region of the Napa Valley, with winemakers Bill and Darnine Dyer.