# 12 Ridges Vineyard — Social Content Playbook & Calendar

Built to do one job: **stay top of mind Wednesday through Friday so people drive up the mountain Saturday and Sunday.**

Your unfair advantages: the *highest vineyard in Virginia (3,300 ft)*, and a drive-up-the-mountain reveal no valley winery can film. Lead with **place and altitude** — the wine is the reward at the top. You are selling a weekend view.

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## The strategy in one screen

**Platform priority**
1. **Instagram** — 60–70% of effort. Where weekend-trip discovery happens.
2. **Google Business Profile** — the sleeper. Weekly posters get ~5x more profile actions than monthly. This is what wins "wineries near Staunton / Blue Ridge Parkway" searches. Post every Thursday.
3. **Facebook** — cross-post the same Reels; the 40–65 weekend-drive audience lives here.
4. **TikTok / Pinterest** — repurpose only. No separate production.

**Format mix** (the numbers that matter)
- **Reels get you found** (~1.4x the reach of carousels, ~2.3x of photos).
- **Carousels get you saved** (best format for "I'll plan this" saves).
- Optimize for **saves and shares**, not likes — those are planning signals.

**Cadence** (sustainable for a 2-person team)
| Channel | Per week |
|---|---|
| IG/FB feed | 3–4 posts (2–3 Reels + 1 carousel) |
| IG/FB Stories | near-daily, low-lift (reshares, weather, guest reposts) |
| Google Business Profile | 1–2 posts, always a "this weekend" post Thu/Fri |

**Best times:** feed posts Tue–Thu 11am–1pm for reach; the aspirational Reel Wed 11am–3pm (when people plan escapes); "this weekend" Thu–Fri; day-of Story Sat morning.

**Production model:** you're already on-site Sat–Sun with guests and good light. **Batch-shoot 10–15 clips on one open weekend, schedule across the next two weeks.** One shoot day = two weeks of content. This is the only realistic way to sustain it.

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## The 7 content pillars (weight the first three heaviest)

1. **The View / The Altitude** — the 3,300 ft panorama, above-the-clouds mornings, sunsets over the Blue Ridge. The reason people come.
2. **The Drive / The Arrival** — POV up the mountain, the reveal at the top. Turns "too far" into "worth it." Your signature.
3. **Behind the scenes** — harvest, the vines, the pour, real work. Genuine BTS beats staged every time.
4. **People** — owners, staff, guests on the deck. Faces outperform bottles.
5. **What's open this weekend** — hours, weather at elevation, what's pouring. The conversion pillar.
6. **Wine, un-snobby** — what to try, what altitude does to the grapes, the flight.
7. **Seasonal** — the same vines across the year; you're open May–October, so ride spring green → summer gold → fall color hard.

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## The weekend-conversion play (run this every week)

- **Wednesday** — plant the seed. Aspirational Reel: the view, the drive, a sunset. No hard sell. "Look where you could be Saturday."
- **Thursday** — the announcement. "What's open this weekend" post to **feed + Story + GBP**: hours (Sat–Sun 12–5), what's pouring, the forecast at 3,300 ft.
- **Friday** — urgency. Story-first: countdown sticker, "opening tomorrow at noon," a poll ("red or white on the deck?"). Reinforce drive times.
- **Saturday AM** — capture the impulse. Live Story from the top: *"72 and clear up here, valley's in fog. We open at noon."* Repost guest content live all day.
- **Sunday** — bank the proof. Reshare the best guest photo from Saturday, plus a soft "one more day, open til 5."

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## Hashtag sets (use 3–5 per post — never stuff)

Always geotag the winery and name Vesuvius / Blue Ridge Parkway / Staunton / Lexington in the caption. Tag **@vawine** on your best posts — they reshare member content.

- **View / scenery:** `#12RidgesVineyard #blueridgemountains #virginiawinecountry #vawine`
- **The drive / destination:** `#blueridgeparkway #virginiaisforlovers #visitvirginia #12RidgesVineyard`
- **Wine / tasting:** `#vawine #virginiawine #winestagram #drinklocal #12RidgesVineyard`
- **Weekend / visit:** `#thingstodovirginia #stauntonva #lexingtonva #12RidgesVineyard`

Branded tag **#12RidgesVineyard** goes on every post so guest UGC is findable.

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## Ready-to-post asset library

All clips are cut vertical (9:16) for Reels/Stories from your hero film. All AI lifestyle images use your real labels. Files are in the Social Content Kit on the site's Press & Assets page and in `~/clients/12-ridges/social/`.

### Video clips (9:16 Reels)
| File | What it is | Best use |
|---|---|---|
| `01-sunrise-ridge` | Drone over the Blue Ridge at first light | Wed aspirational / "the view" |
| `02-grape-harvest` | Hands checking grape clusters on the vine | BTS / harvest season |
| `03-terrace-view` | Guests at the railing taking in the valley | "The view" / people |
| `04-estate-aerial` | Golden-hour aerial of the whole estate | Destination reveal |
| `05-sparkling-pour` | Opening the Brut on the deck | "The sparkling" / the pour |
| `06-toast-12-glasses` | Two "12" glasses toasting, mountains behind | Signature / weekend |
| `07-drone-vines` | Aerial gliding over the vine rows to the house | The drive / reveal |
| `08-red-wine-pour` | Red poured into a glass at the tasting table | Wine / the flight |
| `09-dusk-ridge` | Dusk aerial over the ridge, pink sky | Closer / "last pour" |

### AI lifestyle stills
| File | What it is | Best use |
|---|---|---|
| `brut-terrace` | Brut + two flutes on the railing at sunset | Feed hero / the sparkling |
| `lineup-view-a` | Full lineup on the table, golden-hour ridges | Carousel cover / "the wines" |
| `lineup-view-b` | Full lineup at blue hour, cozy | Feed / evening mood |
| `pinot-dusk` (9:16) | Pinot Noir + glass at dusk, candle | Story / red-wine nights |

*Note: the four stills are AI-rendered lifestyle scenes built on the real labels — not photographs of the property. Fine for aspirational feed/story use; use real photos for anything documentary.*

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## Caption bank

Written to sound like a person, not a brochure. Short, confident, a little dry. Keep the logistics (hours, drive time) to a quiet second line or the first comment — never crammed into the sentence. **Put the hashtags in the first comment**, not the caption; it reads cleaner and performs the same.

**01-sunrise-ridge (Reel — Wed)**
> Morning reaches 3,300 feet a little early. First above the clouds, then everywhere else.
> — Open Saturday & Sunday, noon–five.

**02-grape-harvest (Reel — BTS)**
> Picked by hand, at the top of the mountain. Cold nights, thin air, a long slow ripen. You can taste all of it.

**03-terrace-view (Reel — the view)**
> Twelve ridges, one railing, and whatever you brought to pour. The rest tends to sort itself out.

**04-estate-aerial (Reel — destination)**
> The highest vineyard in Virginia, more or less the way the hawks see it.

**05-sparkling-pour (Reel — the sparkling)**
> Méthode traditionnelle, opened where the air is thin. Our Brut has opinions about altitude.

**06-toast-12-glasses (Reel — signature / weekend)**
> To long drives with a good reason waiting at the end of them.
> — We're open this weekend.

**07-drone-vines (Reel — the drive)**
> Everyone says the same thing when they reach the top. We'll let you find out what.
> — 35 min from Staunton, 40 from Lexington.

**08-red-wine-pour (Reel — the flight)**
> Cool-climate Pinot, poured slowly, the way it prefers.

**09-dusk-ridge (Reel — closer)**
> Last light is the house specialty.

**brut-terrace (Feed — the sparkling)**
> Sparkling behaves better up here. Something about the mountain.

**lineup-view-a / -b (Carousel cover — the wines)**
> Six wines that could only come from this altitude. The hard part is picking one.
> — Tastings Saturday & Sunday, no reservation.

**pinot-dusk (Story — red-wine nights)**
> Red, a candle, and the whole valley going dark below you.

**Hashtags** (drop in the first comment — rotate 3–5 to match the post):
`#12RidgesVineyard #vawine #virginiawine #virginiawinecountry #blueridgemountains #blueridgeparkway #virginiaisforlovers #drinklocal #winestagram #stauntonva #lexingtonva`

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## 4-week starter calendar

Post feed items ~11am–1pm; the Wednesday aspirational Reel ~11am–3pm. Stories daily as able. **GBP:** post the "this weekend" update every Thursday.

### Week 1 — Lead with the view
| Day | Channel | Post | Asset |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed | Reel + FB | Aspirational view | `01-sunrise-ridge` |
| Thu | Feed + Story + **GBP** | What's open this weekend | `06-toast-12-glasses` (or day photo) |
| Fri | Story | Countdown + "red or white?" poll | `brut-terrace` still |
| Sat | Story (live) | "Clear at the top, valley in fog. Open at noon." | shot on the day |
| Sun | Feed | Guest UGC repost + "one more day" | reshare |

### Week 2 — The drive & the wine
| Day | Channel | Post | Asset |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed | Reel + FB | The drive / reveal | `07-drone-vines` |
| Thu | Feed + Story + **GBP** | This weekend + forecast | `05-sparkling-pour` |
| Fri | Carousel | "6 wines, one view" | `lineup-view-a` + bottle stills |
| Sat | Story (live) | Day-of from the deck | shot on the day |
| Sun | Reel | The flight | `08-red-wine-pour` |

### Week 3 — Behind the scenes & altitude
| Day | Channel | Post | Asset |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed | Reel + FB | Harvest / BTS | `02-grape-harvest` |
| Thu | Feed + Story + **GBP** | This weekend | `03-terrace-view` |
| Fri | Story | "How far is it?" drive-time map | text over `04-estate-aerial` |
| Sat | Story (live) | Live from 3,300 ft | shot on the day |
| Sun | Feed | Sunset closer | `09-dusk-ridge` |

### Week 4 — Destination & season
| Day | Channel | Post | Asset |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed | Reel + FB | Estate from the air | `04-estate-aerial` |
| Thu | Feed + Story + **GBP** | This weekend + what's new | `lineup-view-b` |
| Fri | Story | Poll + countdown | `pinot-dusk` |
| Sat | Story (live) | Day-of | shot on the day |
| Sun | Carousel | "3 reasons to make the drive" | mix of clips/stills |

Rotate the four weeks and refresh with new batch-shot clips each month. Keep the wine-club **"Coming Soon"** as a soft capture in Stories.

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## On Craig's "one Instagram post a week, automatically"

Two ways to deliver it:
1. **Scheduled (recommended):** load a month of the above into a scheduler (Meta Business Suite is free, or Later/Buffer) — captions and assets are done here, so it's ~30 minutes to queue a month. Fully automatic thereafter, cross-posts IG + FB.
2. **Generated weekly:** a routine that assembles one post (clip + caption from this bank, rotating pillars) and drops it in a review folder each Monday for a one-tap approve-and-schedule. Keeps a human on the send.

Either way the weekly post is handled without new hires.