Not all sites need it, but all sites can benefit from social media.

Whether you have a vision for a start-up company that utilizes a social component or you are a traditional restaurant, external social media and your relationship with it will help or hurt you. If you are well respected and positioned in the social networks associated with your vertical or demographic market segments, your ability to thrive, bring new services and goods to market, and gain market share is considerably enhanced. If you do not have a strong presence in these networks, it is never to late to start.

If your business model is based on social networking and shared experiences (like a social rating website), having a strong brand, compelling offer, and well designed User Interface (UI) are even more essential to your success. Users have become particularly picky about the websites they use and the products they are willing to pay for, due to the exponential growth of business in the web 2.0 world and the higher level of user sophistication and capabilities.

Wine guru Andrea Robinson was ready to share.

Problem: Andrea Robinson is Dean of Wine Studies at the French Culinary Institute, a master sommelier, and a chef. She is one of only 14 women in the world who have been made Master Sommelier by the Court of Master Sommeliers. She was named the James Beard Foundation Wine and Spirits Professional of the Year in 2002. Andrea has written multiple books on wine, has written columns for many magazines, has appeared in hundreds of television shows dedicated to wine and cooking. One problem though. Her online brand was undeveloped and not positioned for the social revolution that was coming.

Implementation: Lion Associates began by doing market research and having in-depth conversations with Andrea and her partner husband. The early research exposed a market need for a socially enabled wine sharing website that was driven by a well-known, yet accessible master of the subject.

Results: The eventual product featured a robust searchable wine database which is completely controlled by Andrea, a significant video engine for organizing and displaying educational wine videos, and a wine rating/sharing component.