After two weeks hiatus it’s time to resume the Social Media Distilled interviews and today allow me to present Douglas Laings’ own Mystic.
Yeah, I can see your eyebrows going all the way up to the ceiling, especially readers who know Douglas Laing personnel. Mystic? Who’s she? After all, Douglas Laing isn’t a big operation.
I do have a very educated guess who’s behind Douglas Laing social networks presence but anonymity was selected from their side for their own reasons (your guess is good as mine) and as such we need to respect it. So if I can’t use real name, I thought ‘Mystic’ is a proper nickname, don’t you think so? Even she liked it!
Please tell us a bit about yourself.
The other Mystic… 🙂
Well that’s a bit of the mystique… who handles Douglas Laing’s “Social Media”?! I will divulge a little but not a lot – I am a dyed in the wool whisky enthusiast! I love what I do and I enjoy Social Media platforms!
What is your exact position in Douglas Laing? Could you tell us a little about your journey in the whisky industry? How much of your day to day activity is dedicated to social media?
That’s all part of the mystery – sorry! But what I can tell you is I’ve been in the industry many, many years – learning the trade. You can’t fake passion so I really love what I do – which is basically talking about whisky online to likeminded individuals!
How do you see and define the audience on the different social media networks? From your point of view, are there any differences between Facebook, Twitter and other sites?
I think the audience is similar – in our case, the bottom line is we are talking to people who have an interest in whisky – whether on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, there’s a common theme of Scotch Whisky. There’s definitely a lot more communication back and forth on Twitter which is fun.
What are your goals when engaging the audience via social networks? How do you measure success?
We don’t – we set out to let people know what we are up to and have some fun along the way… whisky is fun and we don’t like to take ourselves too seriously so our main goal is to have a bit of fun with our Social Media activity.
How often do you checks social networks notifications (mentions, Direct messages, FB tags)? Every day? Once a day, twice a day? Whenever the phone beep/vibrate?
That’s a secret! No more drams for me if I divulge!
Can you point out any other distillery/group that works well in social networks? What are they doing right?
I think the bloggers do it best – they are always quick to reply and interact.
How can distilleries and independent bottlers distinguish their activity and brand on the net? Are there any other areas, besides Social Networks, in which you can promote your brand?
Generally having a presence on Social Media is definitely a good place to start – in my humble opinion!
What was your highlight moment with your Social Networks work? Which parts of it do you enjoy, personally?
Generally ‘speaking’ to likeminded, passionate whisky people – it doesn’t feel like a job – it’s a hobby and something I so enjoy doing every day. A specific highlight was the announcement of the launch of Old Particular back in September – that was a great day and the likes, shares, re-tweets etc was a total high for me.
What were the weirdest and funniest (separately!) interactions/contacts you ever got through social network?
None to date – I await weird ones now!
Do you remember your first whisky dram? What was it? Did you like it right away?
It was a Highland Park and immediately I enjoyed it very much – the rest is histroy
What’s your current favorite whisky? Where do you like to have it?
I’m enjoying my sherried whiskies – from the 5 Years Old Aultmore we just released under Provenance to an incredible 21 Years Old Mortlach – I enjoy a good sherry matured Malt – particularly by a crackling fire (what an old romantic)
Do you have any ceremonies or quirks related to drinking whisky?
I always warm the whisky in my hand for 30 seconds to let it warm a little and open up some more – not sure if it works but something I always do!
Do you prefer drinking alone or with others?
With friends / family
Do you get to drink on the job? Do you HAVE to drink on the job? 🙂
Occasionally I get the odd snifter from one of the team – it’s a perk!
Do you have a professional dream?
To continue what I am doing – I enjoy it and I love coming to work everyday.
Thanks ‘Mystic’!
Previous interviews:
Whisky Gospel 
I love your Social Media Distilled posts, they are a new and interesting take on whisky, web and marketing. Saying that “Mystic” did a good job in providing zero information and just playing it paranoid. Douglas Laing- thumbs down!