The Small Family Farm and Social Media

This past summer was hot. What may be a beach lover's dream is not so fun for farmers when the sun stays out for weeks at a time. That's what happened this year in the Mid-west. The drought that happened months ago is now really affecting the prices we pay at the store. Customers are quick to complain about those prices while the farmer loses a large part of their planned income for the year. But many consumers don't understand why the prices change. To help that, farmers are taking to social media to further explain this issue.

On Twitter, #drought12 is used to talk about all things drought related. Many farmers who use this post pictures of their damaged or poor crop so that consumers can see what to expect in the coming months. It is also a great way for the general public to be sympathetic to what the farmer is going through. This article shows some of the pictures that are being posted.  As one farmer mentions, this method of sharing involves the consumer on daily happenings on the farm.  With concerns about farm visitors spreading disease between multiple farms, this provides a safe way to share information from the farmers themselves.

Farmers are also using social media as a sort of virtual support group. One farmer--mentioned in the article above--uses various services to advertise the ways he's making up for his crop loses. This is a way for other farmers to think of similar solutions.

Other ways social media is being used by small family farmers include asking advice of other farmers or experts for a quick response and to reach government officials.  Besides the drought situation, advice can come in handy for something as small-scale as a pest in a field.  Government understanding is especially beneficial during years (such as 2012) that the Farm Bill is renewed, granting financial assistance for certain crops. 

 

 

 

Marketing and Agribusiness

According to Farm and Dairy, there are four categories of farmers in relation to using social media:  the hold-outs, the staunch supporters, the occasional user, and the clueless.  If the other three knew how important engagement with the consumer online is, all would be a staunch supporter.  Many in the ag industry are using social media, just like others, to creatively market their products and business.


In an interview with AgWired, Kate Beeler of AgLeader Technology, explained how social media is beneficial to the company's marketing plan. 

• Blog- share information with growers, media and dealers
• the blog includes a glossary of jargon terms
• announces new products
• international sales managers and local sales managers contribute to the posts for a variety of perspectives on ag
• Facebook page- best used to share upcoming events and when the company will be somewhere
• YouTube channel- videos explain what a product does
• one video I watch gives the perspectives of a certain product by multiple growers from all over the country, so it is more authentic to a farmer coming to this site who can say, "Wow, they're just like me."

Beeler pointed out that using social media in a business and using it effectively shows you are taking time to engage with the customer and answer questions.  Her advice was before jumping into your own plan, watch what others are sharing to get a feel for what customers respond to.  Then create a marketing plan for yourself and take time to contribute to other groups.

I checked out the marketing strategies of some of the local ag-related businesses from home that I visit regularly.  The majority of them only have Facebook pages as far as I can see, but one uses Twitter as well:

Ard's Farm Market- this is a restaurant/ice cream parlor/store/fall harvest festival location...they do a lot here!  They use Facebook to:

• Share recipes, such as Pumpkin Cheese Cake, that are related to the current season--customers are going to keep coming back to see what other recipes they'll share
• Advertise events like their annual corn maze to spread the word

Tractor Supply Company- national chain...they have a little of everything!

• Run a sweepstakes for customers--this may draw people in to join the page or keep coming back to see if they've won.  While they're at it, they might check out their products as well.
• An interesting post was a list of "don't forget what you need for fall"--a cool way to bring customers into the store to make sure they have everything

Weis Markets-

• Twitter
• Link a certain kind of food with an event coming up to encourage customers to stop in and buy the item, like Labor Day and BBQ sliders
• Give cooking tips
• Recipes for National Rice Month
• International cooking
• Facebook
• Mostly the same content as Twitter, but they post more photos, such as the Annual Fight Hunger Campaign
• Ways to save are posted as items that are on sale for the month and exclusive coupons for page fans
• A tab especially for weekly specials (and there's an app for that)

The staunch supporters are the businesses to be watching as they're the ones who will be bringing in more customers than the clueless.