Branding Yourself As A Farmer On Digital Places
In just more than a decade, humanity’s relationship with tech has advanced more than in the previous century through the use of social media. We are farther apart yet closer together than at any other point in human history, thanks to free online social platforms where we can connect with new people and speak to them in real time from just about anywhere in the world. These new tools are becoming more critical for small businesses.
Your agriculture industry experience is invaluable in making strategic marketing decisions. However, as farmers and the industry as a whole evolve, those “gut feelings” are becoming less reliable and must be augmented by data and research. This is why branding yourself comes in.
Niche
Knowing your niche helps you create content that is consumable by your intended audience. It is important to pick your niche and stick to it. This helps to attract followers, boost user engagement and grow your revenue with ease. Hashtags also help in this regard because they are seen by millions of people. They are one of the best ways for new followers or customers to find you. Hence, use relevant hashtags to your business, but keep it interesting. You can also get creative and mix it up with every post.
Make sure you use only relevant hashtags. Rule of the thumb is, you should only use a maximum of two hashtags in a post.
How to Tell Your Story
As a farmer utilizing the digital spaces, you need to understand your audience and your motives for telling your story. Because ultimately, with storytelling you are trying to make someone care about what you do and most effectively about you as a person. The most effective storytelling is when you can put your audience in the shoes of your protagonist and let them live the story from the beginning to the end.
Also, remember that your audience is key to developing the story.
How to Find Content to Create
What you share on social media largely depends on what you do. Do you run a dairy farm or farm capsicum? Customers or your followers will expect photos of the products. Every social media user loves seeing the behind-the-scenes. For instance, at pregnant cow and newborn calves or the planting and harvesting of the capsicum when they are ready.
If you have a harvesting day for the capsicum, your audience will wait for updates on the ripeness and their availability. They will also appreciate preserving and pasteurization tips for the gallons of milk produced in your farm.
Relationships and Networks
To build a sustainable brand online, you have to invest in getting to know people either through twitter spaces, tweetchats, webinars etc. The relationships with staying power are those which develop through a gradual, intentional process that can take months or even years of consistently engaging with one another. When building relationships, don’t just focus on the professional, but also the personal and inspirational sides. This helps you to make stronger, more valuable connections.
Also, Show the Real You in Your Content. Blogs, social media and other web-based content are effective networking channels, but farmers often use these tools solely for marketing their services and products. Coming across as self-promotional is not helpful to your personal brand and can turn potential connections off.
The idea is to serve your contacts, not advertise or give your sales-pitch. At least not all of them, and definitely not all the time. Instead, produce content with an approachable, relatable voice.
Lastly, Treat social media as a living journey, one that is endless and stored forever. It’s a bit scary to think about, but what you post to social media never really goes away. Assume that it can always be found and viewed again. Post accordingly.
You got the tips, now create take the step to branding yourself as a farmer on the digital spaces perfectly.
