The internet has the potential to be “rocket fuel” for small to medium sized businesses. In 2022, 87% of consumers began their search for product online. Online marketing can provide a big boost for small business owners and farmers alike.
Three effective and low cost online marketing tools are social media, e-newsletters and blogging.
This article focuses specifically on how social media can be a low cost marketing tool that has the potential to lift sales for small farms.
Setting up a social media account is free, but posting and managing a profile or page takes time. Here we examines how small businesses across all industries use social media. We also provide a list of small farm specific ideas to boost long term viability through brand building and increased sales.
Small Businesses Using Social Media
The statistics vary, but in general it’s safe to say most small to medium sized businesses use social media. According to a 2022 survey of over 1,000 small businesses, two-thirds of these small businesses used social media as a marketing tool. Interestingly, this is down from 2015 where 96% of small to medium sized businesses actively engaged in social media as a part of their marketing strategy.
Facebook, with nearly 3 billion active users in 2022, is still the most used social media platform, and continues to be an effective marketing tool for small businesses. Customers engage with businesses on Facebook over 10 times more than any other social platform.
Other social media platforms are a distant second, third and fourth, and really depend upon the target customer. Those selling to business are likely to choose Linked In. Those selling to consumers are likely to choose Instagram. In our experience Instagram is a great way to build an audience, but it doesn’t necessarily convert to a net new customer.
How Small Farms Can Leverage Social Media
According to Curtis Stone, a farmer and farm consultant in Canada, one of the reasons why small farms fail is they don’t treat their farm like a business. We’ve learned online marketing is a significant lever to help small businesses grow their revenue. Facebook specifically appears to be the most valued social media platform by small businesses to build their brand and drive sales. It’s certainly feasible that a tremendous opportunity exists for small to mid size farms to start using social media as a promotion and sales tool.
Social media best practices tailored to small farms
- Start with a Facebook profile. Because Facebook is the most popular social media platform, start here. Use your logo and tagline in your Facebook profile. List your contact information and link to your website.
- Consider Instagram. Food, people and animals lend themselves well to imagery. Because 60% of users say they have found new products on Instagram, Instagram may offer a high return for the time spent posting.
- Generate your own content 80% of the time, re-post another’s 20% of the time. Original content will keep visitors coming back. Interestingly, a study from the Temkin Group shows that most people go to a company’s Facebook page for updates before updating their own content. So keep your content fresh and original as best you can.
- Engage, entertain and inform. Use Social media to further your story. Give visitors a behind the scene look at your operations. Tell engaging stories about a day in the life. Inform about your growing practices, heirloom varieties, heritage breeds.
- Post Images. Studies show images are more likely to generate interaction and go viral. When choosing images, a positive image will bring about positive emotions. Consider using subtitles for video clips since most people mute videos when viewing social media.
- Include links in your images or posts that link back to your website. If you don’t have a website, consider using a sales tool, such as Food4All, so that visitors can take action to buy your product or sign up for your CSA.
- Respond. Make sure to respond to any comments. Users expect a response and studies show they will view your brand more favorably if you respond to comments.
- Post consistently. If you can swing it, post once a day. At a minimum, post once a week, but aim for 2-4 times per week. Remember fresh content will keep visitors coming back.
- Best time to post on Facebook is between 1 – 4pm, (HubSpot).
- Use a social media scheduling tool to create a cohesive plan and save time.
What about social media advertising?
The jury is out on whether or not advertising pays off on Facebook. According to a Weebly survey 62% of small businesses believe Facebook ads miss their target. And the belief is that Instagram advertising is even less effective.
However, it doesn’t cost much to experiment. Before you experiment, you want to be ready to make the most of your ad campaign by being able to convert visitors to buyers either on Facebook or by linking your ads to your online store where you can convert visitors to buyers. Facebook ads allow you to target a very specific demographic, and gives you the tools to track your ads effectiveness.
Large sums of money are being poured into Facebook ads by companies of all sizes. The Weebly Survey revealed that there are just as many companies spending $50 a month on Facebook advertising as there are spending $5000 a month. And the algorithm that shows what ad is displayed to whom is anything but transparent.
In summary, if you are just starting out, save your money and build a following organically on Facebook and possibly Instagram. If you have the time and budget, think about playing with small sums to build targeted Facebook ads to your local community. But make sure you are ready to convert your visitors to buyers, ideally on your website, secondarily on Facebook, so you get the most for your time spent on social media.