5 Marketing Hacks to Help Your Farm Look Like a Pro
As an Independent Farmer, you have invested time and money to grow quality products, but turning those efforts into consistent sales takes an effective farm marketing strategy. Help your Farm achieve its fullest potential and capture every sale with these top 5 marketing hacks. Explore these simple tactics to build a strong Farm Brand, keep inventory selling out and look like a pro.
“If I had to choose between being good at marketing or Farming, even though I'm a Farmer, I would choose marketing. You gotta sell your Brand in order to move forward and keep your business growing.”
- Tom (MI Farmer)
Hack #1: Optimizing Digital Channels
No one picks up the phone to place an order with Amazon. Today’s Buyers expect a 24/7 self-serve purchase experience; if your Farm isn't open for business online, you’re leaving money on the table. Establish an online Farm store to provide Buyers up-to-date inventory availability and fulfillment options. Then use your Farm website, email and social media as marketing assets to funnel Buyers to your Farm store. With streamlined e-commerce, your Farm can make it easy for Buyers, attracting more customers, and fueling more orders.
“Shop Now” buttons should be directly linked to your Farm store across all your digital channels (website, social media, email signatures, newsletter, et al.). A clear call-to-action to “Shop Now” that is visible above the fold will increase Buyer conversions.
“Pin” high value products to the top of your Farm storefront - such as subscriptions, bundle boxes, or limited time offerings. Sixty percent (60%) of sales come from the top 5 “pinned” items in your Farm store.
Limit your inventory to 50 items (or less) on your Farm store to reduce decision fatigue and drive a higher Buyer conversion rate. Eighty percent (80%) of all sales come from the first page of your Farm store. A streamlined selection of products is key (similar to a smaller restaurant menu).
Hack #2: Visually Attractive Brand Experience
Keep your Farm top-of-mind with Brand consistency and high-quality, polished content. A visually attractive and cohesive experience across all online platforms (website, social media and email) will increase Brand awareness and amplify your customer reach. Establishing your Farm as a professional Brand to strengthen trustworthiness and credibility with Buyers is essential for building long-term loyalty.
Logo: Brand all digital and tangible assets with one consistent Logo, including your website, social media, emails, and every touch point with your business, such as receipts, invoices, packaging and vehicles. This creates a visual consistency for Buyers to recognize your Farm.
Website: Create a website custom-tailored to reflect your Farm Brand, vision and values. Reaching potential Buyers with an easy to navigate website and online shopping experience will showcase your Farm and highlight products to fuel more sales.
Stay Top-of-Mind: Utilize Barn2Doors’ Marketing Toolkit to stay top-of-mind and seasonally relevant with 50+ new marketing assets, prompts, and recipes every month. The Toolkit makes it easy for you to automate social media posts and email newsletters on a schedule, so you can focus on the Farm (and your family), while ensuring a consistent marketing presence (even when you’re not available).
Hack #3: Three E’s To Valuable Content
To prompt Buyer engagement, it is important to offer engaging content that is diverse and builds loyalty. Implementing the three E’s will help your Farm develop a valuable content strategy to make your audience laugh, learn and think more about your Brand.
Entertain: Prompt your audience with entertaining topics to build your Farm’s brand visibility (and inject some humor). Share the ups and downs of Farming (a new calf just born, harvesting progress, etc.). Keep your content digestible by breaking down Farm stories and showcasing your “Day in the Life of a Farmer”.
Educate: Share your knowledge with your audience about your Farm products, practices and conservation efforts. Your Buyers are always curious to learn more and you will increase awareness within your local community (underscoring why it is important to support local Farms).
Ecommerce: Encourage Buyer urgency to visit your online storefront by sharing new product offers, limited quantities, and/or exclusive promos with your audience via social media and email. Feature specific products for sale (pre-orders, subscriptions, bundle boxes or delivery options, etc.) to entice Buyers. Always attach a link to “Shop Now” to re-direct Buyers to your Farm store.
Listen: The ABCs of Social Media’s 3 E’s
Hack #4: Word Of Mouth: Free Direct Farm Marketing
Paid advertising is often expensive, time consuming and may not deliver a return-on-investment (it is a one-time flash in the pan). ‘Word of mouth’ tactics, however, offer Farmers the opportunity to generate more persistent awareness through lower or no-cost efforts. These direct referrals also often remind local Buyers that your Farm is credible, your products are high quality, and your business is a valuable asset in the local community.
Partnerships: Partner with other local Farmers to feature their complementary products. This gives customers an opportunity to expand their shopping cart, it's a win for you and the other Farm. Such partnerships can help you organically expand the reach of your Farm Brand (e.g. pairing on social media posts) and increase Buyer loyalty.
Free Press: Share your top Farm events and stories with your local papers, magazines, and online communities (e.g. On-Farm dinner event or Seasonal Activity). Local cafes and churches, too, often support free bulletin boards for posting a simple flyer about your Farm event or activity. Articles and/or flyers can be an effective strategy to attract the 9 out of 10 Buyers who want to support local, small businesses.
Food Bloggers: Identify and engage local influencers, food bloggers or homesteaders that are strong advocates of local Farms and sustainable agriculture. Many are more than happy to raise awareness about your Farm, in consideration for providing a free product for them to try. Typically, they will then link their content back to your Farm website for potential Buyers to learn more.
Hack #5: Staying Engaged With Customers: Emailing
Many Farmers drive the majority of their sales by regularly engaging their Buyers through email newsletters. Consistent email is a powerful way to build Buyer loyalty and generate recurring sales. By sending high-value newsletters 2-4x per month (in addition to Order Reminders), you can keep your Farm top-of-mind and provide crucial reminders for Buyers to make purchases.
“If my barn was burning down, and I can only grab one thing, it would be my email list. It's the most valuable asset that I have. If I had my email list, I could rebuild this farm, but if I lost it, that would be devastating”
- Tom (MI Farmer)
Build Customer List: Promote your newsletter everywhere enticing followers to join your email list at Farmers markets, pop-up events, and local venues. Attract sign ups with exclusive email offers such as first time discounts and/or exclusive access to new products or on-Farm events.
Newsletters: 90% of consumers enjoy receiving newsletter updates from their local Farm. To keep Buyers attentive use interactive content like surveys, polls, or Q&A sections in your newsletters. This will strengthen the connection to your Farm and also help gather valuable feedback to enhance Buyer experiences.
Order Reminders: Leverage automated Order Reminders to drive 28%+ higher order volumes. With Barn2Door, you can 'set it and forget it,' ensuring your Farm stays top-of-mind without you having to spend hours in the office.
Conclusion: Look Like a Pro with Farmer Marketing
Applying these top 5 marketing hacks, your Farm can create clear avenues for growth and increase Brand awareness. A consistent effort online and in-person will enhance the Buyer experience and increase trust, which is key to attracting more loyal customers who are seeking local food. Implement these top farm marketing strategies to scale your brand, reach your full potential and truly look like a pro.
Barn2Door offers software for Independent Farmers to make more money, ditch the office work and look like a pro. If you’re curious to learn more, watch this 5-minute video.