Social Media

You may think that email marketing is less effective than other social media tools. Don’t believe it. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. get lots of publicity but, how well do they really work for stimulating sales? Who controls their analytics and the material you post? The Return of Investment of email marketing is DOUBLE that of any other digital channel. Plus, it’s one of the easiest places to reach your consumers where you already know they’ll be – their inboxes.

Whether you’re selling raw or value-added farm products, breeding stock, agritourism experiences, or business services, the start of a new year is a good time to develop your digital marketing “action tools”. There’s lots of buzz words or phrases surrounding direct marketing activities, but let’s focus on just four suggestions to improve your marketing results in 2016. Remember that these suggestions still need to be viewed through the filter of your own farm business.

With July temperatures approaching triple digits, it’s hard to start thinking about holiday marketing plans. For many that would be the Christmas season but, for direct farm marketers, the “holidays” encompass the Labor Day weekend, a six-week period in the Fall that crests every weekend in October, Thanksgiving meals and decorations, and of course Christmas.

Although they’ve been around for a long time, gift baskets are still a “hot” holiday gift idea. Gift boxes are a near-perfect offering for direct marketers. They can be customized for the receiver, convenient for the giver, can be offered at different pricing options and, can feature your special products. If they include a gift certificate, they may even draw the receiver into your brick-and-mortar or online store.

Let's take a closer look at technology for growing your business. Businesses everywhere are beginning to incorporate smartphone, iPad, social media and digital technology into their business and marketing plans. Agriculture and rural businesses are no different.