By Aileen Barron, Green Acre Marketing
In today’s busy online world, there is no question social media is a necessary marketing tool for every agri-business who wants to remain relevant and visible.
If not using social media to its fullest, you are potentially missing out on a huge opportunity to engage with farmers.
Getting started can often be difficult, as there is a vast range of social media platforms to choose from. However, by simply narrowing it down to the most popular and widely used platform, which will give you the best possible exposure and meet your overall marketing objectives is the best starting point.
By taking note of the results coming from the latest research on social media trends, this can be easily identified.
Define your objective
Setting out your social media objective is the first step; whether that is to increase brand awareness, strengthen engagement, increase your following or convert existing followers into qualified leads and new business.
Ultimately, the goal should always be to deliver on specific objectives that allow the activity to be measured and evaluated effectively.
Tailoring your content to the right audience and social platform
According to Statistica.com, the share of internet users in Ireland visiting social networking sites as of January 2020 was 65%.
A 2019 Social Media Networking in Ireland Report, from Mintel Trends, showed that Facebook is still at the top of the social platforms; with an average of 75% of Irish adults logging on regularly. No other social media platform came close to matching the reach, among a wide range of demographics.
This was followed by Instagram at 40% and Twitter at 30%. This is highly reflective of socially engaged farmers.
Pew Research reported from a 2017 study that some larger science-based companies were about twice as active tweeting (Twitter) than posting content on Facebook, and companies with multi-platform pages were less active on Twitter than they were on Facebook.
Taking a broad approach to the research, it suggests that educational-type content can have a stronger case to be pushed out on Twitter, with experiences and entertaining content more fitting with Facebook.
Personas are important across all marketing touchpoints but, particularly so, when it comes to social media. If developed properly, they can set you up with a guide on how your content should be structured to appeal to your audience across different platforms.
Creating personas helps you to recognise the differing demographics, needs and expectations, and it can also help you to identify where your target audience are most likely to consume their information.
The following chart demonstrates the type of content liked by users across a range of social media platforms.
What should users be doing on different social platforms
Different types of content work better on certain social media platforms. Our approach to the various social platforms we see as firm favourites with farmers and agri-businesses is as follows:
- Web – use this as a hub for leads;
- YouTube – a place to nurture interest;
- Facebook and Instagram – for brand awareness, building relationships and providing a more personal approach;
- Twitter – for discovery, technical information and easy-to-digest content;
- LinkedIn – for networking and building professional mutually beneficial relationships.
For marketing departments who want to clarify their objectives or want to know the best online mediums, don’t be afraid to ask for external help.
Use digital marketing professionals who have tried and tested the many platforms and tools available, who know what Google likes, who can help you uncover what are the best platforms for you, and who understand SEO and how it works.
It will certainly make the journey far easier and more productive. For any assistance with your social media plans, contact Green Acre Marketing on: [email protected].