Agri Digital Marketing

Seed Marketing at Minimal Expense

The agriculture industry, often mistakenly criticized for not being up to speed on the latest business innovations and practices, today further drives out that myth with its growing immersion in social media, according to an advertising executive who specializes in the industry.

"The growth of the agribusiness social media movement is exemplified by the success of groups like the AgChat Foundation, whose mission is to empower growers and ranchers to connect communities through social media platforms," said Clay Cooper, director of client services at the Chicago-based Plan B advertising agency, that focuses on agriculture-related businesses. "The foundation's popular #AgChats on Twitter, which frequently draws more than 2,000 participants who tweet about a host of farming issues, reflects this surge in social media activity."

Cooper suggests a hypothetical example of a seed manufacturer looking to revamp their B2B marketing plan for the coming year. After a drought-ridden summer, money is tight and the seed manufacturer is working with a half the size of marketing budget. One must also remember that smaller and more specialized seed manufacturers are forced to compete in a market filled with multi-national conglomerates.

"What's a small seed manufacturer to do? It doesn't take multi-million dollar TV advertising. Rather, it's all about engagement," he said.

Here are several digital marketing opportunities this seed manufacturer can tap:
- Create a list of trusted industry sources and send a weekly or bi-monthly newsletter of the most relevant stories to warm and hot leads.
- Participate in Twitter chats and monitor hashtags such as #AgChat, #farmtoschool, #sustainableagriculture, #foodchat and more.
- Create and maintain a blog that provides the type of advice or stories often sought by the manufacturer's target audience. This can include customer testimonials, troubleshooting tips for problems encountered by growers.
- Use trade shows to supplement physical contact information with email addresses, Facebook pages and Twitter handles, and then follow up via digital channels.
- Host a webinar about a timely topic or focused industry insight that will present valuable information to the target audience.
- Track relevant conversations and industry-specific keywords using a social listening platform like Radian6 or Spiral16.
"Employing tactics such as these provides agribusinesses a great way to quickly take advantage of social media and conduct outreach on a limited budget," Cooper said.

Source:http://www.sugarproducer.com/2013/03/social-media-taking-root-in