If you’re an avid reader of Marketing to Farmers, you may have noticed one of our common themes: farmers, in a lot of ways, are just like us. They value and build their chosen community carefully among the people they meet on a daily basis – church, co-workers, peers and community leaders. Nowadays, technology makes it even easier to build an even broader community and curate the input and feedback you give and receive from it. News, weather, financials and social lives are all at our fingertips, so it only makes sense to market to farmers utilizing digital channels. Is there a place in farmers’ online communities for brands? If you do it right, provide helpful information or tools, there is.
As agricultural marketers, we always look for new channels to carry our messages to farmers, but sometimes we overlook older or less used technology. As exhibited by WeFarm, a peer-to-peer information sharing service for farmers who don’t have access to the internet, even the simplest form of communication, in this case texting, can be a powerful tool (and provide real benefits). And because internet isn’t broadly available in all rural areas, farmers can be somewhat late adopters of communications technology, so text should not be considered an obsolete communications tool.
Some current services, specifically for text, include offerings such as commodities market and cash bids notifications, which enable farmers to stay on top of current and future market fluctuations and get the best price for their crop. Other information offerings including weather alerts, updates from farm shows and other agronomic information like pest updates are examples of relevant content that impact everyday farm life.
As with any communications effort, there are watch-outs and important things to consider. Here are a few cautions as well as best practices:
It’s a simple, proven approach. Offer products and services that can truly help farmers with their day-to-day operations or lives. Enhance their community to enhance their lives. Even the fairly low-tech act of texting can be a powerful communications tool that can help build a community and foster relationships that are mutually beneficial.