Marketing Roundup: 5 Must-Haves for your Farm
Marketing is important for building your Farm Brand. Buyers must know that your Farm exists before purchasing your products. While there are tools to improve your marketing efforts and tips to implement, it is important to understand that you ‘own’ marketing your Farm Brand.
At Barn2Door, we offer resources to inspire and streamline your marketing efforts, but you must promote and build brand awareness for your Farm. While we provide templates, you write and employ your email campaigns. After Barn2Door’s design team creates your logo, you’re responsible for including your logo on all your other Farm assets (physical and digital). Below are some marketing resources we offer, for you to create and promote your Farm Brand:
Custom Website Design
A custom Farm website is a billboard for your business - it will attract new Buyers, and help you share your Farm’s story and increase sales. Farm websites should convey your values, products and practices to potential customers. 9 out of 10 Buyers rate “trustworthiness” as important, when purchasing from a local Farm. They must know your brand personally to build trust.
Barn2Door’s design team has worked alongside 1000’s of Farms to build a custom-designed website to reflect their Brand values. Farms send photos, write copy and highlight priorities for their site. Our designers draft the website, and work alongside Farmers until the project is complete. Note, the #1 priority when visiting a website is to encourage Buyers to shop from your Farm. Designers link your Barn2Door webstore to your site for easy access for Buyers looking to make a purchase. Once complete, you can market your Farm website by sharing the link or QR code at markets, with friends and on social media.
Custom Logo Design
A custom Farm Logo is crucial for your business. Buyers must be drawn to your Farm Brand, and it must be recognizable to new and returning customers. Various elements make up a Logo, including shape, colors, font and imagery to name a few. Logos can be used on physical and digital assets, such as social profiles and your website, or a delivery truck and Farm stand signage.
Many Logo builders simply assemble generic designs with no variations or room for edits. At Barn2Door, our team works exclusively with Farmers, and they know the intricacies of Farm types, products and practices to create a unique Logo that reflects your Brand identity. It is important to work alongside a Design team that not only understands what you want from a Logo, but also gives you the freedom to make edits throughout the process. Barn2Door works with Farmers to ensure their Logo is exactly what they want, so they can begin to draw in Buyers and expand their marketing efforts.
Read: Farm Logo Design Guide
Marketing Toolkit (Social Media/Email)
Every month, our design team curates newsletter templates, social media graphics and caption prompts in Barn2Door’s Marketing Toolkit. These tools help Farmers stay consistent with their marketing efforts, while providing humor (puns), seasonal, holiday and product posts. These assets are intended to supplement your regular marketing efforts, inspire ideas and streamline your marketing efforts.
We encourage Farmers to plan their marketing campaigns well in advance (the Off-Season is a prime time for this!), including posts and newsletters that leverage assets from the Marketing Toolkit. Buyers are consistently receiving posts and emails from various businesses, some of which may be competing for your Farm sales. Because of this, schedule your Farm’s social media posts and emails to send to Buyers consistently (we recommend weekly). Marketing Toolkit prompts will help you save you time when assembling your social media and email campaigns on a consistent basis.
Mailchimp Integration
Barn2Door partners with Mailchimp to provide Farmers with a time-saving integration that compiles email addresses (after sign-up), offers easy newsletter creation, and streamlined email marketing campaigns. Once you add addresses to your email list, you have the opportunity to engage customers in email campaigns. Send order reminders, Farm updates, new product launches and branded holiday newsletters.
Mailchimp has created a Customer Journey Builder to better engage different types of customers (also known as an “audience”). These audiences will be grouped based on similar purchase histories and characteristics. For example, if you went to a market and collected 25 new email addresses, they could automatically be included in a ‘Welcome’ email campaign, sending them a promo code for their first purchase and sharing best-selling products. If an action, such as an ‘Abandoned Cart’ is triggered, Customer Journeys can automate a campaign to remind Buyers about the products they were planning to purchase.
Collecting emails is well worth your time - the payback is self-evident. This can be done at markets or through social media or email capture pop-ups on your website (mentioned below). Successful Farms use sign-up forms or QR codes for easy email collection.
Your Mailchimp account will also integrate with your Barn2Door store to update new Buyers, promos and inventory. Engage Buyers by sending timely emails, with links to products in your store for increased conversion. Personalized, consistent email messaging will increase loyalty for your Buyers.
Email Capture on Website
There are opportunities to add to your email list without having to request them on your own time. Our Designers can employ a pop-up on your Farm website, so anyone who visits your website has the opportunity to enter their contact information for communications with your business. You can choose to label it as “Stay up to Date with our Farm,” “Get the Latest News and Promos,” or simply “Let’s Connect!”.
A sign-up form on your ‘Contact’ page can also be useful. Anyone who is looking on that page is interested in learning more, so they are more likely to give their email address for more information. Email capture is a great tool for constant access to new sign-ups, but it is important to use in-person efforts as well, to expand your reach within your community.
Academy Classes
Every month, successful Farmers in Barn2Door’s Farm Advisor Network (FAN) teach classes to help Farms across the country access new Buyers and increase sales. Academy topics range from Social Media Marketing to Finances, and are a great resource for Farmers looking to gain tangible advice and new skills. Find our current classes here: Barn2Door Academy
Social Media
Barn2Door’s Social Media Academy class teaches Farmers best practices when running a social profile for your Farm business. Building a relationship with Buyers online is crucial. You have the ability to post real-time updates and provide consistent interaction with your community.
Listen: The ABCs of Social Media's 3 E's
Your social media can also link to your online store, driving sales. 65% of purchases occur through social and mobile platforms, so it is important to maintain a presence that builds trust and attracts purchases. Successful Farmers will share their tips for what to post on various platforms, scheduling a cadence for uploads, and increasing engagement.
Content Writing
Every brand has a ‘voice’, communicating business values and setting expectations for Buyers. Writing content for your site, newsletters, or social profiles can become overwhelming when you do not have a clear message you want to convey. This Academy encourages Farmers in writing content for various website pages, email campaigns, and social posts to ensure you are utilizing your platform and communicating accurate, concise information to your customers.
Email Marketing
Our Mailchimp Academy educates Farmers on email marketing, the importance of an effective email campaign and how to write messages to encourage purchases. Led by Farmers who have found success in email marketing, you will learn the features of Mailchimp and how to employ the platform to streamline your communication efforts. This Academy will also walk you through the process of drafting an email, linking your online store with a ‘Call-to-Action’ and sending on a cadence that works for your Farm business.
Grassroots Marketing
Grassroots Marketing is one of the most important efforts for Farms looking to increase brand visibility. You are selling to local Buyers in your community, so it is important to get in front of them in their ‘local loop’ (e.g. schools, churches, etc.), and at Farmers’ Markets. Grassroots Marketing involves an array of in-person efforts, such as handing out flyers, including a QR code on Farm stands or partnering with local businesses.
The Grassroots Marketing Academy class explains the importance of each element of your brand, and where to seek Buyers in your community. This class helps Farms understand their ideal customers and what they desire from products and packaging (with data!). Tactics for online marketing are shared to help foster the in-person relationships that carry over onto social media.
Best Practices
Podcasts
Barn2Door consistently uploads podcasts partnering with our most successful Farms. Topics vary from in-person sales tactics, social media marketing and success stories to inspire. Every product update and new feature on our platform is announced in a podcast episode, as well. Keeping up to date with podcasts allows you to access more tips and tricks to ensure your marketing efforts are up-to-date and efficient.
eBooks
eBooks are written on a range of topics - from mastering in-person sales to analyzing Farm trends. Each eBook features tips and testimonials from successful Farmers across the country, while considering data for in-person and online sales. Our eBooks go in depth on topics that many Farmers consider in their business efforts. Covering a multitude of interests, including marketing tools and product bundling, this resource will give you numerous practical tips to grow your efforts for a successful Farm business.
Conclusion
Marketing efforts are imperative to growing and maintaining a successful Farm business. These efforts go beyond simply posting on social media every so often. Invest in a strategy and a well thought-out plan to drive persistent awareness of your Farm Brand to help grow your customer base. In-person and online efforts will work together to share your Farm’s story, practices and products to the ideal audience.
Barn2Door offers many services and solutions to upgrade your marketing efforts, however, you are the marketer. Learning the best practices for your business, and what your Buyers expect from your brand, will help improve everything from your marketing to your sales.
Barn2Door offers software for Independent Farmers to create and promote their brand, sell online and in-person, and save time managing their business. For more information on tools Barn2Door offers to help you market your Farm, watch this 5-minute video.