Social media optimization! This term tends to be a little confusing and a bit of a puzzle a lot of people. In this article, we’ll start out by taking a look at social media in the ag industry and then dive into optimizing your social profiles for agriculture. Ready? Let's get to it.
The Role of Social Media in Agriculture
For a long time, agribusiness owners would look at how businesses in other industries were heavily investing time and effort into social media marketing and think how fortunate they were that they could still rely on traditional forms of ag advertising.
But things have changed. As of this writing, over 78% of agribusinesses have adopted digital marketing. And, like most industries, social media ranks as one of the primary digital marketing tools for ag businesses. There’s no denying that digital marketing, particularly social media, is increasingly becoming essential in the agriculture industry, and any ag business that ignores it is setting itself up for failure.
Related article: Why Is Social Media So Attractive for Consumers?
What Are Some Ways We Can Use Social Media in Agriculture?
Whether you’ve just opened your doors or you’re running an established ag business, you can successfully use Facebook, Twitter and other social platforms to build awareness, engage with customers, and communicate your news. Here are four ways to do just that.
Interact with your customers and prospects and get to understand their pain points.
Analyze your social data and use the insights you gather to create strategies that benefit your business.
Share facts, stats and interesting info about your company with your followers using both text and visuals like video, pictures, and infographics.
Introduce new products or services to the market.
Related article: Getting Started (or Restarted) with Social Media Marketing
Why is Social Media Important for Agribusiness?
Did you know that 46% of U.S. farmers use Facebook and over 50% of them visit YouTube regularly? Your customers are on social media and being active on social sites will enable your brand to connect with them in a way that’s both cost-effective and measurable. Another benefit of social media is that it will help you improve your brand visibility, market authority, customer loyalty, and brand recognition.
Other benefits of social media include:
Capturing the Attention of Millennial Farmers: Millennials now make up 8% of farmers in the country. Like others in this group, millennial farmers spend hours browsing different social platforms throughout the day. Creating targeted ads and organic content on social media can get you on their radar.
Improved SEO: Social signals are now an important part of SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Investing in social media and social media marketing will rank your business highly in SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages…think Google).
What Does Social Media Optimization Mean?
Social Media Optimization refers to the process of utilizing tools, data, and advanced strategies to improve the performance of your social profile. With so many ag businesses using social media, you should consider investing time in social media optimization to ensure you stand out in the crowd, as well as generate more leads, traffic, and conversions for your business.
Optimizing Social Media Profiles
To optimize your social profiles in all areas, be sure to follow these time-tested tips:
Video, video, video: Sharing pictures and text-only content alone is not going to cut it. Social platforms are tweaking their algorithms to prioritize video. Sharing videos will generate more attention and engagement. Your videos need to be original, interesting, and short.
Don't just focus on the marketing side of things: It’s not that you shouldn’t ever share promotional content on social media, but your followers will bail out if you’re too 'salesy'. Be social and don't be afraid to show off your funny bone. This will help you establish likability, which will, in turn, make it easier to convince people to buy from you.
Make sure all your information is consistent and correct: Ensure the information you share across all your profiles is consistent to avoid causing confusion. This includes basic information like your company name, profile picture, address, contact info, and links to your website.
Post regularly and ensure quality: You might not be able to post every five hours and that’s okay! Regular posting still works. But you have to ensure that everything you share on your timeline is relevant and high-quality.
Final Words
If your ag business has not adopted social media yet, it’s time to invest in it and start tapping into its power and value. Remember: You need social media optimization to make your social profile more effective.
Are you an ag business owner and want to give social media a try, but don’t know where to start? Wilson Marketing Consulting is here to help. Our social media experts can help you create an overarching social media plan that’ll net you better leads, improve your conversion rates, and deliver long term, tangible results. Contact us today!