While farming equipment, precision agriculture and other areas of the industry has brought many traditional farming families into the digital age, there's still a lag in take-up with digital marketing in agriculture.
The ag industry gets a bad rep for being behind the times, which really isn't fair or accurate.
Farmers and their suppliers are some of the most tech-savvy people you could meet, in terms of automating their daily work rota and keeping their livestock/crops in top condition.
However, it's a pretty good generalization to say the industry is slightly behind when it comes to adopting digital marketing techniques.
Digitization and easy internet access have changed the face of farming forever and many in the industry are scrambling to keep up with the new methods available to keep them in touch with their customers.
While farming equipment, precision agriculture and other areas of the industry has brought many traditional farming families into the digital age, there's still a lag in take-up with digital marketing in agriculture.
The time is ripe for agricultural suppliers to make the shift from traditional to digital marketing approaches and claim their full portion of sales available.
Marketing to our industry is completely different than most other markets - it requires someone who knows the industry intimately to successfully get through to farmers (and persuade them to buy).
How to Write For Agricultural Marketing - Know Your Audience
The things that keep farmers awake at night are not like other consumers, let's face it!
Because of this, your approach to marketing has to be different. If you're hiring a web agency to market online for you, they NEED to know your audience's problems (and how you fix them).
The type of words you choose and the general approach used in agricultural marketing is completely different than say, car sales. Here are some tips to get you talking the right language:
Don't think of farmers as consumers, think of them as businesses (which they are) and focus on B2B marketing techniques.
The demands on their time require a more direct approach in content - cut out the filler and address their issues (including their lack of time...)
'Traditional' farmers and the newer 'specialty' farmer are different types of customers with completely different pain points. Treat them as such. If your products or services are aimed at both markets, prepare to use a softer B2C marketing approach that appeals more to the 'specialty' farmers.
There’s a strong focus on economic value, quality, reliability and lifespan when marketing to farmers. Farmers are in business for the long haul - they need reliable products and services that don't fail them when they need them most
Move From 1-to-Many to 1-to-1 Marketing
The old approach to advertising (general ads placed in newspapers, directories, radio, TV etc.) spreads one message to many consumers - but in the modern world, this singular approach just doesn't cut it anymore.
By combining traditional methods for quick-buys that don't require any really investment or thought and one-to-one relationship building digital marketing methods for those bigger purchases, you can have a winning formula.
Today's farmer spends hours (and we mean HOURS) researching the latest innovations in the industry, the best rated products and the newest addition to their inventory.
How do you harness this to promote your own products against a world of competition?
Create unique, informative content that helps your target customer research their purchase.
Become The Go-To Expert
Farmers are looking for new answers to decade-old problems. They want to find out what's worked well in other parts of the world, that aren’t known/used in their local agricultural community.
Which is the perfect opportunity for you. It helps you open the door to new markets through exceptional content.
By creating custom content (whether that's videos explaining products, blogs exploring issues or infographics showcasing the latest statistics) you can build your company's reputation as the expert in your field.
Farmers want companies that think outside of the box and know what they're doing - no one wants to hand over their hard-earned cash to a Jack-of-all-trades that doesn't actually know anything.
You know your customers better than anyone else; you know what they struggle with and how your products solve their problems.
Create content that speaks directly to your ideal customer - you're not marketing to just anyone - you're marketing directly to them, to solve their issues and help them be more successful.
If you want to get farmers to invest in their own business, you need to invest in yours.
Be honest - would you buy from your website? If not, why not? Make sure your digital assets promote your company as you want to be seen.
If you're promoting a super-modern tech solution but your website was last updated in 2009, you're not going to make a cohesive (or trustworthy) impression on a potential client visiting your site.
By creating a company personality (your brand), you're aiming for your customer to see your business as the friendly expert they can trust to make their lives easier.
Break down the barriers between marketing and sales - they should work together to attract the customer in, qualify for them for a purchase and then seal the deal.
To fully get the benefits of online marketing, it does take a real shift in thinking; embrace the world of digital marketing and consider just how much farmers are already invested in digital technologies.
Ag companies aren't going to shift back to traditional methods of farming and you shouldn't rely on the old methods of marketing to them either.