- TikTok
- Snapchat
- YouTube
The list of social media is long and these are just the most popular platforms.
It’s impossible to be everywhere all the time. Your time is already stretched thin as a farmer. You must choose which platforms you want to be on.
How do you choose which social media to use?
The right social media isn’t which ones have the most users or which ones you are most familiar with.
Here are the factors you should consider:
Where is your target market?
First and foremost, you should be on the social media that your audience uses.
This will vary depending on your business model. If you have an e-commerce site and ship woolen crafts across the country, you will have different customers than a beef producer who sells off their farm and at local farmers markets.
Many of my clients had the best engagement on Facebook. The reasons for this vary. For some, Facebook is where they can connect with moms who make the food purchasing and opt to buy organic fruits and vegetables. For others, they started farming when Facebook was one of the only platforms and they had hundreds of friends they were already connected to who would follow and engage with their business page.
Some farmers (and especially homesteaders) are thriving on Instagram and YouTube sharing their daily lives. Customers enjoy seeing how their food is being grown/raised and like to connect with their farmers on a more personal level.
If you have existing customers – Ask them which platforms they use.
If you don’t have any customers yet – Think about your ideal customer and which social media they use. A good exercise is to create an Ideal Customer Profile which forces you to get into the mind of your customers and flesh out details to guide many of your marketing decisions.
You can also look at your competitors and see which platforms they have success on.
How many platforms can you handle?
It is better to choose fewer platforms and show up regularly than choosing too many platforms and not posting anywhere.
Determine how many platforms you can dedicate time to. Perhaps this is 3 or maybe 4.
There are some platforms where you can post the exact same content (and at the same time with no extra clicks), like Facebook and Instagram. There are other platforms where you want a profile but don’t need to post frequently; perhaps this is Facebook or LinkedIn for you.
Which platforms and what content do you enjoy?
This question requires some thought and an honest answer. Don’t quickly say you think TikTok is stupid or that you just don’t understand Instagram or that Facebook is for boomers.
Do you enjoy sharing photos of your ripe berries and thriving vegetables? Do you like the idea of making a video educating people on how to move cattle with low-stress handling methods? Which platforms do you personally enjoy scrolling?
Consider what types of content you enjoy, what you’d like to share, and how you’d like to develop a brand image for your farm.
Next, think about the types of content on each platform. Here are some examples:
- Facebook – sharing announcements, achievements, news, memes, and more
- Pinterest – blogs with information or aesthetic photos, nearly all images link to websites that host ads or sell featured products directly
- Snapchat – unedited photos and clips of your day
- YouTube – how-to videos for learning, vlogs about daily life, commentary about topics
Finally, think about what social media you are familiar with, what content you know how to create, and what you can learn.
It will be the easiest to share your farm on the social media you are familiar with, which you can factor into your decision. However, don’t choose social media simply because you know how to use it and don’t avoid social media because you don’t know how to use it.
The same idea applies to content. It is possible to learn anything with a quick Google or YouTube search!
There are some things that require significant time to learn and some that require additional software. YouTube is one of these platforms. You can record videos on your phone and make minor edits quickly. If you want more professional videos with advanced editing and high quality sound, then you will need to invest your time to learn how to do these things and some money to buy the equipment and software. Alternatively, you could pay someone with experience to do these things.
Again, don’t let a lack of knowledge or skills stop you from adopting social media that your audience uses or that you see as advantageous for your business.
What social media do I recommend?
Every business is different so it is impossible to say which platforms are best for your enterprise. Every business has its own offerings, customers, and competitive advantages.
Plus, success on these platforms depends on an individual’s knowledge of trends and platform updates, evaluation of analytics, and effort.
However, I strongly dislike articles that don’t give guidance, even if it is just an opinion. So here is a blind recommendation:
- Facebook – Right now, it is good to have a page on Facebook with up-to-date information. It shows up on search engines and nearly everyone above 20 has an account. Even if you don’t get much engagement (and therefore you don’t post often) and even if it becomes outdated eventually, it is good to have a presence on Facebook for now.
- Instagram – This platform is all about pictures which is great for farms! From fresh produce to cute animals to lovely sunsets, farming has beautiful sights that the Instagram audience would love to see. Plus, you can share genuine, real-life updates through Stories and Reels.
- TikTok – Anything can become popular and viral on TikTok if the algorithm is in your favor. This is especially advantageous if you have an online store or can make money digitally (e.g., online classes).
- Pinterest – If you write blogs (which you should!), this is a great place to share them. Unlike content on other platforms that is only seen for a day or two, Pinterest content can get traffic for years! However, customers won’t follow you on this platform and there aren’t locale settings so it is only helpful if you can sell products or services online.
- YouTube – YouTube is a great way to share longer form content about your farm, production principles, tips and tricks, sustainable methodologies, daily life, and much more both with your customers and a wider audience. Plus, this is the place to host any and all videos made about your farm which you can then link to on your other social media and your website.
Again, these specific social media won’t work for everyone.
Furthermore, just because you create a profile on platforms and post once in a while doesn’t mean you will grow a huge audience or skyrocket your sales. Social media requires observations, data, perseverance, character, branding, consistency, and more.
If you would like a personalized evaluation of your business and recommendation of platforms, please reach out for a free discovery call!
Ack! It is all so overwhelming. I never realized how many social media platforms there are! Thanks for sharing your knowledge, Mallaidh. It’s very helpful.