Social media offer fast, far-reaching and inexpensive communications tools for your business, whether you’re reaching out to customers, receiving alerts from Extension staff or discovering what’s on consumers’ minds.
“We really miss the boat if we ignore these new forms of mass communication,” says Robin Rosetta, an Oregon State University Extension educator in nursery integrated pest management. Rosetta has a Twitter feed as well as a longer-running listserv, or electronic mailing list, that complement her Web site’s pest, disease and weather news.
Each form creates challenges and opportunities. Twitter limits each message to 140 characters, while Facebook and YouTube expand communication possibilities into visual media.
“Twitter is more poetry than prose,” Rosetta says. That opens the door to more wordplay.
But its speed and brevity also is a boon for pest or weather alerts that demand quick action.
“One or two days can make all the difference,” she says.
Conversing with your customer
Social media allow businesses of all sizes to create conversations with their customers, not only about new products and other sales-focused information, but also about broader concerns.
Bishop’s Orchards, in Guilford, Conn., runs a seasonal U-pick business as well as a year-round on-site market. Until recently, marketing efforts have focused on local newspaper ads and a Web site.
That changed last summer with a Facebook page and Twitter feeds.
“It’s the fastest way to get information to people who know our business and are interested in our business,” says Sarah Bishop Dellaventura, marketing director.
A slow start took off in the fall, thanks to a friendly Facebook charity contest with nearby Jones Family Farms in Shelton, Conn., to see who could sign up the most fans. The businesses donated $1 to local charities for every new fan.
While Bishop’s Orchards came in second at the end, “It was a win for everyone,” Dellaventura says.
Both companies wound up with about 5,000 fans apiece. And they weren’t all local, she says. Some are former area residents who want to stay connected and others are close enough for occasional “agri-tainment” visits rather than weekly shopping.
Low-cost media
Using these new tools “doesn’t take a lot of money, but it does take time,” says Gina Widjaja, advertising and public relations manager for Sunkist Growers Inc. in Sherman Oaks, Calif. “Having a Web site is no longer enough.”
Most of Sunkist’s social media efforts are in consumer outreach. “We want to be the citrus leader,” Widjaja says.
“When people have questions, doubts or compliments, we want them to come to us.”
Sue Colucci, an area specialized agent for North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension in Hendersonville, started a blog partly as a resource for other Extension staff and partly as her own year-to-year record.
Her blog and Twitter feeds now have about 100 followers each, including growers and consumers. She updates the blog once or twice a week, and tries to post a new Tweet every day.
“It’s super-easy to do,” she says. “The learning curve is not steep at all.”
Colucci urges growers to take advantage of that ease to reach out to their customers.
“A lot of them sell at farmers’ markets and don’t always have the time there to tell their story,” she says. “A blog or a Web site can do that for you. People want a face behind the farm.”
If you’re not Web-savvy or are leery of sharing your thoughts with strangers, start small. Check out blogs, feeds and groups that intersect with your business interests—“lurking,” or reading anonymously, to gain familiarity and learn from others.
Quality over quantity
A question or conversation there may spur you to post an expert opinion, Della-ventura says. Facebook, for example, has groups focused on organic or local food.
“The worst thing that can happen is that you embarrass yourself on a global scale,” Rosetta says, somewhat tongue-in-cheek.
She does advise taking time to double-check material before posting. Quality counts more than quantity.
“You get out of it what you put into it,” says Kori Tuggle, marketing manager for Ocean Mist Farms in Castroville, Calif.
But avoid bombarding people with messages, especially constant hard sells. “You have to have a message that will engage them.”
Ocean Mist ventured first onto YouTube, hoping to entice viewers of company videos posted there to its own Web site. After that came its Artichoke Aficionados Club, with more than 5,000 members now receiving monthly electronic newsletters.
The club has its own Facebook page, separate from Ocean Mist’s trade-oriented page. The company also sends out Tweets five days a week; 145 Twitter followers may not seem like many, but “The power there is in re-Tweets,” Tuggle says. As followers pass on messages to their own subscribers, the reach is exponential.
“Invest the time in creating relationships with your followers and fans,” Widjaja says. “They want to hear from you. The more they love you, the more they refer you.”
But it’s a two-way conversation, users of social media say. Asking questions is one way to lighten the sales pitch. And your audience expects quick responses.
Dellaventura suggests checking a Facebook page twice a day, every day, to respond, even if those are the only updates.
Post new material often enough to keep people interested and returning, without updating just for its own sake, Colucci says.
When this spring’s new crop comes out, Tuggle plans to use all available channels to notify Ocean Mist’s fans, down to chain-specific artichoke promotion alerts on Twitter and to club members. She’s seen plenty of discussion already about where consumers are shopping for other products and what’s on sale.
