ag marketing– on the internet! using current technology and social media to market your products...
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Ag Marketing– On the Internet!
Using Current Technology and Social Media to Market Your Products
Dr. Brian WhitacreDepartment of Agricultural EconomicsOklahoma State [email protected]
Why is the Internet Important?• More and more, people are turning to the Internet as their
FIRST SOURCE of information – Even more as mobile Internet usage increases
• Survey respondents asked where they would turn if they only had 1 source of information:
Internet Television Radio Newspaper0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Choice of Source of Information
Perc
enta
ge o
f Res
pond
ents
Source: Zogby Interactive Survey, June 2009
And Even More In the Future!
• Respondents also asked what they saw as the main source of information in 5 years:
Internet Television Radio Newspaper0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Dominant Information Source in 5 Years
Perc
enta
ge o
f Res
pond
ents
Source: Zogby Interactive Survey, June 2009
5 Real-World Options for Marketing Ag Products Online
1) Local Harvest2) Craigslist3) Email Newsletters4) Blogs5) Facebook
Local Harvest (www.localharvest.org)
• Customers search for organic food grown close to them
• Can search by product or by state• Join FOR FREE! • 148 farms currently listed in Oklahoma– Info specific to their farm / link to website (if they
have one)
How to Get Started
Shop by Category
Sign up for an account
Find a farm in OK
www.localharvest.org
Craigslist (www.craigslist.org)
• FREE Online Classifieds• Extremely simple website design (circa 1996)• Organized by Community– Can search nearby communities or larger metropolitan
areas• “Farm + Garden” category– Sell corn, wheat, goats…– Post your phone #– Use anonymous email address
• Constantly updated
How to Get Startedwww.craigslist.org
Search ‘Farm+Garden’
Post to Classifieds
Email Newsletters
• Most Popular: Constant Contact • Pay monthly fee (~$15), send out emails to
your contact list (must develop yourself)– Good choice for many agribusinesses with repeat
customers (agritourism, wineries, bed & breakfast)• NOT a website – you will simply design nice-
looking emails (templates provided) • Stats provided on who opened, went to links,
etc.
How to Get Startedwww.constantcontact.com
View Email Newsletters
Check out pricing plans
Look into promoting an event
Blogs• Online journal for your farm• Updated daily / weekly / monthly– Can require significant time investment!
• Used to create awareness of what you are doing, and generate returning customer base– Pictures of farm life, products, events
• FREE programs available: wordpress, blogspot• Check out some OK farm blogs:– http://turtlerockfarm.wordpress.com/– http://bootstrapfarm.blogspot.com/– http://lifeatfortyacrefarm.blogspot.com/
How to Get Started
• www.blogspot.com
• www.wordpress.com
Sign up!
Sign up!
Facebook• Facebook: Has overtaken Google as THE most
popular Internet site– Build “Fan Pages”– Post pictures / videos– Hold discussions
– Page primarily developed through dynamic relationship with fans
How to Get Started• Get a Personal Facebook Page (if you haven’t
already)• Create a “Fan Page” for your farm– Search “Create” under your personal page
Create a Page!
How Much Time Do I Spend on This??
• No surprise…the farms that spend the most time on their blogs / Facebook / Craiglist are the ones that get the most out of it
• 3 different farms on Facebook:
About Websites…
• All of the above techniques can be used WITHOUT a dedicated farm website
• But, all work BETTER if you can link to a farm-specific site
• Can be simple (single page) or more involved (multiple pages, e-commerce)
• Websites are NOT overly expensive to get!– ~$100 / year for all necessary ingredients
Some Do-It-Yourself Website Builders:
• Yahoo! SiteBuilder– http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/index.php
• GoDaddy’s Website Tonight– http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/website-builder.aspx
• Wix.com– http://www.wix.com/
The OSU E-commerce Program
• We offer workshops on:– Website Building– PayPal 101– Search Engine Optimization (including marketing
on Facebook)
• Contact:Dr. Brian WhitacreOklahoma State [email protected] (405) 744-9825
Workshops are hands-on (in a computer lab), limited to 10 – 15 people, and last
approximately 3 hours each