Agribusinesses benefit from strategic social media

Co-founder of dairy brand Gippsland Jersey Sallie Jones has built up a social media following of 24,000 on Facebook and 11,000 on Instagram and was one of three Vic-based agribusiness owners sharing their tips on social media use for small businesses as part of a webinar hosted by the Young Dairy Network and West Vic Dairy.

She said in-part, their reliance on social media came about because they did not have much in their budget for marketing.

"We didn't have money for marketing but it cost nothing to start a Facebook page - it's about showing up and that way we've built a community," she said.

She said an early post - a joke about holes in socks and the need to pay dairyfarmers a fair price - set the tone for how they built their community.

Jayne Newgreen, co-founder and marketing manager of Provenir, a farm to plate meat business that incorporates on-farm mobile processing, said it was important to stay close to their values when interacting with customers.

While encompassing a large portion of the supply chain, from on-farm, through to processing and direct to consumers or restaurants, Ms Newgreen said it was important in their marketing to show that entire story as part of their values of provenance, traceability and transparency.

But she said there was also power in extending the story even beyond what they do, through to the consumers, such as highlighting the work of chefs, or even home cooks, with their products.

She said there was also value in collaborations with the right people, but especially so if the partnership emerged through mutual respect about the product.

Ms Jones said any interaction with an "influencer" needed to be vetted to make sure it was the right fit.

"Always check to see who the audience is and if it suits your brand," Ms Jones said.

"The best person to sell your brand and talk about it is yourself."

Ms Jones says Instagram and Facebook each have benefits, with Instagram "so visual" and a great way of directly connecting with businesses, such as retailers or cafes, while Facebook's power is its ability to "go viral" and be easily shared.

With her iPhone as her "weapon", along with a few editing apps, she is careful about the quality of images.

"The photos draw attention and can make (a post) either successful or a flop," she said.

Ms Newgreen has used most forms of social media at times - Twitter as a start-up to connect with farmers, investors and the media, LinkedIn to recruit staff, Facebook to connect with home cooks and Instagram to find chefs and "foodies".

"Each platform allows us to build relationships with people who help Provenir," she said.

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Selling ag's stories on social media

For Declan Patton, Lightning Ridge Genetics, social media is a great way to communicate about their products directly to clients across the globe.

He said they took a sales focus with their posts and as "time poor" people needed to make sure their investment paid off.

"We've found Facebook had the biggest effect in telling a story - we're not just selling a product but the story behind it," he said.

To ensure they reach the right audience they made the decision to sponsor many of their posts. He said timing was also critical, particularly given their global reach, trying to hit several markets at key times.

"You've got to understand your audience and need to know who it is you want to connect with," he said. "It can be a bit of trial and error to post things at different times to see the engagement."

He also recommended finding mentors, both within the industry and outside, to find new ideas and ways of approaching promotion.

Ms Newgreen said she often looked at the analytics to work out not only the best performing posts and times, but also what demographic was responding to their post.

She said there was sometimes interactions with animal activists - although less common than might be expected - and it was only worth engaging if the other person was willing to have a conversation.

"We have a lot in common with vegans - we love animals and we value high animal welfare," she said.

Ms Newgreen said one of the biggest areas where some businesses could fall down was in being hesitant about self-promotion.

"Don't forget to let people know how to get their hands on your product," she said.

"People are too scared to sell and don't want to be pushy but people are on (the page) because they love what you do."