Rural marketing: the importance of social media
Marketing to the rural community can be a challenge, particularly when you’re unfamiliar with it. And an underrated asset in the rural marketing process is social media. There’s still a misconception that social media is directed towards millennials; that it’s for the younger generations who spend their lives on their phones. But this simply isn’t the case. Not only is social media used by people of all ages and demographics, but it plays a unique role for people living in rural communities. This makes it a valuable rural marketing tool for reaching primary producers, farmers and the wider rural community, but only if it’s done right.
Here at Circle Media we understand the agricultural industry, in fact we specialise in rural marketing. This gives us an insight into the community that many marketing agencies lack. We’ve put the perspective we’ve gained to good use, helping businesses reach their local communities. And a key way we do this is through social media; so don’t be so quick to overlook it.
Location, location, location
The key idea behind social media, the one that initially made it so successful, was the idea of connectivity. Social media allows us to keep in touch with remote friends and keep up to date with significant life events and changes. This connectivity becomes particularly important when thinking about the rural community. Rural Victoria spans a huge distance and visiting a mate often requires hours of travel, particularly when moving from farm to farm. As a result, social media provides a great solution for jam packed day-to-day life.
Never underestimate word of mouth
On a whole, farmers value the opinions of other farmers more than any other source. When looking at investing in a new piece of machinery and spending big money, you want quality equipment that gets the job done. So being able to have an honest conversation with your peers to ensure you know exactly what you’re getting is a beyond valuable tool. What the practical advantages and disadvantages are, how it’s handled the conditions, the things you need to know that aren’t always readily available to you. With the ease and connectivity of social media, getting this key information is simple.
It beats the tyranny of distance
With the high frequency of field days, you’re constantly able to meet people in the same industry as you, with all the same needs and requirements. Working in the agricultural industry isn’t like working in an office block in Melbourne. You can’t just pop into the office next door when you need a second opinion or piece of advice. The distance between farms is often huge. As a result, social media is the valuable tool you can turn to when you’re in need of a second opinion.
Rural Marketing: Content is everything
Just having a social media presence for your business isn’t enough; you need good, relevant content that people will respond to. This includes the more obvious inclusions such as sales and special offers, and any new products you’ve got coming in. But it should also include photos or videos of your equipment in action, and reviews from people who have bought your product and are impressed by the results. It’s not enough just to tell people you have a product; they want to see it in action too.
The key message here is don’t overlook social media when doing your rural marketing. Social media’s more important in rural communities than you might realise. If you’re looking for advice on how to market to rural communities, talk to the experienced team at Circle Media today.