This presentation was given at the 2016 Kansas Department of Agriculture Farmers Market Convention. We go through eleven tips that will help you get started with social media marketing.

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FOR THE GREEN INDUSTRY
11 Social Media
Marketing Tips
The Center for Rural Enterprise Engagement

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What Are We Doing Today?
Introduce the Center for Rural Enterprise
Engagement.1
Share 11 practical tips for boosting your social media
marketing in 2016.2
Open the webinar up to any questions related to
online marketing.3

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The Center for Rural Enterprise Engagement
we know rural growers
Conduct research related to online
marketing for rural, agricultural
enterprises.
Research
Translate and share research-based information
to help enterprises become more profitable in this
digital age.
Equip
&

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The Center for Rural Enterprise Engagement
a team of Extension specialists, researchers, teachers, and small business owners
SCOTT STEBNER
Managing Director
DR. CHERYL BOYER
Extension Specialist
Co-Founder
DR. HIKARU PETERSON
Agricultural Economics
Co-Founder
DR. LAURI M. BAKER
Agricultural Communications
Co-Founder

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present
Tip #1: be
it is just as important to stay away from a social media channel as it is to be present on it

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72%
31%
28%
23%
Instagram
Twitter
Pinterest
Facebook
• DON’T
• invest in a platform because you feel you should be on it.
• invest in a platform because your competitors are on it.
• INVEST
• in a platform because your customers are on it AND want to
connect via that channel.
• in a platform if the data suggest you can generate some
form of return from it.
Where is your customer?
More than 65% of online adults are
using AT LEAST one social media
platform for personal use (Pew
Research Center, 2015).
65%
Tip #1: Be Strategically Present
Which Platforms Are Your Customers Using?
percent of online adults who use social media by platform
(Pew Research Center, 2015)

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Rural
• Smaller network of
friends
• Less “trusting” with
privacy settings.
• Use primarily
Facebook, but Pinterest
and Instagram are
rising.
• Twitter? No thanks!
Urban
• Larger network of friends
• Users are more open to
strangers and sharing
information.
• More diverse social media use
• Instagram, Pinterest, and
Twitter are used more
frequently than rural users.
Tip #1: Be Strategically Present
Rural and Urban Audiences are Different
YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND YOUR UNIQUE AUDIENCE TO TRULY
IDENTIFY WHAT SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS TO USE.

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steps
Tip #2: baby
master one channel before you move on to the next

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One Great Social Media Page
is better than a mediocre presence on all of them

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Are posts constantly published on
a frequent and consistent
schedule?
#1: Posting Frequency
Is the content high-quality?
#3: Quality Content
Are you meeting or exceeding the
industry benchmarks for audience
engagement?
#2: How Are Those Benchmarks?
Are customers going to benefit
from your content on that social
media channel?
#4: Are Customers There?
Item One:
Posting
frequency
Item 3:
Quality
content
Item Two:
Meeting or
exceeding
industry
benchmarks
Item 4:
Customer
use
Tip #2: Baby Steps
how do you know when you’re ready to add another platform?

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& plan accordingly
Tip #3: be strategic
just because it’s free doesn’t mean it should be spontaneous

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Have at least two weeks of
content scheduled at any
given time.
Make sure all posted content
is published when the most
fans are online.
Schedule Content
Social media takes just
as much time to plan, if
not more, than
traditional marketing
efforts.
It Takes Strategy
Be Strategic: Plan Accordingly
just because it’s free, doesn’t mean it should be spontaneous

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integrated
Tip #4: be
the ultimate question for online marketing should be, “and then?”

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Integrated Online Marketing
• And Then . . .
• Your website is home base.
• Does every channel have a clear
path that leads the customer to a
decision?
• Access, schedule, and monitor all
social media channels through
one dashboard.
Tip #4: Be Integrated
no channel is an island.

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Hootsuite lets you monitor the
activity of multiple accounts,
saving you time.
Monitor
You can manage up to three
accounts under the free plan.
Limited to 3 for Free
Hootsuite allows you to schedule
multiple posts across multiple
platforms.
Schedule
Tip #4: Integrate with Hootsuite
schedule and monitor up to 3 accounts at no cost

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visual
Tip #5: be
people don’t read social media, they skim it for valuable content

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Tip #5: Be Visual
you must have a visual presence on a visual platform
Photographs have the
highest engagement
rate of all forms of
content for pages with
under 100,000 fans.
Photographs
For pages with
fewer than 100,000
fans, video ranks as
the second most
engaging form of
content.
Video
Links are the third
most popular form
of content across all
Facebook pages.
Links
Status updates rank
dead last on every type
of page for
engagement rate.
Status Updates

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Tip #5: Be Visual
Curate content from your customers.
Always be creating image libraries.
Have plenty of “before and afters”.
SOCIAL MEDIA IS A VISUAL PLATFORM
Create incentives for employee submissions.
Post videos directly to Facebook.

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You can use their images for a small fee, or you can
upload your own for free.
Design from your desktop or mobile device and save
your productions on the cloud or to your device.
NOT A DESIGNER? NO PROBLEM!
CANVA is a free design program that has templates for
just about anything you would ever want to create.
Tip 5: Be Visual With CANVA
desktop and mobile design app

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ADOBE SLATE & ADOBE VOICE
• Free tools to help you communicate more
effectively
• Adobe Voice is available for iPad and iPhone
• Adobe Slate is available for desktop
and iPad.
Tip 5: Be Visual With Adobe Mobile Suite
free design & video apps for your iPad

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reviews
Tip #6: curate
good reviews don’t have to be happy accidents

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REVIEWS CAN BE SCARY, BUT THEY ARE NECESSARY
• If reviews are turned off, you could be damaging your
potential.
• Don’t print links or calls for reviews on receipts for every
customer.
• Train your employees to identify “trigger” words that
indicate customer delight.
• Always respond positively to every customer review.
• Poor reviews can be a way to show how great your
customer service and support is.
• DO NOT incentivize reviews.
Tip #6: Curate Customer Reviews
great reviews aren’t just a product of great service

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email lists
Tip #7: segment
your subscription list is made up of many unique individuals

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Tip #7: Segment Email Lists

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Tip #7: Segment Email Lists

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Tip #7: Segment Email Lists

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Tip #7: Segment Email Lists

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Tip #7: Segment Email Lists

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Tip #7: Segment Email Lists

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data regularly
Tip #8: measure
measurement is an integral component of any social media marketing effort

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• Social media allows you to learn from your customer to produce better content.
• Better content will increase their engagement and your relationship.
• Your customer is telling you what they want to see; learn to speak their language.
GOALS OF SOCIAL MEDIA: foster engagement, build relationships, generate leads
SOCIAL MEDIA MEASUREMENT
Facebook Engagement Rates
• Metric One: (Likes + Comments + Shares) / Fans = >1%
• Metric Two: (Likes + Comments + Shares + Clicks) / Reach = >10%
Measurement should ultimately focus on whether or not you are obtaining
your goals for each marketing platform
Tip #8: Measure Regularly
measure what matters
Websites
• Repeat visitors
• New visitors
• Time spent on site
• Page views per session
• Most popular pages
• Referral source
• Conversions

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paid advertising
Tip #9: try

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• CPM - $3.50 - $4.00
• Cost per click – 40-50 cents
• Cost per like – approximately $1
LOW-COST
Although good content will be successful,
organic reach is declining.
ORGANIC REACH
TARGETED
www.ruralengagement.org
Tip #9: Paid Advertising
take advantage of direct marketing at its finest
Facebook advertisements let you target a
specific market like no other tool in
marketing history.

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Tip #9: Paid Advertising
only pay for your target audience

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TIP 3: SCHEDULE GREAT CONTENT BEFORE
AND AFTER THE CAMPAIGN.
TIP 1: YOUR PAGE IS A FOCUS GROUP.
TIP 2: HAVE A CALL TO ACTION.
www.ruralengagement.org
Tip #9: Paid Advertising
take advantage of direct marketing at its finest

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video broadcasts
Tip #10: try live
create a great live educational session that focuses on boosting sales

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Educational ProgrammingiPhone only
Promote Products for the WeekendSaved to Your Page
Behind-the-Scenes FunAvailable for all Pages
Tip #10: Try Live Broadcasting
show a glimpse behind the scenes, educate, or promote
Marketing TipsAbout Live Feed

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the influencers
Tip #11: influence
create a great live educational session that focuses on boosting sales

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Social Media Thrives on Amplification
• Newspapers?
• Magazines?
• Bloggers?
• Travel publications?
• Influential community members?
Tip #11: Influence the Influencers

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with Google trends
BONUS TIP: trend
generate keywords that are relevant now and into the future

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Bonus Tip: Google Trends
Garden
Center
Plant
Nursery
ID relevant keywords.
Isolate past, current, and future
trends.
House
Plants

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THANK YOU
Social Media Tips for the Green Industry
JOIN OUR COMMUNITY
Facebook.com/ruralengagement
INTERESTED IN MORE?
newmedia@ksu.edu
Phone
785-532-1173
CONTINUE LEARNING
www.ruralengagement.org