Don't Get Left in the Cold. Use Social Media to Connect with Your Customers!

With sixty-five percent (65%) of internet users using social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and others (Pew Internet, 2011), social media can justifiably be considered a legitimate marketing tool by businesses large and small.  In fact, in a survey by Chief Marketer, 92% of respondents indicated that they either were using or planned to use social media for marketing of their brands.

Farmers and small ag business owners shouldn't overlook the power that social media tools provide in connecting with consumers.  Surveys conducted by two of my colleagues, Kathy Kelley and Jeff Hyde, in May 2010 with consumers who used social media, found that over 30% of respondents expected farmers' market/on-farm markets and U-Pick operations to have Facebook presence.  Consumers' expected use of Twitter and blogs by these types of ag businesses hovered around 20%.  I would expect that surveyed again two and a half years later, we would see these results, or expectations, to be higher yet.

Consumers' Expected Internet Presence by Type of Food Business

But having a social media presence, or profile, on any of these tools isn't enough.  You need to provide consumers with a reason to "like" or follow your business.  When questioned on why they connect with businesses on social media, approximately 60% of the individuals responding to Kelley and Hyde's survey indicated that they did so to learn about new products/direction of the business, while almost half wanted to learn about sales before the general public.

Expectations by Consumers who Follow Businesses on Social Networks

We see that the evidence exists that consumers expect ag and food businesses to exist on social networks, as well as to provide them with things that they value in return for following them.  You probably also have your own reasons, or objectives, for committing to developing and sustaining a social media presence for your business.  By developing a social media strategy, you can ensure that you, and your followers, get what you need from a social media relationship.

If you own, or are involved with, a farm or small ag business in Pennsylvania, and want to jump into the world of social media with a guiding hand, Penn State Extension can help.  Come to one of three scheduled Social Media Boot Camps for Ag Businesses.  These two-day workshops will give you a hands-on opportunity to develop Facebook, Twitter, and foursquare/Yelp profiles, as well as mapping out your personal social media marketing objectives and strategy. 

The Value of Social Media as a Market Research Tool

You've got a Facebook page and/or Twitter account for your business.  You're letting followers (hopefully also your customers!) know when you're market is open, what's happening on the farm, what events you've got planned for them, specials you're offering, and so forth.

Source: http://www.homegauge.com

This article, that appeared on Mashable, reminds business owners of the value that you can pull from social media engagement with your followers. So, how can the messages and information on social media help you and your business?  Here are the author's five points:

1. Shed light on perceptions of your brand.  While you may not think you have a brand, you do.  You have a reputation and the public and customers have perceptions of you, the business, the products you produce and/or sell, your employees, your customer service, etc.  So take advantage of social media and take note of comments and questions that followers make. 

2. Peek into your customers' heads. By keeping tabs on what your customers are saying, you learn what is important to them.  This knowledge can help you frame questions that you may have, determine what you can provide that they will value, or if you should make changes to keep up with new trends.

3. Understand which products resonate the best.  When you post something to Facebook or Twitter, which items are generating the most buzz?  How many comments are followers making and what are they saying?  Are your posts being shared? This information is there, use it.

4. Learn from major customer issues.  Sometimes a follower/customer will post a complaint or question(s) that you thought was clearly communicated.  These things happen. Rather than becoming defensive, take these occurrences as opportunities to learn and make necessary changes.  Remember to respond to these complaints and questions, on- or off-line as appropriate.  Kathy Kelley provided tips on responding to negative reviews in this past blog post.

5. Construct a social media customer conversation plan. Similar to developing a social media strategy (for content sharing), consider developing a plan on how you and your team will interact and converse with followers/customers on social media.  How will you categorize social media feedback?  What conversations do you want to have?  If you have more than one person involved in your business's social media presence, who will be responsible for different actions?

Source: www.buzzom.com

Make sure that you're taking advantage of the information your followers and connections are sharing via social media.  You could be missing out if you're not "listening" as much or more than the amount of sharing you do.

Social Media for Market Research: An Example

Social media tools (Facebook, Twitter) you use for your business marketing can also be leveraged as valuable tools for collecting feedback from your followers or customers (i.e. market research).  I have seen one really good example (though I'm sure others exist!) of an ag business using social media to generate and collect feedback.  I asked Julie Finchbaugh from Flinchbaugh's Orchard some questions about her experience in gathering feedback from her business's Facebook followers.

Ag Entrepreneurship: What made you decide to gather feedback from your Facebook followers?

Julie Flinchbaugh: All throughout the year, people suggest ideas or share comments with us.  But, I wanted to find out just how many thought the same thing.  So I comprised a list of feedback I felt I had received in the past, and composed questions based on those!  My goal is to not only entice new customers, but make our Market the best shopping experience while they're here, and if satisfying one more of their needs is the way to do it - then that is what I will do!

AE: How did you decide upon "Survey Saturday?"

JF: "Survey Saturday" was just one of those ideas that randomly popped into my head on a Saturday, that I though about posting a random question, and the whole plan seemed to work!  I didn't want to make it an excessive questioning period, and it seemed that Saturday might be the day, giving individuals something to look forward to throughout the week.  I wanted them to have to check back each week to keep them involved.

AE:What was your goal with the surveys?

JF: It was kind of three fold.  First, I wanted to see how many people out of our total following would respond (we had 93 out of I believe 850-ish followers responds at some point) - to determine if our Facebook marketing was working.  Second, I wanted answers to the questions I posed! Third, I wanted to be sure I created a bit of buzz during the winter months gearing up for our season opening!

AE: Were the responses what you expected?

JF: I really did not know what to expect, but I was so very shocked by the participation.  I found that most questions that revolved around them selecting an 'a, b, c, d, or e' answer garnered the most feedback.  It seemed the open-ended questions were "too tough" or something for them.  Some of the specific answers they provided shocked me some...I was really surprised how many people just wanted "fair" prices vs. having to use coupons or loyalty cards.

Post showing a change made as a result of Survey Saturday.
Notice the number of likes, comments & shares.

AE: What changes did you implement as a result?

JF: Well, we have found a local supplier for all-natural freezer beef, a larger selection of veggies, have implemented a "Little Sprouts" summer class for children, and are considering offering surprise discounts for Facebook followers for specific days or weeks.  Our e-newsletters have been redesigned to offer more "how-to" information and are spotlighting on more of our local items.

AE:What impact has doing the surveys had on the business?

JF: I feel as if I/we know more of what our customers are thinking each day they pop into the Market.  In understanding what they are "thinking" I don't doubt my decisions nearly as much - which is refreshing.  I feel as if I am not taking a gamble half as much when I select new products or develop new ideas.  I believe it has also opened up a channel for even better conversation with our customers too...they are more willing to share ideas or concerns with us!

If you have a Facebook or Twitter presence for your ag business, consider leveraging it to do some market research.  With just a little effort you can gather valuable information and feedback to help with the business decisions you may be faced with.

Timeline Comes to Facebook Pages

If you've logged into Facebook today, you may have noticed the news about Timeline coming to Facebook Pages.  This change, available immediately to Page admins, will roll out to all Pages on March 30th.

Just as with Timeline on Profiles, Timeline on Pages will allow you to add a cover photo and historic highlights that occurred prior to joining Facebook.  For Page admins, Facebook has added the ability to make selected content "sticky" for up to seven days, meaning, that you can keep content of value, or something of a timely nature, from disappearing down the timeline and out of followers' sight.

To read more Timeline for profiles, check out this article on Mashable.

Will you upgrade your Facebook Page to Timeline design before March 30?

Cross Promotion: Partnering With Other Business to Better Serve Your Customers, Part II

       This posting, the second in the cross promoting series, focuses on how to join efforts with complementary businesses to communicate with your customers and theirs.

Newsletters and Blogs

How do you currently communicate with your customers?  Whatever methods you use to inform and remind customers about your business or persuade them to buy your products, there is at least one way to cross promote each others’ products and expertise.

With the number of garden centers who have a blog, newsletter, or other publication that they publish on regular basis it is highly likely that the person writing these pieces often has to find items to write about.   Short pieces can alert readers about the complementary business or a new product they are offering.  Feature articles can describe how products from both businesses could be incorporated into new gardening trends or an upcoming event that the two businesses are co-sponsoring.  Do not forget to include the complementary business’s logo, URLs or hyperlinks to their website, and contact information.

Also, invite the other business to write a newsletter item or be a guest blogger.  Suggest a topic so the guest writer has some direction as to what your readers might be interested in learning and that would meld well with other items you are including in the newsletter or blog.  

Your Website, Facebook, and Twitter

Your website is an ideal outlet for cross promotion activities.  Use space on your website to inform readers about complementary businesses you cross promote with and provide space for their advertisements.  If customers sign-up for your newsletter online provide an option that would allow them to sign up for other businesses’ newsletters or add a link that will take them to the other businesses’ online form.

When it comes to Facebook, make sure that you “like” business you cross promote with, post images of events and activities both businesses implement, include links to articles, and mention each other in postings.  Tweets you publish on Twitter should also mention your cross promotion partners.  Include these businesses in your #followfriday (#ff) tweets (a strategy used on Fridays to suggests to your Twitter followers who they should also follow) retweet (forwarding another Twitter user’s tweets to your followers) appropriate messages, publish tweets when you add their products to your displays, and similar.   Inform your customers about joint activities while reminding them about your business.

Until next time when I’ll present ideas on how to cross promote with other businesses to host events and some of the costs to consider when entering into this type of relationship.

A Note About Customer Service

In my last post, I talked about Heinz using Facebook as an exclusive launch pad for its new balsamic ketchup. I personally thought this was a very interesting marketing technique, so I logged on to the Heinz Facebook page on unveiling day to buy a bottle. Unfortunately, the new ketchup was so popular that their page crashed!

I was thoroughly impressed with the way Heinz handled the situation. When I went back to their Facebook page later in the day, Heinz quickly responded to the issue. They reported that they were unsure as to what caused the glitch, but that anyone who had trouble placing an order could order now and Heinz would add an additional bottle for free and free shipping.




Obviously, giving away free products and free shipping is very costly (especially to a small business). If you have a similar situation (whether it's online or not), take a cue from Heinz-- respond quickly and offer your sincerest apologies. If you can, throw in an apology gift to keep those customers coming back (but be sure not to break the bank) like a coupon, discount, reduced or free shipping, or free samples. You always want to keep those customer relationships strong!

As a small food or farm business owner, have you ever had a problem (whether it's web ordering, product shortages, etc) that has kept you from filling orders? How did you handle it? Did you manage to save the relationships with your customers?

Social Media Aren't the Only Ways to be Social

I was walking through the soccer fields last week when I had a chance to talk to a lady I know from involvement in various activities in the community.  The conversation wound through topics such as our kids, sports, and some work stuff before it came around to Facebook.  She has no use for it!  She has major issues with privacy but, even if that weren't the case, she just doesn't see a need for it.  I hear this a lot, though maybe not quite so adamantly as I did from her.  There is a bunch of people that aren't going to latch onto social media like I have and maybe like you have.  Business owners and we in Extension must continue to engage people where we can, when we can, and how we can.

One of my social media mentors, Max Spiegel, describes social media as a cocktail party.  Party-goers mingle, make small talk with some, have longer, more meaningful chats with others, etc. Based on my experience, I'd agree with Max.  Bottom line; business success is all about communication and social media tools are just another way to do it.  

There's still very much a role for phones, emails, and maybe even written or printed stuff, like flyers or brochures.  None of these are my preferred modes of communication anymore.  (My least favorite feature of my cell phone is the phone.)  But I know there are certain people I can reach best by email and others that I really have to talk to on the phone.  Business owners that desire a personal connection with customers have to meet them where they are.  The old advice still works, whether it's in person, in your farmers' market, or some other venue: be engaging, be responsive, don't oversell your business or products, etc. (See goo.gl/ZK1Vl for some tips on how to engage your audience on social media.)

The key takeaway is this: Use the tool that allows you to meet your audience how and where you need to meet them. Don't force them to find you on Facebook if they don't want to.  Likewise, get your business listed in Google Places if that's how they find businesses in an area.  This stuff isn't rocket science, is it?

Facebook Questions Allows for Even More Interaction

It seems like Facebook is releasing a lot of business-oriented features lately.  Well, Questions may not be strictly biz related, but it definitely has potential to help you engage with your followers and others.  For details from Facebook, check out this site.  I have been toying with it and can share the highlights.

Essentially, Questions allows you to ask a question of your followers.  (What did you expect?)  You can ask an open-ended question (one that can be answered in any way) or a poll question (one that has multiple responses that can be chosen).  If you ask a poll question, you have the option of allowing people to add responses or to be limited to those you have provided.  Additionally, a person can add a "post" about a question.  That is, they can leave a comment of any sort, similar to comments that can be added to status updates, pictures, or other types of content.

Once asked, the question goes first to your friends.  They can, of course, ignore it completely (and most probably will).  However, they have a few other options.  They could answer it, "follow" it, and/or "Ask a Friend."  If they answer it, then their friends can see that activity in their feed.  In that way, your question could go "viral" by spreading to others who also have the opportunity to answer the question.  If they follow it, it is also pushed out to their friends' feeds.  However, this also means that they will be able to see how their friends respond to the question.  If they "Ask a Friend," then the question is sent to those friends as a notification.

As a user, you can manage your questions by clicking on Questions in the left-hand menu.

So, how might this help a farm or food business?

• Ask who may be coming to an upcoming event.
• Ask what sorts of foods they like to buy from you.
• Ask how often they use your product.  For example, a winery may want to know how frequently their customers drink wine.
• Ask about how general economic conditions are affecting their purchasing.

Really, you could use this for anything you might want feedback about.  But, like most things, you should follow a few simple rules.

1. Ask clear, concise questions.  Make sure the reader can understand what you're asking.
2. Don't asking anything too personal.
3. Don't be a pest by asking too many questions.
4. Because it's SOCIAL media, be sure to respond to posts made about your question, if appropriate.

So, while Questions isn't earth-shaking, I think it does have some potential to enhance your ability to listen to your customers and their friends, and their friends, and...

Do You Really Need Your Own Website?

Last week, I posted something to my Facebook page (www.facebook.com/jah38; go ahead and send me a friend request) about Super Bowl ads that showed a company's Facebook page rather than a conventional .com page.  I missed a few, but brands such as Budweiser, Doritos, and Ritz fell into this category.  Why would a company do this?  Those pages are only accessible to the half-billion people with active Facebook accounts.  Here are some of my thoughts and things you need to consider before going down this path yourself.

1. You can bet they did their research!  They determined that members of their target markets were heavy Facebook users.  Don't go down this path unless it makes sense for you.

2. Facebook is a known format. Users know what they're getting from a Facebook page.  Sure, a company can hire web engineers to create new tabs for a business page, but the look and feel is somewhat standardized.  This makes it attractive to consumers.

3. Likes are golden.  With a click of a button, a user can choose to receive updates from these brands in the user's news feed.  Websites don't offer that.  Referring back to a post I wrote last week (Keeping the "Social" in Social Media), Facebook is a leading tool that can facilitate a relationship between a company or brand and the public.  It looks like these brands are moving toward relationships rather than simply telling people stuff.

4. Cost may be lower.  This isn't so important for a huge company that can afford to advertise during the Super Bowl, but it is for most business owners.  Having a basic Facebook page is "free" once you have a computer, internet connection, etc.  However, it takes time to manage the relationship with the public.  Be sure to build in that hidden cost as you think about this strategy.

So, do you need a website?  Probably!  Each of these brands still has a website.  Most small-scale farm and food businesses, however, can probably have a low frills website with some of the more engaging content on Facebook if that's where the customers are.

Using Facebook as an online storefront

Do you use Facebook in your business? If so, you are probably seeing the benefits of this quick and easy way of communicating with your customers. Some businesses are taking their Facebook presence to another level. Retailers are now using Facebook as an online storefront. Customers can make purchases without ever leaving Facebook.

According to the article "Retailers working to turn Facebook into marketplace before holiday shopping season" by Maria Halkias, this phenomenon is referred to as "social retailing". How does it work? "Best Buy is an example of a large retailer with a "shop" tab on its Facebook page. Its entire inventory is on Facebook, and users are encouraged to share items they're considering with their friends and read what others think about a product."


article

As an ag entrepreneur, how has your Facebook presence helped you reach customers? Would you consider selling your products on Facebook? Why or why not?

Mobile Marketing?

Food Systems Insider today had an interesting commentary regarding the role smartphones play in consumer purchasing behavior. Smartphones, such as Blackberries and iPhones, allow users instant access to all sorts of information.

Many social networking sites also have applications allowing people to access their accounts through their phones. A consumer with a smartphone can let their friends know where they are through foursquare, send a tweet and post a status update about their experience, and post pictures of a product they purchase to Facebook and Twitter.

With the continuing rise in the use of smartphones and the possibilities they offer for connecting with consumers, mobile marketing is yet another facet that ag entrepreneurs should consider as part of their marketing and PR strategies.

Check out the article via the link below.

Got milk? Check the smartphone

Another reason to use Twitter and Facebook

You may have been hearing a lot about Twitter (or tweeting) recently and how it can help you as a business owner talk about your business and hopefully gain customers. To be able to see tweets about a specific topic, a person would need to search on the Twitter website. A recent announcement from Google will help in this search for information.

In October, Google announced a search deal with Twitter to include tweets in search results. On the official Google blog, the benefits of the partnership are described. “Given this new type of information and its value to search, we are very excited to announce that we have reached an agreement with Twitter to include their updates in our search results. We believe that our search results and user experience will greatly benefit from the inclusion of this up-to-the-minute data, and we look forward to having a product that showcases how tweets can make search better in the coming months. That way, the next time you search for something that can be aided by a real-time observation, say, snow conditions at your favorite ski resort, you’ll find tweets from other users who are there and sharing the latest and greatest information.” After entering a search term, Google will scroll data in real-time (no need to refresh the page).

Coming in the beginning of 2010, Google will also be including Facebook updates in search results. The article below gives more information on the partnerships and includes a YouTube video on how the real-time data will be displayed.

Google article

As a business owner, do you use Facebook or Twitter? If you don't, will you start using these services now that Google will be displaying this data? What kind of feedback have you received from customers about your social networking usage?