Photo credit Erika Giraud
TheMarketing Homestead Products seriesoffers market gardeners and homesteaders tailored advice for selling their goods. Consider the benefits and drawbacks of joining up with a CSA, renting a farmer’s market stall, and the various forms of advertising available to your farm-based business.
For farmers and homesteaders, it can be tricky to find your local market. With a boost in digital efforts, some small businesses find it easier to gain a social media following from users across the globe than to connect with their own community.
This gap is where print marketing can play a major role in your success. Certain traditional industries, including agriculture, can benefit significantly from hyper-local print advertising, reaching out to consumers who want location-based products and services.
If you want to get the word out and boost your sales, there are several ways to take advantage of traditional print advertising. From sharing business cards to mailing promotional newsletters, it is easy to personalize your homestead marketing strategy.
1. Send Out Promotional Mail
No one likes junk mail, digital or otherwise. However, meaningful snail mail is an excellent method of print advertising for farmers. Just make sure that you’re direct in your messaging.
For example, if there is an upcoming event you are advertising, or if you are looking to sign up members for next year’s CSA — a group committed to the community’s farm — promotional mail can be an ideal way to get the message out. Before sending to every address in your area, make sure you set a budget.
2. Post Business Cards
Business cards are still relevant, even in an increasingly digital world. When it comes to creating personal relationships and expanding your network, these cards play a critical part in how your brand is perceived. Whether or not some people throw them out or lose them in their wallets, they’re are an inexpensive option for your farm advertising strategy.
Carry these cards with you at all times so that you can share contact information whenever the occasion arises. It can also be helpful to drop them off at local businesses and share them at events.
3. Connect With Local Restaurants
Connecting with your community through the local food scene is a great way to reach your target customer. Tabletop advertising allows you to share a fully personalized ad that people will view in a casual setting. This idea can be the perfect place to market your product since people are already in an environment where they’re thinking about food.
By utilizing tabletop ads in restaurants and coffee shops, you can effectively connect with local companies and their customers. Plus, several benefits to tabletop advertisements, including customization, easy storage and the symbiotic relationship you create between you and the business where you advertise.
4. Create Appealing Posters
People crave visual content. A poster with eye-catching graphics will attract attention, and its location can become a mainstay in your community. For example, if your advertisement is on the window of a coffee shop, people will familiarize themselves with your brand by just walking by it each day.
The best part about print media today is that you can take advantage of online tools to personalize your design. Just be sure that you keep your branding consistent across all mediums so that it is easily recognizable by your audience.
5. Personalize Everyday Items
Take your business to the next level by utilizing print advertising on everyday office materials, such as letterheads and envelopes. In this day and age, it may feel like an unnecessary step, but those small personalized details can go a long way for your customer.
Like business cards, printing custom office supplies can be affordable and easy to manage. People will appreciate the small steps that your farm business takes to stand out. Print media is an excellent method for sharing your farm logo and tagline, and personalized stationery will take your marketing strategy to the next level.
6. Utilize Informational Flyers
In addition to promotional material, print advertising can be a great way to provide someone with information they can hold onto.
For example, some farmer’s market vendors will distribute a flyer on how to store their product or offer recipe cards for inspiration. This idea is a great personal touch that also distributes information that your customer may not otherwise find.
Educating the consumer is also an essential step in any advertising strategy. By sharing relevant information with a potential customer, you can help them decide whether they should invest in your business.
Adding Print to Your Farm Advertising Strategy
Like any industry, print advertising is vital and should play a key role in your farm or homestead’s overall marketing strategy. Even in the digital age, print is relevant, cost-effective and fully customizable.
Adding the ideas above — such as promotional mail, business cards or restaurant placemats — to your marketing plan is a great step towards increasing connectivity with your target audience. When it comes to farm advertising, be sure to take advantage of traditional methods.
Kayla Matthews writes and blogs about healthy living, sustainable consumption, eco-friendly practices and green energy. In the past, her work has also been featured on GRIT, Mother Earth Living, Blue And Green Tomorrow, Dwell and Houzz. To read more from Kayla, follow her productivity and lifestyle blog, Productivity Theory, and read all of her MOTHER EARTH NEWS posts here.
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