Farmer's markets often feel they lack the time and resources to manage a successful social presence. Here are 10 things on which they should focus.

1. SOCIAL MEDIA FOR
FARMER’S MARKETS
MINNESOTA FARMER’S MARKET ASSOCIATION | MARCH 22, 2012

2. AGENDA
• Why is social media important?
• 10 ways to use social media
• Discussion/questions
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3. WHY IS SOCIAL MEDIA IMPORTANT FOR
BUSINESSES?
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4. Five main reasons businesses use social
media
1. Communicating information
2. Customer service
3. Deepening relationships
4. Branding via content and
conversations
5. Responding to crises
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5. There are 130 farmer’s markets in Minnesota
alone.
7,175 in the U.S.
*up 17 percent in
2011
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6. I JUST SAW FRANK AND
JUNE CHECK IN AT THE
FARMER’S MARKET ON
FOURSQUARE.
IT SOUNDS FANTASTIC!
What are people doing at modern
farmer’s markets besides buying food?
Checking in
Taking photos
Updating their status
Tweeting
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7. 10 WAYS FARMER’S MARKETS CAN USE
SOCIAL MEDIA
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8. 1. Be a prolific source of information.
Facts are valuable currency:
Location, hours, reminders –
What can people expect if they go?
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9. 2. Give real-time updates
“The strawberries are almost gone!”
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10. 3. Share relevant and interesting content
What would you talk about in person?
Blogs can be a good home base for planned content;
Syndicate via social channels
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11. 4. Answer questions
And be prepared for criticism or a crisis.
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12. 5. Be sure to include visual content
Photos have the highest engagement
rates on Facebook.
15 million instagram accounts – and counting.
60 photos uploaded every minute.
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13. 6. Tie in to cooking
“What do I do with this food I just bought?”
Post recipes; partner with local chefs,
hold cooking competitions
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14. 7. Leverage geolocation
Establish official Foursquare
location, offer specials or
contests 14

15. 8. Connect people with their food sources
Profiles of farmers, Q&A’s, photos
from farms.
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16. 9. Publish post-event content
Highlights from the day: photos,
anecdotes, thank-you’s,
announce winners of contests
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17. 10. Come together
Promote other farmer’s markets
and interact with their pages.
Highlight the national trend of
“fork to food.”
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19. Thank you. Questions?
Steffen Ryan
Digital Strategist, Weber Shandwick
Email
sryan@webershandwick.com
Twitter:
@redguitarpick
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