The agriculture sector is embracing the online world and in particular social media marketing.
But whilst many agriculture businesses and professionals are already successfully using social media, others are still trying to understand how social media marketing can help them in such a specific sector.
One key benefit of using social media in the agriculture sector (besides connecting with the consumers) is the opportunity it presents to connect with industry influencers, locally, nationally and also around the world, which can reduce a farmer’s social isolation.
So what are the main benefits of connecting to agriculture influencers?
1. Ability to gain a wealth of knowledge and ideas
Online discussions like The #AgChat discussion group on Twitter or Linkedin groups such as Sustainable Agriculture is a great concept for facilitating discussions of industry issues between farmers and agribusinesses, also providing a great opportunity to connect with industry influencers that participate in these discussions on a weekly basis.
By participating in this chat as well as other social media discussions, an agriculture professional can have the ability to gain a wealth of knowledge and ideas in a short period of time, something that would be difficult to do otherwise or it will require more time and travel.
And it can also provide you with the opportunity to become an influencer yourself, if you start to deliver your own expertise.
For farmers trying to build their businesses, participating in these conversations can be a great way to network within the field and gain respect and recognition from peers.
2. Opportunity to establish key partnerships
Connecting with agriculture influencers can provide a wonderful opportunity to establish key partnerships, not only with the influencers themselves but they can help you open doors and connect with other farmers and agribusinesses and start strong relationships that can end in making key partnerships.
Influencers are usually people that have not only many connections themselves, but that have key connections, usually with other industry influencers too. This means that they can connect you with other businesses. Having a look at whom they follow on social media can also help you identify other influencers too.
3. Opportunity to reach a wider audience
Connecting with industry influencers, catching their attention and establishing strong relationships with them can help you reach a wider audience, which can lead to more brand awareness and more business opportunities.
In order for them to help reach a wider audience, make sure you provide value in your conversations to them, by delivering great content and information to them and showing your expertise! They’ll be happy to share your content with their peers or even recommend them to follow you.
If you’re ready to start connecting and networking with industry influencers, click here to see the 100 best social network sites for Agriculture, Food and Agribusinesses.
