Minnesota Ag Connection - 'Digital Marketing & Social Media for Busy Small Farms' March 20

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'Digital Marketing & Social Media for Busy Small Farms' March 20
Minnesota Ag Connection - 03/19/2018

Growers are invited to learn about using digital marketing and social media to sell their farm's products on March 20 from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at Sprout (609 13th Ave NE, Door 8, Little Falls). Most customers spend 20 hours each week on the internet and social media -- so growers should meet them where they already are!

This session will teach small, busy farms how to use a little bit of strategy and some digital marketing and social media skills to increase sales. Topics include digital and social marketing overview (SEO, platforms, mediums/media channels, how to use things like hashtags effectively), understanding your customers and what they want, genuinely telling your story through tidbits and photos, getting positive reviews, and paying for advertising where it makes sense.

Workshop presenter Lisa Baker is owner of Bakers' Acres, a 15-acre certified organic family farm in Avon, Minn. The farm grows vegetables for a 70-customer CSA and small-volume wholesale accounts in the Twin Cities and Central Minnesota. Lisa's Master's degree focused on using ethnographic research for branding and marketing strategy development. She worked for 10 years in marketing roles in Fortune 500 companies, 5 years consulting via her own production and marketing agency, and she currently serves as the marketing director for Sprout in Little Falls.

Register via the Eventbrite event link. Share the Facebook event. This workshop is free thanks to sponsorship by Artplace America and Region Five Development Commission.

Additional workshops at Sprout are being planned now. The workshops are co-created with artists, growers, and local experts; prospective participants can request the type of education needed to build their businesses via a short online survey (link) on the Sprout website. Community participation, as central to Sprout's placemaking efforts, is encouraged throughout the planning process to ensure workshops cater to their specific needs in Central Minnesota. Workshop goals are to increase access to technical assistance and resources for growers and makers to build their business capacity and profitability; connect and equip local artists and growers to obtain leadership roles that can lead to further placemaking in the region and commissioned work opportunities; develop deeper understanding of good farming practices; and fuel succession planning that increases economic prosperity. Throughout 2017-19, Sprout is hosting 14 leadership and business classes and trainings funded by an ArtPlace America creative placemaking grant awarded to Region Five Development Commission.

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