Agriculture is active on Instagram. Just lookup hashtag #agriculture #australianfarmers and see for yourself the number and frequency of posts being made by both ag-related businesses and agricultural audiences.
Farmers, stockmen, policy officers, business managers, agribusinesses managers, agtech leaders, the list goes on.
More and more agricultural businesses are learning how to capitalise on the growing popularity of this platform.
How will you harness Instagram to attract, engage and covert your ideal ag customers?
Over 1 billion people use Instagram every month… that’s a lot of opportunity to reach potential customers in your niche.
Consider this:
- 60% of users seek out new products on Instagram
- 75% of users take action
- There are 25 million business profiles
- And there are 2 million monthly advertisers
There is significant opportunity to take action NOW to connect with your agricultural target audience in a way that builds trust, authority and affinity leading to exposure and leads.
Why should agribusinesses be on Instagram?
Social media is an ideal place for farmers and rural businesses to optimise not only their sales, but their connection to other people in the industry.
Traditionally, farming is a somewhat isolated job, and many people are still isolated due to their location.
But social media opens doors to a world of networking and community. It decreases this isolation and improves direct contact with influential people, globally and locally. It expands industry knowledge and engages your customers, whose buying decisions can easily be influenced by the array of tools. Instagram is a winner because of its focus on captivating imagery.
A big part of farmers’ lives is the communities they’re a part of – Instagram is just like one of these communities, with the ability to open you up to a whole world of connections.
So here are our 5 Master Tips for Ag Businesses New to Instagram – get your laptop out!
Nail your bio
Don’t rush it. This is valuable real estate.
You have a limited number of characters to capture attention and draw an action.
Your bio not only tells people about that solution you offer to the agri-rural market, but it also sets the first impressions among new audiences for your brand. The bio can also funnel offers and take people to your website. It’s the hook!
Here’s a checklist for an Instagram specific bio:
- Two dot points that tell people 1) who you are and 2) what you offer (make sure these speak to your brand voice)
- A branded hashtag to promote tagging and sharing
- A bio link to send people to your home page or promo (EXTRA TIP: use linkt.ree or URL tracker bit.ly)
- Use emojis to stand out and complement your brand voice
If you’re stuck wording your bio you may need to go back to the drawing board in clarifying your brand message.
Your profile should be professional, clear, and consistent with the visuals you post – more on this later!
EXTRA TIP: Preview can help you plan your bio, feed, write your captions and choose your hashtags, with the Instagram character limit in mind! Free for one user and device per account.
Don’t ignore Stories
Stories are where the attention is at on Instagram in 2021. Hence they should play a big role in your content strategy.
They’re among the most popular types of content by far – and the best thing is they are quick to create!
They feature as prime real estate – available to tap on by any follower at the TOP of their home feed.
People love raw insights into a business and there is no better opportunity as a member of the agri-rural market to leverage the power of creating short stories to its full potential here.
Say you’re an agricultural consultant:
- What did you get up to today?
- Who did you help?
- What advice did you provide to move someone closer to their goal?
- What common issues can you share cropping up for your market?
- What are some key takeaways from your day/week worth sharing?
- How can people reach you?
- What do you specialise in?
Contrary to what you might think, the best stories are simple minded. Use symbols, emojis and animations to get your message across quickly. You have just 15 seconds to make an impression!
EXTRA TIP: use Apps to set a consistent style for stories, create more effective messages and get the job done faster. Check out Canva.
Create Video
Video is king…and doesn’t have to be time consuming.
Start with a scene you know will spark curiosity or grab attention with your audience and add text. Why text? Videos are muted by default. Adding captions will let you convey the message regardless of the users’ settings.
You want to leverage Instagram features to gain maximum exposure for your brand. Using video and compelling visual content will help you get there.
Visuals allow the person to make their own decision about the product or brand without feeling pressured. By establishing a culture and particular theme, you establish a relationship and connection with your customers, which keeps them coming back.
Instagram demands rich visual content – without it you can’t gain traction, simple as that.
Instagram helps convert passive scrollers into confident customers. This is achieved through the visuals you post on a regular schedule.
So, what comprises compelling content on Instagram in the agri rural sector?
- User-generated content. One of the best ways to highlight a solution is through your customer. Encourage your current ag customers to create photos and tag your business featuring your solution. A great way to secure an ongoing stream of user-generated content is by running quarterly competitions.
- Show the application or demo of your product or service in action
- Share your culture, team values and behind the scene team shots
- Tell a story
By using visuals that resonates and connects with your audience while offering insight into your solution and the way you do business, you’re guaranteed to boost engagement and your reach.
EXTRA TIP: you may have noticed a new feature on Instagram called Reels – these are short 15-30 second videos that bounce off popular trends. Jump on this and you’ll reap the rewards – Instagram wants this feature to SUCCEED, so when you post a reel you’re feeding the algorithm which will help you reach more people in the explore section.
Engage, engage, engage!
Engagement and interaction with your customers, audience and community is the best thing you can do to gain a loyal following on Instagram.
Respond to notifications; like, comment and share other posts; offer promotions exclusively to your followers. If someone tags you in a post, respond to them – even better, share their photo on your Instagram! This makes them feel connected to your brand.
We could go on and on about the best ways to optimise your Instagram account to grow your business. Instagram guru, Gary Vaynerchuk, says the way to win social media is, put simply, to be social! His steps include:
- Finding the best hashtags to follow in your industry
- Leaving comments and likes on accounts to get other accounts to see your activity
- Making the comments meaningful and tailored to the individual posts/account
- Continuing the engagement!
Simply spending 10 minutes a day liking, commenting and following goes a long way on Instagram – you could do this with your morning coffee!
Run Ads
Get active!
If you have defined your brand message, then this comes easy. If not, go back to the drawing board to get this right.
If you’re already running ads on Facebook, you’re probably already running them on Instagram. At this stage its critical to have a campaign strategy with clear targets. Spending money on social media is designed to give your ag business ROI. Set your strategy, know your targets and track performance against objectives.
When choosing your ad placements, make sure to turn on all Instagram options (feed, stories, reels) and for a price that can start very small, you’re reaching a wider demographic already.
As you’d expect, visual design and messaging is the most important part of these ads. Designing your funnel, message and ads is a whole other blog, however for now know that video should be at the cornerstone of your advertising campaign on Instagram.
BONUS TIP: Hashtags
Most people will include hashtags that everyone uses – the most popular. However, this is not the smartest strategy.
Our hashtag strategy includes using 20-30 hashtags per post to get you the most exposure from the market you care about – who isn’t everyone!
- 5 branded hashtags (eg. #WrightSocial)
- 10 hashtags popular in your industry (eg. #livestocktraceability)
- 5 hashtags popular to the topic (eg. #aussiefarmers, #shearingsheds)
- 5 hashtags of what’s in the photo (eg. #workingdogsofaustralia, #merinosheep)
But it doesn’t stop there! This is where your engagement comes in: as soon as you’ve posted, click on the top five hashtags you’ve just used and like/comment on the posts that have used them in the last few hours.
In summary
It’s important to keep in mind that, just like crops, followers don’t grow overnight. By having an Instagram strategy, posting relevant visual content on a consistent schedule, building your presence and engaging with your customers you’ll see results from Instagram.
Feeling convinced? Instagram is an investment – if you are investing, start with a strategy, then execute that strategy one step at a time.
So now it’s time for you to start leveraging this platform and grow your agribusiness!
Got questions? Lost to where to begin your Instagram Strategy? Join our FREE Facebook Group for ag-related businesses & professionals to learn and share social media marketing tactics here!
