Content marketing in agriculture - how to create content that reaches the farmer?.

More than 120 years ago, John Deere, an American manufacturer of agricultural machinery, began publishing a magazine called „The Furrow” to provide farmers with useful information on how to better run their farms. It was the first company to reach for a tool, nowadays called content marketing. What does it look like today in the agri-world - does content reign supreme in the fields? We explain and throw up inspiring examples of content marketing in agribusiness.

Content that teaches and entertains

„Content is a king” - the popularity of this phrase is not waning. According to report The Content Marketing Institute 91% marketers operating in the B2B sector use forms of content marketing. No less so in communications to the individual customer - here 86% marketers use them. Not surprisingly, the advantage of this marketing strategy is the wide range of technologies and tools that can be used in any industry, even those considered difficult and boring.

Attractive and useful content allows you to generate valuable organic traffic, interest and get potential buyers to buy. This is where the agricultural producer and his needs come first. And good content marketing in agribusiness serves information that helps solve problems or provides entertainment. To design relevant content that does its job, we must first deeply understand our audience.

Our Persona. What is the modern farmer like?

Entrepreneurial, modern traditionalist, actively using the Internet - such, contrary to stereotypes, is the modern farmer. According to a number of Martin & Jacob studies, even 80% farmers surveyed say they use the Internet, often via all mobile devices (smartphone, tablet and laptop), to efficiently manage their farm, for example, using electronic banking.

In turn, Martin & Jacob's 2017 „Profile of an Internet Farmer” report shows that farmers are a very stable and pragmatic social group in their choices. 80% of those surveyed point to the internet as a source of information, while 46% point to agricultural exhibitions and fairs. An important source of information for 41% respondents is also the opinion of neighbors and fellow farmers. This bundle of valuable information helps us select appropriate marketing activities to create content that will interest and engage.

Speak to the entrepreneur

Among the most popular tools, social media, blogging, email marketing and video continue to be of enduring interest. This works for marketing as well. Communication aimed at farmers fits into the B2B framework. Here there is no room for watered-down messaging. Hard data counts. Benefit language. Solutions to a specific problem.

Tool room. What works?

Articles published in their own and external media (paid media), as well as dedicated under email marketing is a great tool to educate and build a relationship between the brand and the recipient. A similar role is played by blog, in which the brand can speak in its own voice, invite you into its world, share news, advise, for example, how to increase productivity or efficiency in agricultural operations.

It is important that the content brings practical solutions and advice from practitioners, such as how to control field violets in crops or how to choose a tractor for a farm over 50 hectares. And just as importantly ̶ they should be easy to find on Google, because that's where, like most Internet users, a farmer looks for answers. This goal will be achieved by using the appropriate search term and applying it to the text. So it is worth remembering the invaluable SEO when preparing the material.

The third most popular format remains without a doubt video, involving experts as well as representatives of the rural farming community. This is a great way to increase audience engagement. An article enriched with a video increases audience engagement, illustrated, for example, by a series of video reports (so-called job-stories) on the portal Agrofakt.pl carried out on farms. The data released by the portal shows that the rejection rate of the 13 machinery campaign reports (job-stories of tractors and combines) is just under 42%, which is within the recommended scope of (30-60%) for content portals. And the larger bounce rate, the longer the time spent on the site. These are among the indicators that can be a signpost as to whether content is engaging. In the case of AgroFakt.pl, the average time a user spent on the site was 2:55 minutes per article with a video report. This is higher compared to the average time of all content on the portal - 2:47 min, and the time a reader spent reading a text without video - 2:05 min (we compared 13 job-story texts without the additional video).

Content marketing in agribusiness - examples

Let's further check how these most popular tools are being used by companies. Finally, a brief overview of interesting content marketing activities in agribusiness.

An iconic magazine for farmers. The aforementioned John Deere, the company from the legendary green „stag” tractors already in the 19th century shone as an example of how to make valuable content tailored to the needs of farmers. „The Furrow” was called the agricultural version of „The Rolling Stone.” The magazine is still published in print and reaches 2 million readers worldwide through an extensive network of dealers. It is also available in online form. Already a cult item in the world of branding and agriculture, archived issues of „The Furrow” are a treat for collectors.

News straight from the field. Other companies rely heavily on user stories. Zetor, Czech tractor manufacturer presents reports on its blog Zetor world. In turn, the Japanese brand Kubota carries out video reports in its Opinion Leaders series in its media, visiting farms with different production profiles, among others. ZOO, or football nursery, places where their machines are used. So-called testimonials, or product reviews, in an accessible form are the best testimony to quality and form relationships with the community. Farmers value the opinion of other farmers and their recommendations.

First of all, education. Agriculture is dependent on changing weather conditions, so constant monitoring of weather and existing threats (agrophages) is key. Plant protection product manufacturers, among others, are coming to the rescue by designing educational content on their websites or creating external educational services, e.g. Infopole created by the company Syngenta - A site that combines field monitoring with expert advice and a community for farmers. The content tailored to the needs of growers also includes examples worth noting ̶ such as. Project Agrar from the company Josera, an expert blog aimed at cattle and swine farmers.

In future posts, we will tell you more about what the agricultural internet is living. Want to know what the Polish farmer is watching and listening to? Follow our blog for maximum results.

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