1. Nicole Burkhard, Nova Scotia Agriculture November 13 th, 2011 ACORN

2. ‘Original’ Guerilla Marketing Guerilla marketing – concept from early 1980’s Level playing field of small businesses competing with large corporate marketing budgets Creativity is free: advertize in unexpected places, get word out through buzz Get maximum results with minimal $$

3. New Era of Marketing Yesterday Today Traditional marketing as one-way communication Newspaper ads Billboards Commercials Earned media Businesses hunt for customers Based on social marketing Relationship-based Customer engagement - experiential 2-way conversation Peer-to-peer (recommendations) Powerful new tools: internet, e-mail & social media Businesses are found (google, facebook)

4. What is your marketing strategy? Know Yourself What is your mission, vision, values, brand? A brand is not just a logo, it’s your whole package – it’s every point of contact with your customers (website, online ‘personality’, phone message, customer service, etc.), which is informed by your values Know Your Customers 80% of your revenue comes from 20% of your customers – how are you targeting this segment? Are you listening to what customers are saying about you? (monitor social media, surveys, feedback, Google Alerts)

5. Maximizing your marketing impact: Use your community connections to reach people and find out who your customers are Create win-win partnerships with other businesses (collective marketing – geographic, complementary products & services, etc.) Spread the word through educational events and workshops Use internet tools like social media and e-mail marketing to develop strong and lasting relationships with your customers

6. Why use social media? Only one component of your overall marketing plan – but an essential component : 75% of Canadians use social media 55% of Canadians are on Facebook 47% of Canadians are on Twitter Top 3 sites: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube Social media has been found to: Increase general exposure for business Increase traffic to website Increase search marketing Create new business partnerships Improve sales

7. Tips for using social media (SM) Define your goals: What is the purpose of your page? Identify 1-3 objectives Content strategy: 80% Educational and Entertaining What do people want to know? What are the top 10 questions people ask you? What’s happening on the farm today? 20 % Information on your products What you have available, and when and how people can buy it

8. Tips for using social media (SM) Have a call to action – you don’t just want to engage your customers, you want them to act: Visit your website (online store, CSA sign-up, etc.) Tell friends about your products & services Run contests and promotions

9. Tips for using social media (SM) Optimize your webpage and e-mail signature for social media: Make people aware of your SM presence and encourage them to like, follow, view and share… Post often & keep content relevant – be proactive Use time-saving strategies and tools: Link Facebook and Twitter accounts Use hootsuite.com to schedule messages and manage SM accounts

10. Facebook Tips Profile = personal (friend) Page = business (like) Group = ideas/things in common (join) Recommendation: Facebook Page Statistics under ‘Insights’ Can post as business – huge potential for networking, sharing information, gaining exposure

11. YouTube 2 nd largest online search engine after Google Untapped potential for getting your word out CSA promotional video ‘a day in your life on the farm’ Example: Annapolis Seeds The_chronicle_herald_metro_20111024_A04.pdf http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7u9_mHLgqOQ&fea ture=youtu.be http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7u9_mHLgqOQ&fea ture=youtu.be

12. CONTACT INFO: Nicole Burkhard Agricultural Transition Officer Nova Scotia Agriculture burkhane@gov.ns.ca 902-638-2397