Want to drive farmer engagement?

14/02/25

Author: Philip Gibson

3 minutes read

The way we communicate is evolving and so it should be no surprise that this impacts farmers too. Are your communication efforts keeping up?

Here are our top tips for building communication that is compelling and engages a farmer audience…

Know your audience

Farmers are not a single, uniform group and you are rarely trying to influence one person within a farm business. Take time to properly understand your specific farming audience – what do they currently think, feel and believe about your products or business? What’s currently impacting them or occupying their thoughts? Tailor your messaging and campaign activity to address this. Craft messaging that works not just for the decision-makers but also those who influence them.

Leverage consistency

Messages only land if they are delivered with clarity and consistency through all forms of communication. Regularly audit your communications materials to make sure there’s a seamless connection between your tone of voice, messaging and visuals. Be memorable for the right reasons.

Content is king

It all starts with content, because if you aren’t creating material for your owned channels then you aren’t building brand authority, and you’ll have nothing to share more widely.

But not all content is created equal. Farmers love a product demo, video or testimonial, with short, visual formats proving most effective for engagement on digital channels. And remember, mobile-first thinking is paramount on digital channels – so make sure your content works well on a small screen.

But don’t ignore the written word and traditional media either. Whilst received wisdom is that earned media is getting harder to achieve due to fewer journalists and additional commercial pressure at titles, detailed technical articles, case studies and independent reviews remain powerful for fostering trust and driving decision-making later in the buying process.

Meet farmers where they are

Whilst digital habits are evolving, offline communication remains important. Many farmers still love to read the farming magazines or attend events, and word-of-mouth recommendations still hold the greatest sway over their buying decisions. A multi-channel approach is therefore essential, so think about a mix of paid, earned, shared and owned channels to reach and truly engage a farming audience.

Timing is everything

Farmers’ online habits vary, but evenings are prime time - whether reading emails, catching up on social media or researching products. Schedule digital campaigns and emails for these hours to drive better engagement rates and, ultimately, better return on investment.

Some content is also market or weather dependent, so get the timing right to show you understand what your audience is dealing with day to day.

Empathy wins

Farming is a complex, low-margin business with lots of external challenges, from weather to market volatility, government policy and changing supply chain requirements.

Cutting through that noise is much easier when farmers feel that your organisation or brand understands what they are facing and is working to help them rather than simply trying to sell to them or get them to do something.

Think about the WIIFM in your approach and actively demonstrate through your language and tone of voice that you understand and care about your farmer audience, and engagement will tend to increase.

Want to know more? Check out our blog about the power of empathy in farming communications.

Is your current approach delivering the engagement you need?

We can review your activity and make recommendations to improve your brand engagement. What’s more, our Twig Influence and Twig Inspire services are tailored to help your business create compelling communications in a competitive market.