AUDIENCES by Laurie Hoffman, VistaComm Vice President of Client Services and Jane Wooldridge, VistaComm Journalist
TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT YOUR AUDIENCE It might be different than you think.
In your grandfather’s era of agri-business, “know your audience” meant being on a first-name basis with every Bob, Jim and Frank in the county. As business evolved through the 1970s, marketers started focusing on “demographics” as a way to know key factors such as age and income. Fast forward to 2019, and it’s a whole new world. While it’s still important to understand the demographics of your target audience, that’s just one small aspect of the big picture. You now need to dig deeper so you can understand details about your customers, such as: • What are their most urgent concerns? • What key factors influence their buying decisions? • Are they dissatisfied with current products or services in your market?
AUDIENCE SEGMENTATION: ZEROING IN ON SPECIFIC TARGETS Once you gather all of the broad information about your target audience, it quickly becomes clear that there are multiple subsets within that audience. That’s why audience segmentation is so important.
The segmentation process begins with a comprehensive customer analysis to determine everything from brand preferences, to the specific type of farm operation, to the proximity of that operation. Then you can use this information to guide your content marketing strategy. For instance, if a customer only operates a crop production farm, then don’t send him information about feed. Digital marketing gives you the ability to create and deliver content specifically geared to each segment.
KNOWING YOUR AUDIENCE MEANS KNOWING HOWUntitled THEY USEmap TECHNOLOGY Less than 10 years ago, iPad® and Instagram were brand Data for Map Graphic new ideas. Now, ag producers regularlyreducedcounts2.xlsx have iPads and tablets on their tractors or trucks. And they’re interacting Prospect with neighbors and influencers on Instagram,Client Snapchat and other forms of social media.
FARM AND RANCH OPERATORS ARE EMBRACING TECHNOLOGY1 92% of farm or ranch operators under age 35 use and/or access social media, including Facebook at 78% and Snapchat at 72%. Top reasons they use social media: • • •
Communicating with friends/family Getting breaking news/information Keeping up with agricultural news/trends and entertainment
1 www.siia.net/Portals/0/pdf/Connectiv/PDFs/2018AgMediaReport_FINAL.pdf?ver=2018-09-06-162913-653 2 www.cobank.com/corporate/news/ag-retailers-look-to-retool-strategy-for-success 4
AGRI-INSIGHTS ISSUE 1 2019
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