1. Ag Marketing– On the Internet! Using Current Technology and Social Media to Market Your Products Dr. Brian Whitacre Department of Agricultural Economics Oklahoma State University brian.whitacre@okstate.edu

2. Why is the Internet Important? More and more, people are turning to the Internet as their FIRST SOURCE of information – Even more as mobile Internet usage increases Survey respondents asked where they would turn if they only had 1 source of information: Source: Zogby Interactive Survey, June 2009

3. And Even More In the Future! Respondents also asked what they saw as the main source of information in 5 years: Source: Zogby Interactive Survey, June 2009

4. 5 Real-World Options for Marketing Ag Products Online 1)Local Harvest 2)Craigslist 3)Email Newsletters 4)Blogs 5)Facebook

5. Local Harvest (www.localharvest.org)www.localharvest.org Customers search for organic food grown close to them Can search by product or by state Join FOR FREE! 148 farms currently listed in Oklahoma – Info specific to their farm / link to website (if they have one)

6. How to Get Started Shop by Category Sign up for an account www.localharvest.org

7. Craigslist (www.craigslist.org)www.craigslist.org FREE Online Classifieds Extremely simple website design (circa 1996) Organized by Community – Can search nearby communities or larger metropolitan areas “Farm + Garden” category – Sell corn, wheat, goats… – Post your phone # – Use anonymous email address Constantly updated

8. How to Get Started www.craigslist.org Search ‘Farm+Garden’ Post to Classifieds

9. Email Newsletters Most Popular: Constant Contact Pay monthly fee (~$15), send out emails to your contact list (must develop yourself) – Good choice for many agribusinesses with repeat customers (agritourism, wineries, bed & breakfast) NOT a website – you will simply design nice- looking emails (templates provided) Stats provided on who opened, went to links, etc.

10. How to Get Started www.constantcontact.com View Email Newsletters Check out pricing plans Look into promoting an event

11. Blogs Online journal for your farm Updated daily / weekly / monthly – Can require significant time investment! Used to create awareness of what you are doing, and generate returning customer base – Pictures of farm life, products, events FREE programs available: wordpress, blogspot Check out some OK farm blogs: – http://turtlerockfarm.wordpress.com/ http://turtlerockfarm.wordpress.com/ – http://bootstrapfarm.blogspot.com/ http://bootstrapfarm.blogspot.com/ – http://lifeatfortyacrefarm.blogspot.com/ http://lifeatfortyacrefarm.blogspot.com/

12. How to Get Started www.blogspot.com www.wordpress.com Sign up!

13. Facebook Facebook: Has overtaken Google as THE most popular Internet site – Build “Fan Pages” – Post pictures / videos – Hold discussions – Page primarily developed through dynamic relationship with fans

14. How to Get Started Get a Personal Facebook Page (if you haven’t already) Create a “Fan Page” for your farm – Search “Create” under your personal page Create a Page!

15. How Much Time Do I Spend on This?? No surprise…the farms that spend the most time on their blogs / Facebook / Craiglist are the ones that get the most out of it 3 different farms on Facebook:

16. About Websites… All of the above techniques can be used WITHOUT a dedicated farm website But, all work BETTER if you can link to a farm- specific site Can be simple (single page) or more involved (multiple pages, e-commerce) Websites are NOT overly expensive to get! – ~$100 / year for all necessary ingredients

17. Some Do-It-Yourself Website Builders: Yahoo! SiteBuilder – http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/index.php http://webhosting.yahoo.com/ps/sb/index.php GoDaddy’s Website Tonight – http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/website-builder.aspx http://www.godaddy.com/hosting/website-builder.aspx Wix.com – http://www.wix.com/ http://www.wix.com/

18. The OSU E-commerce Program We offer workshops on: – Website Building – PayPal 101 – Search Engine Optimization (including marketing on Facebook) Contact: Dr. Brian Whitacre Oklahoma State University brian.whitacre@okstate.edu (405) 744-9825 Workshops are hands-on (in a computer lab), limited to 10 – 15 people, and last approximately 3 hours each