Marketing Plan: Finding Your Hubs
Marketing is all about connecting with people and building relationships. This week we’ll talk about how to find the people that want what you’re selling in a way that feels genuine. We’ll be doing lots of brainstorming and creative thinking this week so open yourself up to a wealth of possibilities and don’t discount any ideas!
The Marketing session will feature two speakers:
Laurie Trigg is a bison, pork and chicken rancher from Mayerthorpe, AB. Laurie and her husband Chad run Backwoods Buffalo Ranch and sell their products by means of farmers markets and farm gate sales through their on-site farm store. Laurie prides herself in educating the public on where their food comes from and loosely throws around the term “become a responsible omnivore.” Hosting individuals from around the world year round, through varying agriculture education programs, is something Laurie is passionate about and has helped to expand their community based around food. She is proud to be a farmHer in a profession predominantly navigated by men.
Tad Hargrave is a hippy who developed a knack for marketing (and then learned how to be a hippy again). Whatever the reason, for almost a decade, he has been touring his marketing workshops around Canada, bringing refreshing and unorthodox ideas to conscious entrepreneurs and green businesses that help them grow their organizations and businesses (without selling their souls). He runs Marketing for Hippies and posts regularly on his YouTube Channel about all things marketing and storytelling.
There is also a video by Gelaine Santiago about online marketing that you can check out. Unfortunately, Gelaine will not be able to join us for the live session.
Gelaine Santiago is a social entrepreneur, writer, and content marketing consultant. She specializes in empowering Black, Indigenous, and founders of colour to scale their e-commerce businesses and build wealth to uplift our communities. She’s the co-founder of Cambio & Co., an ethical fashion company that provides sustainable livelihood for artisans in the Philippines and empowers Filipinos in the diaspora to #WearYourHeritage. She’s also the co-founder of Sinta & Co., a socially conscious Filipino wedding boutique. Her work has been featured in Cosmopolitan Magazine, Huffington Post, CBC, Rappler, Metro Style and ABS-CBN. Gelaine was also a recipient of the RBC Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Award in 2019.
During the session we’ll have a chance to dive deeper into “hub marketing” and developing a presence on social media. We’ll also do some brainstorming around ways to connect with future customers.
VIDEOS
Partner Marketing for Farmers – Tad Hargrave (Marketing for Hippies)
Farmer Story – Laurie Trigg (Backwoods Buffalo Ranch)
Creating Content That Resonates – Gelaine Santiago
WORKSHEETS
Here is the worksheet put together to help you develop an effective marketing plan.
The first part is a simple worksheet based on Tad’s three questions that you should ask yourself to find good partnerships for marketing. The more creativity and thought you put in, the more you’ll get out! Don’t hesitate to call a friend or family member to help you brainstorm.
The second part is a worksheet that Gelaine put together based on her presentation. Fill it out as best you can and keep coming back to it as you learn more about yourself and the kind of farm you want to run.
Marketing Worksheet (doc)
Marketing Worksheet (pdf)
RESOURCES
Articles – Hub Marketing for Farmers (Tad Hargrave)
Website – Online Marketing for Farmers (Kendall Ballantine)
Website – Free Online Graphic Design Templates (Canva)
Website – My Digital Farmer (Corinna Bench)
Guide – How to Develop & Use a Marketing Plan (BC Agriculture)