Marketers are farmers. Increasing yield is not just buying more land & spreading more seeds.
I’ve often wondered why marketing the social media way just feels so natural. Maybe its rooted (sorry, no pun intended) in my growing up on a farm in New Brunswick. Maybe it’s the garden I used to grow each year as a kid for a vegetable competition in the county fair in the Fall. Or maybe it was the 10000 onions I grew, weeded, watered, harvested and sold as a 13 year old to make enough money to buy my C-64 (ah this is taking me back.) Whatever it was, as a marketer I see myself as a farmer.
(photo credit – Cindy’s World - via flickr)
If you’ve ever planted and tended to a garden or crops you know that it’s a heck of a lot more than just planting the seeds in the spring and harvesting in the fall. Yes, that’s the general idea but there is a lot more to it going on in between those two points.
Next week I’m presenting on a panel at eMetrics in Toronto. The topic is social media and measuring from awareness to action (seeds to harvest). This analogy popped into my head when considering the approaches to many traditional marketing campaigns. In general, increasing yield (actions) for traditional marketing can mean throwing more money at a campaign through more media buys (buying more land) and spreading the message wider (planting more seeds.) More often than not it does result in improved results (increased harvests) but at what cost? Is this really the most efficient way to grow business (crops)? Is this approach really going to fly especially in today’s economic climate?
When approaching marketing from a social media centric view I see marketers considering of other ways to increase yield. With a farmer, he/she would listen to a number of metrics and react accordingly before planting, during the growing season and at harvest time.
- Is the soil in need of nutrients?
- Which plot of land has the best soil mix for the seeds to flourish?
- Should I rotate the crops so as not to overtax a plot of land with the same crop year after year?
- Is the season predicted to be wet or dry and how will that effect what I plant?
- What crop can give me the best ROI with the land I have and the time I have to give it?
- Are there weeds growing that are smothering the plants enough that I need to remove them?
- Are the plants being attacked by pests and should I spray?
- Is there an early frost predicted and should I harvest now or risk the plants being killed if I don’t?
To me the best farmers know how to listen to the signs before, during and after the growing season. They are always in tune with Mother Nature (community) and make an effort care and feed for each and every plant (relationships).
Social media-grounded marketers do the same thing. They listen to their community to assess needs and match that to what they have regarding resources to offer. They plant seeds at the appropriate time and listen for signs as to how they are doing. They provide care and feeding where appropriate and reacte to forces outside their control. And they listen for the points of need when potential rewards are good for both the community and for their business, creating a win-win season.
And because they are “out in the field” in social media they have many metrics at hand to help them ascertain what to do next. I’ve included some of these metrics in the draft of the presentation found here on Slideshare. Using this analogy, what are some of the metrics you would recommend?
March 27th, 2009 - Posted in social media | | 12 Comments
on March 27th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
I don’t know if I would call these metrics but more so continuing analogies…
If the sheep escape you go the extra mile no matter what your doing to get that sheep back (customer loyalty)
it takes a well put together strategy to manage a farmers day, season, year – much like social marketing
farmers understand they are apart of a greater community, one of which they can share with, and provide useful information – this hits social media in the nose.
Great job with the analogy David, i’m sure your presentation will go well as always – I look forward to watching them on youtube etc.
on March 27th, 2009 at 9:36 pm
I’m a certified Brown Thumb (i.e. can kill the hardiest of houseplants in spite of my best efforts), but both sets of grandparents were farmers, so this analogy really resonates with me, David. I’ll offer these thoughts to add to your analogy:
1. The farmer knows his is a high-risk business but stakes everything he owns on it, often quite literally, because he truly loves what he does — everything about the process of planting, growing and harvesting. If a crop is destroyed, it can mean financial ruin for his family. In fact, farming is far more than a business; it’s a lifestyle that occupies a farming family 24/7. To be successful in social media marketing requires the same kind of passion, dedication and willingness to invest whatever time it takes to insure the best possible outcome. Tending a community requires commitment to a social media lifestyle.
2. It’s implicit in your analogy, but you can’t plant corn and expect to reap a bumper crop of cabbages. In marketing terms, you can’t take tired ideas, sprinkle liberally with new media fertilizer, and think you can turn corn into cabbages. Success begins before you plant. And knowing what you are going to measure helps you know what seeds to plant in the first place.
Wish I could attend your presentation — I’m sure it will be great.
on March 27th, 2009 at 9:40 pm
Jeremy and Connie, wow I love how you’ve both extended the analogy. I’m a big analogy fan as you can probably tell so it’s cool to find other fans of this way of explaining ideas. The additions you’ve both brought have further filled in areas I hadn’t thought of. Love it.
on April 2nd, 2009 at 12:33 am
Insightful post. Now all this concept needs in order to catch on and start virally circulating is the distillation of your key points down into a single phrase…like Seth does when he taps his unique gift of brevity yet again and says “Interact first, sell second” at http://tinyurl.com/av6xpk.
Consider it the media-snacking approach to serving consumers of various marketing philosophies ;o)
Keep it up, David.
on April 2nd, 2009 at 12:43 am
Hey thanks Sionne. Yeah, I like that story and the summary. Goes well with “hey cowboy”
on April 27th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Great Analogy. Marketers need to add value.
One of those on which you go “but of course !” or “I always knew this”… an eye opener and one to keep over the chimney in bold letters.
Regards, JPh
on April 27th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
Thanks Jean-Philippe. Hopefully over the mantle and not the chimney (in case it caught on fire)
I appreciate the kind words. David
on May 8th, 2009 at 10:14 am
I flow with this perfectly because i undestand the terms you used and seemed to grow up with a similar environment. Thanks for being honest.
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