Consistency is Key to Branding your Sight

Branding your farm business is one of the best forms of advertising that exists. Selecting a user name that identifies you when talking with others on social media sites is your personal brand that allows others to identify you and know when you are on the site. The names that are chosen are displayed next to your messages and very often they can be almost anything that is desired as long as it does not violate user policies.

Tractor Tweeting – The Rise of Social Media

Farmers are not nearly as isolated from the rest of the world as they were in the past. With social media, such as Twitter, it is possible to get answers to questions, help with concerns and virtually any other advice needed. There are even discussions springing up that are focused on caring for the animals that live on the farms. One such discussion, AgChat, was founded by a British farmer, Michele Payn-Knoper. The idea for the discussion started when she went to Twitter to obtain advice about a Holstein dairy calf that was not weaning. The advice she got worked and now the discussion is ongoing every Tuesday night. Since its beginning in 2009, the discussion has grown to include ten countries with 10,000 people sharing and exchanging ideas about farming and other related issues.

I was recently asked to speak to the Association of Saskatchewan Realtors at their AGM on a panel discussing blogging as it relates to my business and my life. The interesting thing about speaking on a topic is that it really does force you to examine the important question of why you take time out of your busy day to share your life story with others.  I really had not put that much thought into it until now, but after this presentation I have more clarity on the topic of personality branding, lifestyle branding and niche marketing.  This blog is just the Coles Notes of my discussion on the primary message delivered on "personality branding.

When I first started farming with my dad I was still in University. The Internet was nothing more than a novelty and life on the farm was pretty simple. Every morning dad would swing by the farm, pick me up like clockwork at 6:45 a.m., and we would head to town for coffee before starting work for the day.

As you may or may not know I love the social media platform Foursquare. Maybe it goes back to my boy scout days that triggers excitement when I earn a new badge. Unfortunately one of the down sides to living in a small community is that Foursquare has very limited application as the amount of users is minimal and everyone already knows everyone. However I think i have thought up a new use that may get a rural following....