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Success on Socials: Tips for Growing Your Social Media Presence with Unconventional Acres
314 Plays3 years ago
In this episode of the Direct Farm Podcast, Mel Dickinson of Unconventional Acres returns to discuss her Farm's social media strategy and the steps her Farm took to grow from 0 to 60,000 followers on Instagram. Unconventional Acres is a pasture based Farm located in Arena, WI that focuses on regenerative and rotational grazing practices that improves animal and land health.
unconventionalacres.com
instagram.com/unconventional_acres
barn2door.com/resources
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Transcript
Introduction to Direct Farm Podcast
00:00:03
Speaker
Welcome to the Direct Farm podcast, the go-to resource for farms across the US looking to grow and manage their business. Tune in weekly to hear tips and tactics from our most successful farmers on how to increase sales, access more customers, and save time and money. We'll also speak with industry experts, business leaders, and partners to share the latest farm business trends selling direct to market.
00:00:26
Speaker
Welcome to the Direct Farm podcast. I'm Garrett, your host for today's episode. We've
Introduction to Mel Dickinson and Unconventional Acres
00:00:31
Speaker
got a great conversation for you today with a member of our farm advisor network, Mel Dickinson of Unconventional Acres located in Arena, Wisconsin. Welcome back, Mel. Hey, how are you? I'm doing great. Now it's been a while since we've had you here on the podcast, just as a refresher for those who haven't heard from me before. Could you tell me about your farm and what you produce?
00:00:54
Speaker
Yeah, we are a pasture based farm in the driftless area in Wisconsin. We do grass fed beef and pasture raised forest, finished pork. We have some free range eggs too, but those are kind of come and go.
Farm Evolution and Animal Welfare Focus
00:01:06
Speaker
So why did you choose to raise pastured proteins in the way that you have?
00:01:10
Speaker
We started out with the idea that we were going to be homesteaders and animal welfare was really important to us. We purchased a small acreage in Colorado and wanted to do grass fed, grass finished. And that's why we started. It's evolved over the years as we've changed and grown and gotten different land and acreage. But our main reason at the beginning was because we wanted, it was animal welfare.
00:01:36
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Now tell me about your name. It's unconventional acres. What about your farm is so unconventional. It is. It is. I think.
00:01:47
Speaker
We did the name before we actually had the farm. And I think it just was because we've always gone against the grain. We've always been on our own timeline, done our own thing. People always think we're crazy. And the name, the farm and the name had really grown together. And our farm, I would say at this point is unconventional. Half of our acreage is wooded.
00:02:08
Speaker
And when we got here, the woods was a mess. Some of it still is, but one of the big things we do is we restore our woods. We use our animals, the cows and the hogs to help restore the forest. And we graze in the woods, which is definitely something you don't typically see. That's probably one of our big unconventional things that we're doing now. Is that something that you've seen other farms utilize or is that just something that you guys came up with?
00:02:34
Speaker
So the way we found our acreage is we moved here in 2016, fall of 2016. And there were only two properties that kind of had our criteria that met our criteria. One was on the east side of the state and one was on the west side of the state. And the one on the east side was in a floodplain and the house needed to be redone. So we decided not to do that. So.
00:02:56
Speaker
We went to the only other option that met our criteria. Yeah, no, so we found the land and it was a big chunk of land and we didn't know what we were going to do with it, so we kind of researched what we could do with it. We run dexters and highland mixes, pure highland and belty mixes, and those breeds are good foragers.
00:03:15
Speaker
And they're like big old hairy goats. So they do a great job with our woods and it just, they have shorter legs too, because we have a lot of hills. So just a combination of everything just really worked out. We all just kind of mesh together and landed together and we just rolled with it and are continuing. Wow. It seems like it worked great. Yeah, it really did. Well, what went into your farm's initial decision to start using barn to door?
Using Barn to Door for Online Sales
00:03:42
Speaker
Ben worked really hard and got us a website up and running, but it didn't have a store and it definitely was ready for an upgrade. So we knew that we needed to redo our website and we really wanted a store or something to streamline everything. And it just, there was another thing, the barn to door. We had somebody contact us and we looked into it and it was at that same time and it just, it really seemed, it was a good match for us.
00:04:07
Speaker
So it was awesome because we got to work with somebody. We got to tell our story. We got this beautiful website and we have this awesome store that makes things so much nicer.
00:04:18
Speaker
I bet. I bet. Yeah. Now in this episode of the direct farm podcast, we're going to be discussing some of your strategies around social media.
Instagram Growth and Strategy
00:04:28
Speaker
You've built an Instagram following from zero followers all the way up to 60,000 at this point. Now, obviously that growth doesn't really happen overnight. So what were some of your early approaches to growing a following on Instagram?
00:04:44
Speaker
So I think I've had Instagram for maybe four or five years now. Instagram today is different than Instagram was then. I mean, that's definitely a huge disclaimer, but when I first started, pictures were a big thing. So I learned that I really liked taking pictures.
00:05:03
Speaker
I mean, that was my first thing. So I had a ton of footage on my phone. It was easy. It was quick for me to do. I posted twice a day. I was consistently posting twice a day for a really long time. I would use hashtags because with the pictures, there would be a lot of other sites that would share your pictures. So I would use those specific site or hashtags. I would connect with other farmers if there were other hashtag kind of things going on.
00:05:30
Speaker
I really made connections that way at the beginning to help get our name out. I also worked with countryside magazine, the countryside network. I worked with them for a while. I still have good ties with them, but that was another thing that just really helped being starting to get the name out to a broader group. I've seen some of those photos on your Instagram now and they are amazing. They look incredible.
00:05:56
Speaker
And of course, having a lot of those really cute looking animals and cows and such definitely helped, but I just think the way they're put together is very nice. Thank you. Thank you very much. I didn't realize I was into photography until we had a farm. So yeah, that's evolving as well. That's a great thing about social media. I think is that it's easily accessible and that a lot of people who didn't know that they had a passion of photography can kind of find that out and they can explore.
00:06:25
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, for sure. So tell me about some of your greatest challenges at first. I know you said that Instagram has changed from then to now. What are some examples of that?
00:06:38
Speaker
So honestly, I think I'm more challenged now than I was in the beginning. At the beginning, it was super simple. Like I went out, I would do chores. I saw something. I'm like, I took a picture. It just, it was quick, easy. I loved it. It was work, but it didn't seem like work. Now Instagram's changing into the reels, which are the shorter videos. I have a lot of great ideas for those, but they definitely take more time and Instagram's changed the algorithm quite a bit.
00:07:02
Speaker
And so I think between those things, it's more challenging and plus finding the time, you know, to do everything is more challenging now. In the beginning though, I think just finding my groove.
00:07:11
Speaker
That's a very interesting answer there because that was something I didn't really expect. I would think that starting from the beginning, obviously there's an issue with trying to get people to see your posts in the first place. But now you've gotten to a point where you've got a very large audience, over 60,000 people. And now it's more about making sure that those people are getting daily content, correct?
00:07:34
Speaker
Yes, and actually being able to see my contents because with how the algorithm works, I may have 60,000 followers, but some days only 5000 of those followers are actually seeing my content based on the analytics that I see. So I mean, I think that's kind of the challenge right now. I see. I see. Well, what role does Instagram play in telling your farm story and growing your brand?
00:07:59
Speaker
So Instagram has been great and it's really helped us streamline. I know as farmers and just in general, everybody's so busy. So Instagram has been a great place where we can tell our story, keep everybody up to date. We have the website, which gives the full history and that has a lot of detail, but Instagram is just a great place to go to do updates, daily updates, so everybody can keep
00:08:20
Speaker
kind of in the loop. We don't have five or 10 different places that we're posting or telling this. It's just, it's one place, one thing. Everybody can see it. And it's just, it's helpful for me.
00:08:34
Speaker
Do you tend to focus on one type of thing when you post or do you try to give everyone just the full picture? You know, it depends on what we're doing and how much time we have and how our internet's working. Our internet has been painfully slow lately, so it's made it really hard to upload, to be honest. They keep telling me that we're at our fastest speed, but I know the neighbor across the street has better internet than we do, so.
00:09:00
Speaker
Well, then outside of social media, are there any ways that you are growing your brand or able to advertise your farm? We do some email, but I think Instagram has allowed us to connect with other people in the community and that's been really helpful. So I think using Instagram as a tool to connect with other businesses and connect with other people and just the community in general has been a great tool for us.
00:09:25
Speaker
That's great. What would be your advice to other farmers who don't think they have anything to share or anything that people will be interested in?
Creating Authentic Farm Content
00:09:33
Speaker
I think shared anyways. I think so much of what we do, we might not think it's interesting. The same thing happens to me. I'm just like, man, I'm just feeding cattle again. Like I'm doing the same thing I did yesterday and the same thing I did yesterday. I mean, it's always different, but not everybody feeds cattle.
00:09:51
Speaker
every day and not everybody has chickens or pigs or big gardens that they're doing CSAs and they're, you know, milking. They don't have that. What might seem normal and typical for us might not be normal and typical for somebody else. And I think the other thing, depending on what we do, like it's peaceful. Like I get a lot of people who thank me for my content because it's not something that they see on a daily basis.
00:10:17
Speaker
I'll note that when I take a look at your social media it definitely puts a smile on my face. I think there's a very positive vibe when looking at your accounts because obviously you've got some really great photos that are bright and colorful and have cute animals and there's also things that show the serious side of your farm but I think for the most part it's very uplifting.
00:10:36
Speaker
Thank you. Yeah, we try to keep the main feed part pretty positive. I try to stay positive on Instagram in general. That doesn't mean that I don't share anything that's negative. It just means that I focus on what we do and show the positives of what we do.
00:10:52
Speaker
I don't bring in other types of farms. I don't bring in how other farms are different. I don't do anything like that. I just focus on our positive and what we do. That doesn't mean that you don't share your hardships or your struggles or your failures. Those are two different things, but a lot of times I'll say those things in stories. We share a lot of that in stories. So it's kind of two different vibes between the two, between the actual feed and stories. Those are two different things for us.
00:11:18
Speaker
And the stories are a lot more of the behind the scenes and some of our failures and struggles and those kinds of things. And then the feed, we try to keep positive and light and it's just, you know, hot mess farmer Mel doing her thing. So do you think there needs to be a balance in the type of content that you produce both serious and fun and happy and sad, just finding that, that equality somewhere? I mean,
00:11:46
Speaker
I think whatever you feel comfortable sharing, to be perfectly honest, I think at the end of the day, it just needs to be true and genuine and what you feel comfortable sharing. I don't think it should be pushed. There's the hardships or obstacles or lessons we learn. We share a lot of that in stories. And I think that's important for people to see that. Some of the hardships we've definitely shared, but that's not a focus.
00:12:10
Speaker
And I think at the end of the day, it really is just whatever is true to you, whatever you want to share, whatever tells your story, how you want to tell your story, I think would be what I think is most valuable. Absolutely. I would agree. I think that the truth is obviously the best policy in social media. Yeah.
00:12:30
Speaker
Now for some farmers, staying on top of social media and posting consistently is one of the number one challenges. How do you manage your own social media schedule on top of managing the farm, your family, and your business?
00:12:45
Speaker
I'm going to be a do as I say and not as I do kind of message. I'm personally struggling with that. I think consistency is key. And I think that again, this is a do as I say, not as I do. At this point, I'm really trying to get this under control myself, but I think it's consistency. So figuring out what works for you. Is it going to be?
00:13:06
Speaker
five days a week? Is it going to be seven days a week? Is it going to be three days a week? Is it going to be twice a day every single day? It's whatever works for you. I think it's just consistency because your followers and people will expect that. And if they don't have that to expect, then they're not going to be looking for you. And I think that's huge. Were there any tricks or tools that you picked up over the years since you started on Instagram and social media in general that would help farmers save time?
00:13:35
Speaker
If you can figure out when your audience is on, that's huge. And it, again, it changes and sometimes you have to play with it a little bit. But again, that kind of goes with the consistency. I think.
00:13:47
Speaker
you'll get more bang for your buck when your audience is on and your material pops up. Cause it is frustrating if you spend time and you do all this, whether you spend a little or a lot and then you post and nobody's able to see it, that can get frustrating and it can definitely be a downer. So I think trying to find out those times and posting consistently will really go a long way in the long run.
00:14:13
Speaker
It definitely seems like content is only half the battle in social media. It also has to do with strategy and like you said, a lot of different factors. Yes. Yeah. I, I'm not even sure if content is half the battle at this point.
00:14:29
Speaker
But yeah, it definitely, it's hard. I'm not all a hundred percent sure what's going into this current algorithm. I know they're always changing it and mixing it up. So it's what might work for you one day or one week might not work the next. Sometimes you just have to let it slide off your shoulders and not even pay attention. And again, just given that consistent content, whatever is true to you content that your audience can expect and know to look for. I think that goes a long way.
00:14:58
Speaker
Absolutely. Let's talk about the algorithm because I've heard you mentioned it a few times here. Could you explain to people that don't know what that term means and how it affects your posts on social media?
00:15:10
Speaker
So the algorithm is basically determines what content gets shared and what doesn't. So back in the day, long, long time ago, it used to be timeline. So everybody that posted, it would come out in a timeline fashion and everything would show on your feed. Like everybody you followed, you'd see everything. Now they have programs that determine who gets their content shown and who doesn't. And sometimes it's based on how much interaction you get in the first 10 minutes.
00:15:41
Speaker
I don't know if that's still how it is, but you know, for a long time it was getting that first interaction in that first 10 minutes was huge. Sometimes you can follow all the rules and do all the tricks and your content still doesn't get shared how you think it should, even though your actual numbers of people seeing it are good, but it's just keep chipping away and chugging along. It definitely feels like a complicated process with that. How do you know what the algorithm is currently promoting?
00:16:11
Speaker
Sometimes if you have groups just maybe seeing or paying attention to what other content is doing well, that's kind of helpful too. If you see dips in everybody's content, I mean, that's kind of saying it's not just you. So it's helpful to kind of pay attention to what everybody else's content is doing as well and notice those trends in their content. But maybe seeing what somebody's doing or what time they're posting or maybe looking at the hashtags that they're using.
00:16:38
Speaker
and paying attention to some of that. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't. Yeah. How has the algorithm affected your social media posting habits? It's been crazy. Sometimes I'll produce content that I think is definitely view-worthy. And if I look at the actual numbers of how many people actually saw it versus likes,
00:16:59
Speaker
or just getting passed along. My numbers that way are really, really strong. So it's strong content and I feel proud about what I've produced, but then Instagram doesn't put that on other people's feeds. And then sometimes I'm just like, man, I got to put something up because I haven't put anything up for a long time. And it's just some silly video and all of a sudden it has almost 2 million views. And I'm like, what happened? So I don't know.
00:17:27
Speaker
Yeah. What types of posts have you found to be like the most successful or resonate with the most people? Again, it changes. Like I can post a picture of a calf one day and it does fabulous. And then the next day it flops. I can post video content with a calf and that does really well. I can post a picture or some content with our daughter and sometimes that's really strong and other times it flops. I think I've had some really big flops lately where I thought it was like super strong content and I still believe it's really strong content. It's just not getting.
00:17:57
Speaker
what I think it should, but again, I haven't been posting consistently either, just for time's sake, because I have a lot going on. It seems like social media can seem like a gamble sometimes. I think there's definitely a way that you can strategize and you can plan for posts and stories and all that, but a lot of it definitely seems like the flip of a coin, right? I would completely agree with that. Yes, I would completely agree with that statement.
00:18:26
Speaker
And I think a lot of people wouldn't. I think one of the important things that we brought up earlier is that you want to stay true to your brand and your image and your farm. And so while it's good to strategize and to find the most efficient means or the most successful means of posting, you also want to continue to post things that you love to post about and that your audience loves to see. Right. Yeah. I think at the end of the day,
00:18:55
Speaker
The main things are posting what you want to post true to you, true to your brand, true to your story, something that you feel genuine about, that you want to share that's important to you. And then the consistency on that posting. And just knowing that just because everybody's not seeing it, doesn't mean that somebody important isn't seeing it. Everybody's important, right? It doesn't mean that people aren't getting value from that and having the consistency.
00:19:22
Speaker
I think will help, especially if people really enjoy your content, they're going to know when to expect it. They're going to look for it. And those big numbers might not be there, but sometimes those little numbers are more valuable than the big numbers in the overall picture anyways.
00:19:36
Speaker
So apart from the content, there's also the data behind everything. Do you personally use the Instagram analytics features? I have tried, especially for when to post. I haven't used them for awhile. I think that would probably be valuable for me to go back and look to kind of see what's changed when people are on and try to post during those peak times. How well do you think that data would help form your social media strategies?
00:20:03
Speaker
I think it's still playing with the numbers or playing with the times of posting, but honestly, I think that a little bit of playing in the beginning and trying to figure out when your audience is on is going to be helpful in the long run. It's going to be helpful to get those numbers going again, or just have that consistency. And you're just, you're going to reach a larger amount, a larger audience, if you can hit those peak times. I think that's one of the things I've been looking at right now is.
00:20:33
Speaker
how much it's actually getting shared versus how much interaction I'm getting. And my numbers overall are very strong with the amount of people who are actually seeing my content. So I think maybe taking a minute or two to look into that and evaluate that, I think it's kind of an ego boost or maybe, you know, motivating, it's motivating to see that you really are producing good content.
00:20:58
Speaker
It's definitely something that you could deep dive into if you wanted to. If you really wanted to get that pinpoint accuracy with your posts, it's something that you could really study up. Yes. Yeah. And I definitely think it's helpful to at least be familiar, maybe not be completely obsessed and look, you know, every day, but just doing a quick kind of, okay, mental check, this work, this didn't, and then try to adjust accordingly.
00:21:21
Speaker
It's definitely a lot to digest there.
Building Genuine Partnerships
00:21:24
Speaker
So I think that partnerships are also a really great way to collect content for your feed as well as co-promote products or events with other farms, local producers or companies. How has unconventional acres utilized partnerships in your social strategies? So our big thing is we only work with companies that we support, that we've used, that we genuinely feel
00:21:51
Speaker
good supporting. We don't do any partnerships of random companies we've never tried before. I think being genuine in your partnerships is important, but teaming up, especially with local partnerships has been very helpful for us. Whether it's a blogger, a restaurant, a news station, anything local that you can partner up with, no matter where it is or what it is, how different it is from you is beneficial for sure. How did you go about establishing those partnerships?
00:22:20
Speaker
You know, sometimes it just happens in the DM, like in your direct messages and Instagram. One of the things I try to do is I make sure I try to follow local businesses, local companies, local farms, and start to get to know them, follow their content. And it's always nice to be able to talk to them in general. And then sometimes it just organically develops.
00:22:42
Speaker
Yeah, that's really great to hear. I like that you are pretty selective with your partnerships because obviously on social media, on your pages, you're trying to stay consistent as you mentioned in the past consistency and having partnerships with people or local businesses or companies that align with your goals is a natural deal. Right. Yeah. I think one of the important things that you can do with being genuine is you also want your audience to trust you and
00:23:10
Speaker
that's part of the trust is only working with brands that you support. Well, Mel, this has been an amazing conversation I've had with you today. I just want to ask what is next for unconventional acres and do you have any big plans for the year ahead? Oh my goodness. What is next for unconventional acres? Right now it's Hain season, which has been crazy. We took on more acreage than we've ever taken on before and
00:23:36
Speaker
We are juggling it with a toddler and it's been insane. So I think for us right now, we've had a lot of exciting things happen this summer. As far as we started the Dane County farmer's market, we go up there when we can around the square. It's the largest producer only market in the country.
00:23:55
Speaker
And it's just great. It's been so much fun to be able to do that and make it there when we can. It's been awesome seeing all this hay stack up and knowing that we have quality feed for the winter. That's been huge. And then we're still in calving. We're, I think about a third done. We should have about a third left. So it'll be nice to kind of wrap that up. Our calves are looking phenomenal. That's been exciting. Yeah. I think we're just going to continue to grow and.
00:24:25
Speaker
work on the woods when we can. And yeah, that's kinda what we're gonna do. There's definitely a lot on your plate. Are people gonna be able to follow along in your social media? I am trying very hard. Yeah, no, people will be able to follow with social media. Yeah, and tell me where people can find you on social media. We
Follow Unconventional Acres
00:24:47
Speaker
are at unconventional underscore acres on Instagram.
00:24:54
Speaker
I want to extend my thanks to Mel for joining us on this week's podcast episode. Here at Barn to Door, we are humbled to support thousands of farms across the country, including farmers like Mel, who implement sustainable agricultural practices and support their local community. If you would like to ask Mel any questions directly, you can meet her and other farm advisors in Barn to Door Connect. To learn more and register to attend, go to barn to door.com slash connect.
00:25:20
Speaker
sessions occur weekly. For more information on unconventional acres, visit unconventionalacres.com. And to learn more about Barn to Door, including access to numerous free resources and best practices for your farm, go to www.barnedoor.com resources. Thank you for tuning in and we'll see you next week.
00:25:44
Speaker
Thanks for tuning in. For more free farm resources, tips, and tactics that are most successful farms use to grow and manage their business, visit barnadore.com slash resources. Also don't forget to subscribe to the Direct Farm podcast to automatically download our weekly episodes. Thanks for listening and we'll see you next week.