How to Do Social Marketing for Agricultural Products Well
Our lives are being influenced by various forms of social media, from Facebook to Renren, from MSN to QQ, from Twitter to Weibo; the forms of social media are changing. At the same time, people's lifestyles are also changing because of these social media. For example, before shopping, people always ask for everyone's opinions on WeChat Moments, or compare prices on various shopping websites before making a purchase. Therefore, all kinds of social media are changing the world, changing the way people communicate with one another, and of course also changing the way marketing is done. Moreover, this approach is not just a trend, but a requirement of this era. Against this backdrop, the marketing model for agricultural products must also change in due course. Social marketing for agricultural products uses the user-friendly relationship networks of social platforms to increase product experience and attention for agricultural products through interaction and sharing, thereby better driving the sales of agricultural products.
1. The meaning of social marketing
Social marketing is the use of various social media, such as online communities, Weibo, WeChat, image and video self-media platforms, to publish and spread information, thereby forming a marketing method that encompasses marketing, sales, public relations handling, and customer relationship service maintenance and development.
Traditional media marketing transmits information to consumers unilaterally through media such as television, newspapers, and outdoor advertising, thereby strengthening awareness, sparking interest, and stimulating consumers' purchasing behavior. In this one-way transmission, the two sides cannot interact or communicate, let alone have a user experience. In contrast, social marketing born under the background of the mobile internet is interactive, two-way information transmission that can gradually cultivate group after group of loyal fans. And this approach delivers low-cost, high-profit returns.
The biggest difference between social marketing and traditional media marketing lies in the fact that the latter focuses more on turning a brand into a social brand, chatting, interacting, and playing games with consumers, letting the brand live among the crowd and become a vivid brand.
2. Case analysis of social marketing models for agricultural products
2.1 Community website marketing model
A community website refers to a community formed by people with common interests and experiences through electronic networks, newsgroups, chat rooms, forums, and other means, allowing participants to communicate, interact, and share information with one another. For example, if you enter "Zhang Sheng Gu Li" in a search engine, the first item displayed is the community website belonging to Zhang Sheng Gu Li. In it, rice is described in the form of images from production, processing, packaging design, and sales, making people feel as if they are there. These scenes and texts come from the original-ecology rice paddies across Taiwan, China. "Zhang Sheng Gu Li" writes about rice, the most ordinary yet most important agricultural product, in words and records it with images, giving the public the most authentic and most natural impression. When a community website has the function of communication, it also becomes a marketing venue, thereby building brand awareness and cultivating loyal customers.
2.2 E-commerce marketing model
At present, B2B marketing models involving various industries are increasing day by day. This type of e-commerce website has prominent advantages such as professional purchase guidance, convenient online payment methods, and relatively low prices, and has also become a marketing platform for various agricultural products. For example, Guoku.com is the first e-commerce website in China specializing in fresh-cut fruit food. It fresh-cuts and assembles the fruit that customers need into platters, satisfying diverse needs. The greatest advantages of fresh-cut fruit are that it is wash-free, cut-free, 100 percent usable, and loss-free. It obtains user orders through online sales and promises delivery within 6 hours. At present, Guoku.com sends out an average of more than 3,000 orders every day, and it is sought after by more and more people.
2.3 WeChat marketing model
The production areas of agricultural products are mostly located in relatively remote geographical environments, which reduces the user experience and thus cannot increase users' desire to buy. However, the mobile networks widely covering townships and the widespread use of smartphones both provide more convenient and simpler technical support for WeChat marketing. The release of information through images, text, and video breaks through the barriers of distance, allowing users to more intuitively feel and experience the growing environment of agricultural products, thereby developing trust in the product and sharing it to Moments, increasing the number of followers. WeChat marketing for agricultural products refers to the marketing method of using WeChat, an instant messaging tool, to publish information such as product prices and demand information, while also absorbing user feedback, thereby selling agricultural products more precisely. For example, the office clerk You Da achieved huge market recognition through WeChat marketing of free-range eggs. You Da quit his job and returned to his hometown to contract mountain land to raise free-range chickens. He pushed images and information about the farm environment and the raising process to friends in his Moments through the WeChat official account platform, thus attracting many urban residents to order online. At present, You Da has accumulated more than 2,000 stable fans, and over 9 months of trading, he has sold 30,000 free-range eggs.
2.4 Marketing model of agricultural product APP applications
With the widespread use of mobile terminal devices such as smartphones, people have already replaced methods such as visiting websites and reading Weibo with understanding product information through application clients. Internet enterprises and e-commerce platforms use APP applications as the main model for marketing products, using them to capture mobile clients.