“Imagine filling your CSA just by tweeting that you are open for signups!” 23-year-old Michael Kilpatrick said, referring to the potential of Twitter. Michael, owner of Kilpatrick Family Farm in upstate New York, is part of a growing number of farmers making social media the core of their marketing plan. While he grew up with these tools, those over 30 are the fastest growing group of users and the customers most likely to sign up for CSA shares through Twitter or Facebook.

“Facebook allows us to interact with our customers on a deeper level by putting up daily specials at the market, pictures of what’s happening on the farm, job postings and legislation alerts,” Michael continued. He also uses a blog to keep customers and friends connected to the farm by sharing recipes and ideas. Not simply news and updates, Michael also uses a blog to discuss the more intimate decisions of farming life, like a post in February explaining his reasons for not certifying organic.

Michael’s Facebook friends and fans, Twitter followers and blog readers chose to follow him, specifically, because they feel he offers something of value through digital sharing. Fifteen years ago, marketing executives could not, in their wildest dreams, have imagined a way for small business owners to reach a targeted audience with a specific message, at any time, and at practically no cost. Of course, it wasn’t marketing executives who dreamed up social media although they have as much say in it as the rest of us.

Defining the term social media is hard because of its overall lack of structure and constantly evolving nature. There are a steady stream of new applications, programs, platforms and other tools with names like Hootsuite, Bitly, or Tumblr. Each has its own advantages and drawbacks. Pandora has become an extremely popular site for ‘discovering’ new music. Flickr allows users to share photos with anyone and sites like Digg have become alternative news sources.

“The term social media can be hard to pin down,” says writer and new media consultant Derek Markham whose work focuses on the intersection between small businesses, small towns and social media. His ‘following’ on Twitter is more than 100 times the size of most CSA memberships. “It generally refers to digital media – information, images, music or videos – which are designed to be shared socially. Instead of coming strictly through the traditional outlets of TV, newspapers, or magazines, social media are created by and for people. Often, the platform is designed for a smaller, much more targeted and interested audience.”

Many young farmers are beginning to use YouTube as a way to educate themselves and share useful information. Anyone with a camera and an internet connection can post videos. Simple searches will return train wrecks, solar eclipses, mating frogs and dancing hamsters. But, the site can be far more useful. A targeted search for ‘Adam Montri hoop house building’ will bring up a two-part instructional video, from Michigan State University’s hoop house expert. These videos demonstrate how to quickly and efficiently build one of these structures which is much more applicable to farmers than cell phone footage of a train wreck.

A ‘fan’ page search on Facebook shows that hundreds of farmers are already making use of this new marketing tool. Some have more than 10,000 ‘fans’, meaning more than 10,000 people have chosen to connect directly with that farmer because he or she offers something of value.

Other popular sites include Twitter, where users share information in 140 characters or less, and WordPress, where webpages are built on blog platforms and updated regularly with essays, articles and photos. While all of this may seem vastly overcomplicated, it isn’t. Once you’ve chosen a particular social media outlet, the host’s website answers almost any question and offers straightforward and easy directions to help you get started. Never before has there been such a simple and efficient way to connect with like-minded people, from customers to mentors, both next door and around the world.

It is this ability to connect that has drawn many farmers to utilize social media.
“The impact is very positive on networking, marketing efforts and getting people to feel connected with my farm and with the realities of farming in general,” Clara Coleman told me from her home at Divide Creek Farm, nestled into the west side of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. Her remarks echo those of many other farmers who have found that their CSA members and customers want to know what’s happening on the farm. It gives them a chance to escape their offices or homes for a moment and gain a better understanding of the plants, the seasons and ‘their’ farmers.

Connecting is marketing. There is no better way to cultivate a brand and an identity in the minds of customers.
“Social media helps the farm create top-of-mind awareness, as well as connecting customers, in real time, to what we’re doing.” said Connie Findley of Cure Organic Farm in Boulder, Colorado. “People love to know what we’re planting that day, or that we just had a lamb born, or that we’re having a huge BBQ in a few days.”

This new form of marketing is creating more than just connections and brand awareness. For some, like Erin Benzekein of Floret Flowers in Washington (and Growing for Market’s flower columnist), social media generates a noticeable increase in business.
“So far I am finding huge, almost instant benefits!” she excitedly told me. “Within just a few months of active blogging I have been featured on some really great design, wedding and floral websites. As a result, I have been getting floral requests from designers all over the country along with local inquiries about weddings and our flower subscription program.”

Erin acquired these returns by being willing to share her passion with others through her blog. While she is hardly the only farmer with this kind of story, she is part of a tiny minority. Progressive farmers like Erin, Michael and others are at the forefront of what will become a major component of the local food movement. Facebook boasts hundreds of millions of users. Right now, less than a thousand of these are farms.

“The potential for social media to give an edge to small businesses, farms included, is enormous. Whether you use it to learn from your peers or your competitors, to teach others, to build community and support, or to market your business, you can’t afford to ignore it anymore,” Markham told me. “There are so many different platforms now, and not every business needs to use every one. For some people, having a blog is the place to start. For others, it’s starting a Facebook page. It can seem overwhelming at first, or a time-suck, but as with any new tools, it takes some tinkering to see which are the most effective and which ones you like best.”

Most farmers start with Facebook or a blog. The simpler of the two, Facebook requires less maintenance and is easier to get started. For those who are less computer savvy, numerous free classes and support groups have been formed around social media. Many libraries offer free evening workshops that introduce users to the basics. Once comfortable with the simpler tools, a whole world of options opens up to farmers. On Twitter, @Jambutter (a Vermont food activist’s handle) keeps his ‘followers’ appraised of all thing related to small farms and sustainable agriculture. In fact, there are many who use Twitter passively as a source for information only and almost never ‘tweet’ anything. For farmers willing to make a bigger commitment, frequently updated blogs have shown great results for individuals and businesses across the internet.

Those already making use of social media understand its value. Clara at Divide Creek believes “it will only continue to grow as more young people get involved in farming and the local food movement. It is the next generation of ‘word of mouth’ marketing and its role is invaluable in connecting people to the movement.” This sentiment has been echoed across the business world in the last several years. Many small business owners have gained a competitive advantage because they are agile enough to embrace and understand the benefits of social media.

In fact, using it may not be the most difficult part. The real challenge comes in breaking through the fear and loathing that many of us who work close to the earth feel toward new technology.

“It is the future and we as farmers should rise to meet it,” Erin from Floret said prophetically. “In the past, marketing required huge amounts of capital to reach a desired audience. Now, for pennies we can reach the entire world. It just requires time, effort and a little vision. I am so happy that I broke through my fear of technology and have learned to embrace these new tools. I believe my business will thrive because of it!”

Chad Chriestenson farms and writes in Boulder County, Colorado. You can read his blog at rethinkingagriculture.com, follow him on Twitter @ReThinkAg or become a fan of his Facebook page ReThinkingAgriculture.