November 2024 Farm Marketing News
With the holiday season in full swing, we’ve got essential tips to keep your farm’s marketing on track, whether you’re fully prepped or just getting started. Plus, check out the latest updates from Google Shopping, our recent project with Champlin’s Sugar Creek Farm, and a heartfelt goodbye from our team member, Anna. Dive in for all the details!
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Quick Holiday Farm Marketing Tips
The holiday season is in full swing! Whether you’ve already got a plan in place or are just starting to think about it, these essential tips will help keep your holiday marketing on track.
Set clear order cutoff dates: Post your holiday order deadlines prominently (for example, order by December 15 to have your meat by December 24.) You can post these on your website banner and shipping information page so people clearly see the message.
Double check shipping and pickup schedules: Block out any days or weeks you won’t be fulfilling orders over the holidays — and if you ship, check your shipper’s schedule! Remember to communicate holiday closure information on your website, in emails, and on social media.
Prominently display gift cards: If you offer gift cards, add this after your featured products pages, emails, and social media posts as well. This will allow last-minute shoppers who missed the shipping cutoff dates or those who are unsure of what to purchase to support your farm.
Plan a social media countdown: Create urgency with a countdown to your shipping cutoff dates. You can also create holiday-specific content to remind customers to order soon.
Send reminder emails: Make sure your subscribers know about key dates, gift baskets, and holiday promotions.
More Farm Marketing News + Tips
Sign up for the latest free webinars from Local Food Marketplace
The next webinar is on December 10 at 8am ET/11am PT and will cover how to bring your wholesale business online. It’ll include discussion with ValleyHub and how they’ve used LFM to run their food hub’s wholesale business. You can register here.
Grapevine will be a part of the January webinar, where we’ll be covering customer journey and conversion rate optimizations. It’s on January 14 at 8am ET/11am PT and you can register here. We’d love for you to join us!
If you can’t make an LFM webinar, you can sign up and LFM will email you a recording.
Google Shopping’s new AI-powered look
Thanks to generative AI, Google Shopping is getting an upgrade. Using data from 45 billion listings, Google’s AI model, Gemini, is personalizing shopping like it never has before.
Here’s what’s new:
Personalized shopping feed: Users now see a homepage with suggested products and videos tailored to their past searches and activity.
AI-generated recommendations: Gemini delivers product suggestions specific to search queries, like finding the perfect “grass-fed beef for family meals.”
Helpful tools: The page also includes price comparisons, shopping insights, and a deals section, making it easier to shop on a budget.
What does this mean for you? For farms selling through Google Shopping, these updates mean more targeted visibility. With AI recommending products based on user preferences, your listings are more likely to reach the right customers — those specifically interested in your products. Features like the deals page and price comparisons can help showcase competitive pricing, while the enhanced shopping experience builds buyer confidence and encourages them to try new products, including from local farms like yours.
This update is rolling out soon across the U.S. on both desktop and mobile — stay tuned! If you’re curious about Google Shopping, or would like help setting up a feed, reach out!
What We've Been Up To
We started by designing a logo and building a GrazeCart website for Champlin's Sugar Creek Farm, creating a cohesive brand experience. From there, we developed targeted Facebook and Instagram ads to reach thousands of potential bulk beef buyers around La Crosse, WI, each month.
To help the farm manage ads in-house, we provided training on ad best practices, creative tips for copy and videos, and guidance on reading campaign data for ongoing optimization.
Since 2016, Grapevine Local Food Marketing has refined a proven system for farm advertising. Our approach uses targeted ads that work quietly in the background, helping farms reach fresh audiences every day.
“The ads you set up are paying off. For my April orders, I had 6 net new customers ordering a total of 7 quarters out of the 12 I had available. Plus, a number of new people I don't know have signed up for the newsletter. I’m really happy with Grapevine’s excellent work, great staff and the results we’re achieving in such a short time.”
— Ryan Champlin, Champlin’s Sugar Creek Farm
Want to Work With Us?
Interested in collaborating with us? Our schedule fills up fast in the winter months, so securing your spot early is key.
From marketing strategies and websites to email/SMS campaigns, advertising, graphic design, Google, and beyond — we’re here to help with it all.
To get started, you can download our latest pricing guide, which also includes a link to schedule a call.
A Goodbye Message From Anna
Anna was a Senior Marketing Consultant at Grapevine for 2 years, where she revamped many internal processes, worked on dozens of farm marketing and website projects, and helped us grow in so many ways. Our team will miss her candor, humor, and willingness to jump in and help. Here’s her parting message to you!
I am excited to share that I have recently begun a new position as a contractor with the Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF), managing the creation of a new brand that will represent farmers and producers in California's Central Valley as part of the F3 Initiative.
I am forever proud of the work that Grapevine does in the world and have learned so much from our excellent team and Sarah's thoughtful leadership. Grapevine is a wonderful place to work, and if you've interacted with our team, I'm sure that you've felt the joy that each of us takes in our work. Sarah has created an environment that values both excellence and authenticity, a beautiful balance that allows our team to bring their whole selves to the job while doing excellent client-centered work.
I have loved meeting and working with our hardworking clients. Food people really are the best people. If we have worked together, I would love to stay in touch. Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn, and if you see me in the wild, please come say hello!
— Anna Larsen
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