Courtesy of Julianna Tan, owner/operator, Those Girls at Market, Saskatoon, SK
The first step to having a successful business is having a desirable product or service. The second step is letting your customers know. Taken together, these two simple steps have a significant impact on your success (or lack thereof).
I am not an expert on backyard-scale farming, so luckily the SPIN Community has a plethora of resources and mentors to help ensure you can thrive as far as production goes. I can, however, offer a tiny morsel of advice for getting the word out about your product or service.
At some point, somewhere, someone decided that the traditional number sign on your keyboard, also known as the “pound key” (#) would be a great way to unite people all over the world who share interests, passions, and ideas. This symbol today is one of the most widely recognized symbols and can be the arsenal in your toolbox of expanding your customer reach far and wide to your target audience. This iconic symbol is called the #hashtag.
Anyone on social media can use the hashtag (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram). If you don’t have these social media platforms, I would highly recommend looking into using them as a free, fun, and effective way to build your brand and communicate with your customers and target audience. From personal experience, the amount of customers we have attracted through Instagram has been unexpectedly impressive!
So let’s get to the meat of this meal (or should I say the root of this vegetable?). How does one use this so-called “hashtag”?
1. Type the # symbol directly before any word (or small group of words) that relate to your product. Do not leave a space between the # symbol and the word and do not use punctuation marks (spaces and apostrophes). For example: #SPINfarming
This hashtag will “tag” your post and become searchable by other people interested in SPIN farming
2. Use multiple hashtags to reach your target audience. For example: #SPINfarming #organic #urbanfarming #vegetables #local #Saskatoon
These 6 hashtags would allow your single post to be searchable by anybody interested SPIN farming, or interested in eating organic foods, curious about urban farming, looking for vegetable ideas to serve for dinner tonight, eating and supporting local, and people living in Saskatoon. (Do not exceed 30 hashtags)
3. Click on hashtags that interest you to discover others who share your interests and passions.
#happyhashtagging!
CONTINUE THIS DISCUSSION IN THE BACKYARD RICHES MEMBER FORUM > > >
Not a member? Want to meet up with and learn from some of the most progressive and entrepreneurial business owners in the local foods scene today, like Julianna Tan? Purchase one of Backyard Riches’ learning programs and become a member now.
Those Girls at the Market specialize in healthy, raw organic chocolate that is vegan-friendly and free of lactose and gluten. We use ethically farmed and certified organic ingredients. Our passion is combining tantalizing taste with superfood nutrition.
Owners: Ying and Julianna Tan
www.thosegirlsatthemarket.com
Phone: 306 241 9390
info@thosegirlsatthemarket.com
