In August 2023 I started a weekly series on the Sweet BombDiggity Farms Instagram called Marketing Monday. I had spent 30 years in marketing, I was teaching digital marketing at UT, and I was running a small farm business of my own. Farmers and makers kept asking me for help. It felt like the most natural thing in the world to share what I knew.
So every Monday I posted a reel with one marketing idea for farms and small makers. Find your why. Know your customer. Tell your story. Build an email list. I put real work into them.
And my audience, very politely, scrolled right past.
What the numbers were telling me
The advice wasn’t bad. The audience was wrong for it. The people following Sweet BombDiggity Farms came for the animals, the garden, the kitchen and the life we’re building out here. Most of them aren’t running a farm business. They’re growing tomatoes in the backyard and dreaming about a few chickens.
I wanted to help a group I cared about, and I assumed my followers were that group. They weren’t.
What I offered
Marketing tips for farm businesses
- Find your why
- Know your customer
- Build an email list
- Brand consistency and photo tips
What they came for
Help with their own garden and animals
- My tomato guide reel: 2,166 likes and 3,146 comments
- Blackberry pruning: 1,771 likes
- Potatoes in a wire circle: 1,521 likes
- Real life on the farm, good days and hard ones
Your audience decides what you are to them. You can offer something else, but you can’t make them want it.
What I did about it
- June 2023The ideaA post about my two passions colliding, marketing and farming, with a promise of free resources.
- August 2023Marketing Monday startsA weekly reel for farmers and makers, starting with finding your why.
- Fall 2023The flat lineWeek after week, the farm posts around them got more likes and comments.
- December 2023A holiday pauseI took a week off for Christmas and never went back to weekly.
- February 2024The last twoA reworked why post and a giveaway of The Most Amazing Marketing Book Ever, which I contributed to.
- 2025 to nowGarden guides take offThe farm account leaned into what people asked for: how-tos for the garden, the kitchen and the flock.
Stopping wasn’t failing. It was listening. The advice didn’t disappear either. It moved here, to a site built for marketing students and the people who teach and hire them. Same ideas, right audience.
The advice, cleaned up
Here is the best of Marketing Monday, tightened up. It still holds, whether you sell eggs at a farm stand or you’re building a brand for a client.
Week 2
Find your why
Write down why you started, what you value, what makes you different and the good you want to do. Every post should trace back to it.
Week 3
Know your customer
It isn’t about you. Learn what your customers need, enjoy and get frustrated by, then make for them.
Week 4
Tell the story
Show the journey from seed to table, the care behind the craft and the people doing the work. A real story beats a sales pitch.
Week 5
Repeat yourself on purpose
Same colors, fonts, filters and voice every time, so people know it’s you at a glance. Don’t start from scratch each week.
Week 7
Ask for testimonials
When a customer raves, ask if you can share it. Let happy people tell your story for you.
Week 8
Tag your location
A geotag invites neighbors who are looking for exactly what you sell.
Week 10
Substance over shortcuts
Trending audio and pointing at words can get views. Useful, real content is what builds something that lasts.
Week 13
Use AI, stay human
My students brainstormed in groups, then with ChatGPT. Their own ideas were more creative and more real. Use AI as a helper, not your brain.
Week 14
Own your list
Social platforms change their rules. An email list is yours. Offer something useful, write like a neighbor and send people what they care about.
Week 15
Make photos count
Natural light, steady hands, simple backgrounds and new angles. Get down to animal level. Keep editing light.
Week 16
Say thank you
A handwritten note or a little extra in the bag turns a one-time buyer into a regular.
Week 18
Comment like you mean it
Skip “Great post!” Ask a real question or share a real experience. That is how social media turns back into conversation.
Two to watch
These are two of the originals. The tips hold up. The audience just wasn’t looking for them.
For my students
This is audience fit in real life. Before you plan content for a client, ask what job their followers hired that account to do. Then look at what the data says they actually respond to. If your plan and their behavior disagree, the behavior wins.
And notice what I did with the advice. I didn’t throw it away. I moved it to a channel where the audience wanted it. That is a strategy decision, not a failure.
Keep going
Content Strategy and Brand Storytelling
Our MARK 465 topic on planning content people actually want.
Personas and Audience Journey Maps
Figure out who is really following, and why.
Jobs to Be Done: A Hands-On Guide
The job your audience hires you to do decides what they want from you.
Affiliate Marketing Without Losing Your People
Another lesson from my own feed: trust comes before the sale.
Frequently asked questions
What is audience fit in content marketing?
Audience fit means matching your content to the job your followers hired your account to do. Before planning content, ask why people follow the account, then look at what the data says they actually respond to. If your plan and their behavior disagree, the behavior wins. Your audience decides what you are to them, and you cannot make them want something else.
Why did Jules Morris stop her Marketing Monday series?
Jules ran Marketing Monday, a weekly reel of marketing tips for farms and small makers, on the Sweet BombDiggity Farms Instagram starting in August 2023. The audience scrolled past because they followed for the animals, garden and kitchen, not business advice. Her tomato guide reel drew 2,166 likes and 3,146 comments. Stopping was listening, not failing, and the advice moved to a site built for marketing students.
What should you do when your content does not match your audience?
Do not throw the content away. Move it to a channel where the audience wants it, and give your current audience more of what they respond to. Jules moved her marketing advice to a site for marketing students while the farm account leaned into garden, kitchen and flock how-tos. Moving content to the right audience is a strategy decision, not a failure.
What marketing tips work for farms and small makers?
The core Marketing Monday tips are: know your why, learn what customers need, tell a real story instead of a sales pitch, repeat your colors, fonts and voice on purpose, ask for testimonials, tag your location, and choose substance over shortcuts like trending audio. Also use AI as a helper, own your email list, use natural light in photos, say thank you and comment with real questions.
Why should small businesses build an email list?
Social platforms change their rules, but an email list belongs to you. That makes it one of the more durable channels a farm stand or small maker can build. The advice from Marketing Monday is to offer something useful in exchange for the sign-up, write like a neighbor, and send people what they care about.