Jeff Clear writes of Monument, Colo., writes:
“I do the Internet marketing for Lasater Grasslands Beef, a grass-fed beef ranch in Colorado.
“Our target audience consists of environmentally conscious people, moms who want to feed their families healthy beef, and people who have spent money on vitamins because they have already proven they will spend money on health.
“Our beef is sold in Whole Foods, so that will give you an idea of the demographics of our customer base. Our grass-fed beef has less saturated fat and is lower in calories than grain-fed beef, and has no hormones, additives or pesticides. It has higher amounts of omega-3 fatty acids and other vitamins.
“What’s the best way to reach our target market online?”
Try to find blogs aimed at foodies or healthy conscious moms and see if you can guest post or submit recipes calling for your grass fed beef. Also, I know that in at least two communities near me (Main Line and Lancaster PA) there are local fine living magazines. Pitch an article to some of these to get into local markets.
I haven’t seen mad cow disease in the news recently, but there always seem to be food recalls. You might want to create some press releases or articles that tell people why your food is a good choice INSTEAD of all these tainted foods… then give a point for point why your beef is so healthy.
And when mad cow disease ever pops into the news? Have a press ready to go. (Of course you may have to tweek it a bit.) Be the expert on how beef cattle should be raised so that American consumers won’t have tainted meat of their plates. Stress the fact that you’re part of the solution.
I agree with Wendy about participating in blogs. Check out the blog attached to foodnetwork.com and the “community” at eatingwell.com. Then, what about starting a blog of your own or a newsletter? And finally, how about participating in the “Forum” section on the Whole Foods site? – Christine Roen
We have a similar compay in Reno, Nevada. The farmer has Burma-Shave style signs along the major road. OK, this isn’t an online suggestion, but consider it. If you’re not located along a major road, you could probably rent the space along one. The signs read:
Sign 1:
Our beef’s better than your beef,
Sign 2:
Our beef’s better than yours,
Sign 3:
Our beef’s better ’cause it’s all natural
Sign 4:
Our beef’s better than yours.
(phone) number
It’s funny and memorable and I’m sure it works!
Can you remember the name of the ranch that sells that beef? I’ve driven past it 100 times and have always wanted to order from them!
Become the online answer source for any question dealing with healthy beef. Many people do not consider beef as a healthy alternative. Educate them. Forums and blogs are where people congregate online nowadays.
Set up a GoogleAlert for questions from your target audience. Use the same service from any search engine that offers it. Eventually you will have an answer presence on most of the forum threads and blogs where the discussion is taking place. Your company will then be seen as the expert in this field.
There may even be enough answering to need several people helping you. Lots of questions means lots of interest in your field of expertise.
Hello Jeff,
A good strategy would be to participate in the healthy food discussion. Certainly eating healthy can include eating red meat. A quick search identified 100 food blogs at the following webiste and a cursory glance showed a few that may be of interest.
http://www.nursingschoolsearch.com/blog/2008/07/100-food-blogs-to-inspire-your-healthy-eating/
The natural progression from the blogs is to Twitter. Some research there will yield the tweets floating around related to healthy eat, beef, steak, etc. Between participating in the blogs and following the bloggers that tweet you should be well on your way. Healthyfather is one such Twitterer out of San Diego.
Don’t forget women still make the majority of grocery purchase decisions, so you are right on target spending time engaging with them.
http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/family/marriage-sex/men-grocery-shopping-0704
I think sponsorships may be a great way to get publicity, let me explain. With the onset of football season, several booster groups are out promoting and fund raising. Take a tripod, video camera, digital camera, a grill and your beef to a BBQ/fundraiser.
These events are the best of both worlds for you, (1) you get the mouths of men (the primary consumer and (2) the eyes and ears of women (the primary purchaser). Grill, get friendly, use the video and photos for your marketing and if you decide to tailgate you can offer the coverage to a local paper. Of course, you would mention your beef and your company in the segment.
With modification, this works with any sports or extracurricular activity.
Try offering recipes that are built around your grass-fed beef but that fit into the overall lifestyle of the people you are targeting — lots of organics, low fat, low sodium, no pre-packaged, etc.
I think you should offer some recipes that are built around the grass fed beef. Or just come up with some slogans like beef is better because its all natural.
Tast would seem to be an important factor!
How about doing a survey of customers comparing your brand with supermarket brands? Give them samples to taste!
Hi Jeff,
You should write articles that educates parents and others on the benefits of eating grass fed beef and then submit these articles to the top parenting and health websites, ezines and article directories.
To get article ideas, you should try my Instant Article Writing Templates. I give away 3 free article templates that will help you write articles in 30 minutes or less at http://www.TryMyFreeArticleTemplates.com
Good luck!
Eric Gruber
Article Marketing Expert
http://www.TryMyFreeArticleTemplates.com
http://www.broadcastyourarticles.com
http://www.IWantMoreProspects.com