3 elements you need as part of your marketing strategy

Gearing up your name in the South African game industry today, can be a daunting task at the best of times.

Between printed media and the odd Twitter page, we are not always sure of the benefits, and therefore invest our time and money accordingly.

But it doesn’t have to be like that.

With a few simple steps, the name of your game farm can, not only be well known, but also make a difference where it really matters.

Here then three key ingredients you need to portray to the world out there, the superb quality game breeding enterprise you really have.

1. A splendid entrance to your game farm

Most farmers, whether in the game industry or elsewhere, would agree that to take pride in one’s work and property, a properly elevated entrance is an absolute must have. Any person visiting your farm, (or even driving by) must feel they have arrived at a place where the farmer knows his business. First impressions are lasting impressions. A shabby entrance tells the visitor, or prospective client, that the owner might be rather shoddy in his work as well.

Your online presence in the form of a website is no different. Most people use google nowadays, and you want them to stop by while searching for whatever they want to buy or sell. You want people to know, even if you don’t fall under the top ten game farmers in the country, that you exist, you breed excellent quality animals, and that your name can be trusted.

Residing in South Africa though, having to deal with a relatively low online literacy, combined with the continued challenge of reliable internet provider services, featuring prominently with your website remains for the moment relative easy. Just be sure to look at the quality of already existing websites, both in appearance and in effectivity, before making a decision on who to trust with the front end of your business.

2. A story to tell, like only you can tell it

The use of social media within the wildlife industry has seen its ups and downs in the last decade and most game farmers and service providers were either part of the various micro-blogging systems, or not at all.

There is however a more efficient way to go about the platforms, which will, given the current participation, have an exponential impact on your online presence.

It all lies in the art of storytelling.

So your business has a Facebook account? The local hardware store has one too and you are not hooping over to their news-feed to be entertained, do you?

No, in the vast world of game breeding, business, politics and a sea of information bombarding us on a daily basis, people don’t really care who we are or what we do. What often catches the attention of most curious people (and most people are curious, hence the popularity of Facebook) is how we do what we do. And the how, is with no doubt, best portrayed in a good old fashioned story.

Stories can be told through short videos, and by this, we don’t mean standing in front of the camera telling a story, but rather filming the action taking place in your working environment. The best platforms for this remains Facebook and for longer videos, YouTube.

Photos are just as effective in telling your story where you would have four or five photos with descriptions underneath each photo, revealing the events as it happened. Facebook and WordPress or Tumblr blog would be the best options here with even Instagram serving as an excellent alternative.

Then using the means of actual prose. You don’t have to write like Dickens or Tolstoy to tell your story, and when using social media, make it short. Very short. Think in the lines of Twitter, and you can’t go wrong. People don’t like to read too much on social media, so use visual elements as much as you can and keep wording to a minimum.

3. In for the long haul

Persistence in managing an online presence cannot be emphasized enough.

When you bought your first roan bull, you made your mind up that you are in this for the long term. You realized that it would not just be a nice-to-have, but that it would be part of your life style. A proper, professional and decent industry name is no different.

A website and social media platform is not just something fancy on the side. It is part of your life. It’s a way of thing. For it to be effective, weekly habits, (and if so desired, daily habits) need to be cultivated for the desired effect to take place. And not only can it be fun, it must be a pleasure. Your creativity, through photos and stories, has the potential to breathe new life into your already, well established enterprise.

We have what we need to our disposal. Let’s make the most of it, and show the world how beautiful our vibrant game industry really is.

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