What started out as a simple photo project has now turned into a national platform that provides a community for women in agriculture everywhere. FarmHER was started by Marji Guyler-Alaniz in 2013 after she left her corporate career in the agriculture industry to pursue her passion: storytelling.
FarmHER is present on multiple platforms and creates various types of media content including photography, written work, YouTube videos, television, and podcasts. To be featured as a FarmHER people can nominate themselves or someone they know on her website.
Marji’s Journey
After taking a leap of faith and quitting her stable job, Marji was sitting down watching the super bowl when she watched the best, most beautiful commercial she had ever seen. The commercial showcased the life of American farmers and ranchers but there was something missing, not a single woman was represented.
This “aha” moment is what sparked Marji’s creativity and inspired her to start a platform that could showcase all the amazing and hardworking women in agriculture. She started out with photography but after lots of hard work and putting herself out there, she got a call from RFD-TV. This was the moment that changed everything. Together they created a television series out of the concept for FarmHER.
Seven years later and they are on season five of the show. Hundreds of 30 minute episodes have been made showing women who produce food and what their lives look like. View the series here.
Purposeful Content
One of the most crucial parts of creating any type of media is content. We learned in chapter 9 of Social Media for Strategic Communication that content needs to be purposeful, personal, and relevant to the intended audience.
FarmHER hits the nail on the head when it comes to executing their content. The in-depth, personal stories that are told about the women create connection and emotion for the viewer which keeps them engaged and always coming back to learn and read more.
One of the most popular stories on the FarmHER blog features a young, Russian woman who was adopted by a farming family in Illinois and has since fallen in love with the lifestyle and values that are held in agriculture. She has not only served as a helping hand but elevated the family business to the next level. Check out the story here.
Getting people's attention in today’s society, especially on the internet, can be a daunting task. That is why fresh, creative, and relevant storytelling is vital when hosting an online platform. The unique and distinctive stories that are told through the FarmHER platform is one of the main reasons why it has been so successful. Marji goes above and beyond to find compelling and emotional stories that are sure to captivate her audience.
Connecting the dots
Along with their top-of-the-line storytelling, the FarmHER platform does a great job at tying together their stories through various media. For example, a story that you find on the blog will also include a link to a YouTube video, podcast episode, and Instagram post about the very same story. Having these connections not only provides the viewer with a choice of how they would like to view the content but it also generates more engagement, clicks, and other types of exposure for the brand.
Neil Patel, one of the top 10 marketers in the world according to Forbes, says that “Strategic internal linking is an SEO power technique, especially for content marketing,” and he has come up with the “7 Commandments of Internal Linking”:
Create lots of content
This one is simple: the more content you have the more linking you are able to do.
Use anchor tags
Instead of linking pictures make sure words are directly linked themselves.
Ex: Check out the FarmHER Facebook to learn more about Marji.
Link deep
Avoid linking to the homepage or main navigation pages. Elevate your links by taking the reader exactly where they need to go: deeper into the content.
Use links that are natural for the reader
Add links in the section of the sentence that it most naturally flows and makes sense. Also make sure that the link is necessary for the reader to learn and explore more into the topic.
Use relevant links
The most important thing to remember, and this goes for all circumstances not just with linking, is that we want to provide value to the reader.
So, ask yourself before adding a link, “Will this benefit my reader and add value to their knowledge and understanding?”
Use follow links
Follow links are links that count as points which increase SEO and therefore boost the page ranking for the linked site as well as the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).
Use a reasonable number of internal links
Although you do want to showcase your own content as much as possible you do not want to overwhelm the reader. There is no magic number for the acceptable amount of internal links but Patel suggests between three to four depending on the length.
Again, the reader is the most important aspect to keep in mind so add however many links that will be useful to them.
Using this web-like linking technique propels the FarmHER platform forward and allows them to gain more traction among their various media. No matter how you use all the fancy tools and softwares available online, the most important aspect of it all is storytelling. Do not get caught up in all the types of content you are able to create at the tips of your fingers but rather focus on why and how you will be telling the story.
At its core, FarmHER digs deep into the lives of all the amazing women that they showcase which is why their stories are so personal, inspiring, and engaging for their audience.
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| FarmHER Instagram Feed |
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