The Purpose
A leader in environmental stewardship, Duke Farms values the digital space as it reduces the need for printed products. As a historical fixture in central NJ, Duke Farms uses social media to connect with the abundance of local and tourist visitors that visit every week.
In an effort to modernize their look and streamline their content, Duke Farms recently completed a website overhaul. To unify their external content and strategy, I created a social media campaign for one of the newest offerings at the Farm Barn Café.
The Challenge
Duke Farms revamped their menu offerings at the Farm Barn Café. As the only eatery on location, it is imperative they advertise their new menus to their community.
The two new menus (one weekday, one weekend) offer locally sourced, organic ingredients. All recipes are seasonal, and are crafted in-house by Chef Josh Falzone. The star of the new menus? Gourmet grass-fed beef burgers – from cattle that they raise themselves!
How can Duke Farms best share their new offerings on social media while aligning to their new digital content strategy?
Where I began…
Before attempting to write a single social media post, I had to understand Duke Farms as an organization and what they’re passionate about. After conducting research and auditing their current digital content, I concluded that they serve to fulfill the following four content pillars:
Habitat Restoration
Preserve and restore functioning habitats to reflect native, natural ecological communities that support wildlife
Agroecology
Develop and implement agroecology practices that are both sustainable and wildlife friendly
Sustainability
Capitalize on existing energy created by the environment and adapt existing structures to utilize it
Community
Inspire visitors to become informed stewards of the land, who build a happier, greener, and more sustainable world
Getting closer to the audience…
What is unique about Duke Farms is that it appeals to all ages, ethnicities, and backgrounds. In an attempt to understand who they were talking to a bit better, I interviewed some of Duke Farms employees and spent a day observing their visitors. Here’s what I learned:
Demographics
- Average visitor is between the age of 30 – 60
- Even dispersion of ethnic background
- Many are tourists, however locals are repeat visitors
- The majority of visitors are parents
Psychographics
- Typical visitor enjoys history, the outdoors, and day trips
- Maintain a healthy lifestyle inclusive of an exercise routine and good diet
- Has an eco-friendly mindset and enjoys supporting the local community
Pain Points
- Believes that the Farm Barn Café’s offerings are too expensive
- Unaware of Duke Farm’s commitment to agroecology and the environment
- Visitor does not interact with Duke Farms enough to be excited about the menu change
Understanding their channels…
Primary social media account. Updated almost daily with events, announcements, evergreen content, & hours.
Updated almost daily. Mix of event, evergreen, and user-generated content. Great mix of photo, video, live, and story content.
Interacts on Twitter multiple times a day. Mix of original content and retweets of other local organizations/information.
Scattered upload schedule. Taken more seriously in the past year. Used to talk about conservation and environmental work.
The Final Product
After conducting the preliminary research, the strategic framework of the campaign was created. The below outlines brand personality/voice, campaign goals, and plan per social media channel.
Here, you can take a look at the content calendar I created for this campaign. Taking into consideration everything I learned from their current content and target audience, the content proposed in the calendar emulates an eco-friendly, community-oriented leader. Each post acts as an instrument to advertise the new menus while tying back to Duke Farms’ overarching strategy and mission.
With this unified approach in mind, Duke Farms can continue creating unique educational moments for their visitors.
Alex Piwtoratsky. 