Don Schindler

Executive Reputation Coach & Digital Marketer

Month: March 2014

Why should you use Instagram for your farm or business?

Are you kidding me, Don? Another social network I have to pay attention to.

Yep, sorry. But actually this social network is pretty easy to use and is actually fun.

And definitely doesn’t have as much drama as Facebook.

There are lots of good reasons to join.

1. Instagram focuses on photos and videos.

Let’s face it. People love farm animals and landscapes. You have that in abundance so why not give the people what they want. Cows, cows and more cows. In fact, make sure you tag your cows – #cowsofinstagram

lesaclark-new-heifer-calf-instagram

Lesa Clark’s New Heifer

2. Instagram’s not controlled by an algorithm like other networks.

When you post something, it’s seen by those that follow you (if they are on the network). They can easily go back an review your old photos as well so you get a lot more power from past posts.

dairyfarmer4life-driving-tractor-instagram

Love seeing the road from a farmer’s POV

3. Instagram is mobile first.

Instagram was built as a mobile app and then made for the desktop. You don’t have to go back and use your computer to do anything if you don’t want to. Just download the app, follow your friends or new people, and just post pictures.

moefarms-elsie-borden-cow-instagram

Chuck Moellendick from Moes Farm hanging with Elsie the Borden Cow.

4. Instagram is where the younger people are.

You know that you don’t see a lot of millennials or Gen Z cruising around Facebook. Why is that? Because you are out there and they would rather not be posting where Grandma can give them a hard time about what they are posting. They are using Instagram to converse and share their lives.

ryangoodman-irrigation-system

Ryan Goodman using Instagram to engage and answer questions about farming.

5. Instagram has no ads…yet. (NOT TRUE ANYMORE – BUT THE ADS ARE SPARSE AND TRUE TO THE NETWORK)

At least for right now, which means you have just as much a chance at being followed and given some love and comments. Businesses and people are treated the same by the network. BTW, Facebook owns Instagram.

cabot-cheese-farm-landscape-instagram

Cabot Cheese isn’t trying to sell products but showcase where their products come from.

6. Instagram allows you to post directly to Facebook and other social networks.

Instagram allows you to easily post to several networks at once. Every time I post, I almost always post directly to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Flickr but there are over 50 networks you can post directly to. That’s a lot and it can save you some time.

indymilkmaid-cow-caption

A great place to show personality and have fun.

So how do you join Instagram? It’s pretty simple and I’ve got a How-To in the next post.

Why did you join Instagram? Do you have another good reason to join?

How do you set up a blog on wordpress.com or transfer your wordpress.com website to wordpress.org?

Our Big Barn Collapsed After A Wind Sheer

Our Big Barn Collapsed After A Wind Sheer

Normally, I do a step-by-step process with the How To’s but right now there are plenty of other blogs that walk you through the process of setting up or moving your wordpress blog.

I’ve moved several blogs from different hosts and I can tell that it gets easier and easier but that doesn’t mean it’s so easy that I would let my dog take a whack at it.

Remember your blog is your home (or barn) on the internet and it’s no fun to rebuild that home (or barn) when you accidentally knock it down yourself.

So here’s what I would do if I were doing and I didn’t have the knowledge of blowing up my past blogs.

I would probably pay for it.

That’s hard for me to say. I’m a cheap guy (you can ask my wife). I like to figure things out on my own and then take a crack at it.

Am I successful? It really depends on if I think I can give up without someone knowing.

So if you are in the process of setting up a blog, I would recommend the free services of WPbeginner. I haven’t used them yet and I’m not an affiliate but everything else they say on the website is legit so why would they lie about free setup.

All you have to do is buy the host and the domain (you can get both from wordpress) and just have them set it up.

They also have a couple of posts on the do it yourself process.

Michael Hyatt (I’m a big fan of his podcasts “This is your life”) also has a video on the overall wordpress set up that’s supposed to take only 20 minutes.  I’ve never set up a new site that fast but, like I said, things are getting easier.

Now when it comes to moving your wordpress.com to a wordpress.org website, you may think that I’m going to say “hey, you can do this.”  You know, because you’ve been blogging for a while and you know how wordpress works.

But again if I didn’t have my experience, I think you’ll be better off letting the experts handle it. For $129.00 per blog with a system they called “Guided Transfer“, I think that’s a steal. I’ve spoken to developers about these kind of things and most of them charge that for an hour’s worth of work.  They will not be able to move your blog in less than an hour.

I would rather you let the experts handle the move and you concentrate on what you are good at doing. Working the farm and telling the world your story – that’s so much better then fighting to get your website back up and running.

What do you think? Are you going to tackle this project by yourself or let someone else do it?

 

 

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