The Business Planning and Online Marketing Education for Tennessee
Farmers project provided educational opportunities to help participants
manage financial and marketing risk by developing business plans and implementing
cost-effective online marketing strategies. Tennessee farmers involved in
value-added, direct marketing and agritourism enterprises were the intended
audience.
The program included:
- an 8-session seminar series, Building a Sustainable Business Workshop Series
- 3 sessions on business planning in 2019 Memphis New Farm Academy
- 2, day-long DeviceReady Workshops designed to help producers manage their overall online presence
- 4, day-long, hands-on Facebook 101 Workshops
- 12 month Online Marketing Webinar Series covering
topics such as social media trends, e-mail marketing and effective use of social media platforms - 4 Farmers Market Vendor Boot Camp Workshops including sessions on business planning basics and digital marketing trends
A total of 516 people participated in the educational programs offered. A total of 235 participants reported their knowledge of marketing
fundamentals, tools and/or techniques. Of these, 229 reported developing
written goals for implementing new or improved marketing strategies, and
51 reported implementing strategies learned to improve the
effectiveness of their marketing efforts. Eighty-five participants reported increasing their knowledge of business planning to evaluate on-farm
investment decisions, and four developed a business plan.