A growing number of agvocates are learning how to use today’s social media platforms and that includes YouTube. How many of you farmers have given this a try? Here’s a story about a new initiative to showcase sustainable farms and farmers. Of course most farmers are sustainable. Otherwise they wouldn’t be able to stay in business. What do you think of Farm Shorts?
Not surprising to FarmShorts Founder Kala Philo, it took less than a week for Dodge Ram Truck’s “So God Made a Farmer” ad to reach 10 million online views. The Superbowl airing of the commercial provided the initial exposure, but it was the gripping content — the powerful visuals and the farmers’ resonating role in all our lives — that got everyone buzzing.
Philo, a professional video producer, understands more than most the impact video can have in promoting local, sustainable farm and food businesses, each with a story to tell. But evocative, high-quality, video-based storytelling is expensive, and typically prohibitive to cash-, technology- and time-starved farmers.
So Philo launched FarmShorts (http://www.farmshorts.com), a collaborative video project and tech-savvy marketing initiative.
FarmShorts pools time, resources and expertise to provide gorgeous web video and distributable content about, and for, sustainable farms and food producers. Through crowdfunding, sponsorship and community support, FarmShorts aims to offset what would be thousands of dollars in marketing costs for an individual farm.