Tech Corner: using Farmstand to reach new customers

By: John Ford       Posted On: July 8, 2014

guest post by John Ford, co-founder, Farmstand App

As a friend of the Farmers Market Coalition, I don’t need to tell you how important our local farmers are or the benefits of locally grown food. When you’re in the farmers market world it’s the norm. The trick then is how do we keep spreading the word and bring people back around to fresh local food? We’re trying to help an app called Farmstand. Farmstand makes it easy to find farmers markets all over the U.S. (and world), see what’s great at your local market, and share photos with your friends.

Here are three ways farmers market managers can take advantage of Farmstand:

1. Keep your market profile up-to-date

Is Farmstand missing your market? Tap “Add a market” on the “Find a market” screen to quickly add it. Have your hours or location changed? Tap the pencil icon on the market detail screen and update the information. It only takes a few seconds to update your market’s profile and make sure customers know when you’re open.

2. Post photos automatically to social networks

The best way to show customers what’s great at the market is with photos. Anyone can post a photo by tapping the post icon at the top right of the screen. Have a Facebook page or Twitter account? Link to your accounts on the Settings screen and we’ll automatically cross-post your Farmstand photos to Facebook and Twitter. Farmstand users in your local area will also see your photos in their activity feed.

3. Raffles and giveaways

Having a giveaway or a raffle? What if you could reach new customers at the same time? Have your customers enter a raffle by posting a Farmstand photo of their favorite vendor or a giveaway for taking the most interesting strawberry photo. Encourage them to automatically post the photo to Facebook and Twitter. They may win a prize and will help promote your market at the same time.

These are just a few things you can do with Farmstand. Keep an eye out for future updates such as a native Android version, enhanced web profiles for your market (with lots of beautiful photos), vendor profiles, product details, and special tools tailored to help market managers save time and reach new customers.

We’ll continue to post updates on our blog, Facebook, and Twitter. Feel free to email us with questions and suggestions anytime at hi@farmstandapp.com.

Thank you for all the hard work you do to connect communities with locally grown food!

Grab Farmstand for free in the iPhone App Store or use the Mobile Web Version on Android and other devices.