Several Steps to Successful Communications in Agricultural Business

Several Steps to Successful Communications in Agricultural Business
Lina Mironova.Public relations and social work manager at AgroGeneration

Agricultural producers regained extreme popularity even though over the years agriculture had been the state’s top economic sphere. Companies related to agriculture have become public, and where there is publicity, one cannot do without specialists ready to take responsibility for public relations and mass media communications, as well as help popularize of the agricultural brand.

Step 1. Look for loyalty

At present the company comprises several structures and 6 agricultural companies. Obviously, not all managers and employees welcomed me with open arms. People were annoyed that they had to be distracted from work and find time to answer my questions, or to participate in some projects that, in my opinion, were aimed at popularizing the company. But there were also those who agreed to give patient explanations. The latter were the ones I leaned on to work out a certain framework that would later be implemented company-wide. Next, I could use this as an example to find common ground with those who would strongly disagree. In addition, I tried to pick a time when the person would be available to spend some time with me without getting irritated. For example, I would simply go into the fields and get into the CEO’s car to ask my questions and discuss other plans while he was going round the fields. Of course, it required a lot of my time, but on the other hand I gained people’s trust.

Step 2. Learn to listen and memorise

This is especially true of some specific professional agricultural issues that were “out of my depth”. I still remember how proud I was when, having been asked by the vice president during his site visit, I managed to unerringly name all varieties of wheat. How did I learn about them? I listened to his conversation with the agronomist during the previous site visit. When agriholding representatives participated in agrarian and economic conferences, I attended various panel meetings and took notes of the speeches. I met interesting experts and later engaged them in our local events.

The same principle of listening and memorising applies to communication with representatives of local authorities and heads of educational, medical and social institutions. When getting acquainted with them I pretended to be an intelligence agent in the enemy rear. I made short dossiers about the people, their community, their problems and achievements.
Step 3. Check and recheck

Asking to repeat is not a shame. Admitting that one doesn’t know something is not a shame. It’s better to ask a hundred times than to communicate something foolish in public. Therefore, we act on a principle of shared responsibility. All texts and projects must be approved by our analysts, HR, CEOs and the management. Not with all of them at once, of course, but with those who can be involved in a certain process or the ones I quote. Let’s admit it: it’s better to catch a mistake early at a start, rather than have it published and criticized by public. Let’s take an agricultural calendar we made as an example. The idea was to associate every month of the year with a specific crop we grow, provide some highlights on it and explain how it is used. I prepared the texts and the layout but before sending it to print I decided to show it to independent experts. It was checked by agronomists and analysts, and I even asked the land management specialist to take a glance at it. The final version was immaculate! All inaccuracies were corrected. Of course, we had to replace a few pictures where I saw nothing but beauty, but the agronomist had spotted a weed in the background. One may call it a trifle, but such teeny-tiny things shape the reputation of both the PR specialist and the company.

Step 4. Associate yourself with the brand

A big advantage of the agricultural sector is that every new day can give us a bunch of news, be it rye coming into ear or a cow bringing forth a calf. Do you think it can only be interesting to those who work in the fields or tend of animals? Not at all.  In the beginning I shared my impressions with friends in informal conversations, but only approved materials would be published officially in social media, mass media and on our website. Later I realized that there were so many impressions that my emotions could be shared in personal resources. Thus, my personal Facebook profile turned into my little blog where I shared some things that had caught my eye during another visit to a branch or some event related to the company operation. I wrote about rain in May when we need more agronomists, about sun in June, about waves of wheat shimmering in the sun, about the scent of sunflower in the time of harvest. And it turned out that many people read it – not only my colleagues and friends but other users as well. Then I started receiving requests from our partners on social projects like “can I see harvesters or even ride next to the machine operator? Can I take a few pictures in the company fields? Can I see how peas or sunflowers bloom? Can I see how harvesting takes place? And this is how the idea of agricultural tours crossed my mind. So far, these have been plans, but believe me, in the future I dream of taking people to the fields to show the "city slickers" how it all works. People began to associate me with the company and invite me to give lectures; unexpectedly I became a speaker. Of course, I remain a mere PR specialist and I always make it clear in communications that I was simply lucky to be part of a great team in a great company and I am merely a part of this holding. But you know, when I posted about our wheat that had grown knee-high and after a couple of days saw a competitor’s post about their wheat reaching up to the waist, I realized I was not only read but also copied and imitated. Besides, posts on my personal page about other topics, even the most burning issues of the day, do not garner as many likes and comments as short sketches about the company life from the first-person perspective. Therefore, in addition to agricultural tours I am nurturing other plans. I will keep them to myself for the time being as under the influence of my beloved farmers I have become just as superstitious. So, while my grain is out in the fields, I will keep it in my plans, and if I manage to fulfil them – I will share about it in a separate post.

Step 5. Inquiries from mass media above all

I have already mentioned that I had been a journalist before pursuing a career of a PR specialist in the agricultural company. Quite a long time I worked in the news, and I remember how long it took to receive a comment from government officials or representatives of certain businesses or competent experts in general. One may say that I have an occupational trauma to last a lifetime, so if someone from mass media addresses me with an inquiry, request for a comment, article, some statistics, a footage, a trip, or a kind word – I respond on the spot. Deadlines on materials are a PR specialist’s alpha and omega. Of course, force majeure may happen but it’s better to warn the desk editor in advance and apologize than to set my ex-colleagues up. I write all materials on my company myself and start every morning with news monitoring to make sure I haven’t missed a post about us. It’s useful when there appear publications that can affect the company’s reputation.

Journalists are human beings too, and they have the right to make mistakes. That’s why I have no desire or intention to argue with my brothers in trade.

Of course, things happen, but when a wave of black PR was launched against me personally at an attempt to undermine the reputation of our company, many editors and moderators started calling me and told me that they would not publish those materials because they had worked closely with us more than a few times. Every rule has exceptions and there are people involved in outward “info racket”, but they are in minority, and their time is running short.

Step 6. There is no such thing as too many projects, or everything is PR

Do you think struggling with bad habits or deadly disease prevention or international documentary film festival cannot be used to PR an agricultural company? On the contrary, it is such projects that have contributed to publicity of our agricultural firms’ directors and eventually strengthened the land share owners’ trust. It’s important to understand that in recent years schools, vocational schools and village first aid stations have become the most popular places for people to exchange information, so every visit by the company representatives with interesting projects initiated by our company becomes quite an event. We focus on young people and help them to find their path in life encouraging the ones who want to develop. The underlying objective of every training we give is to help people in villages grow healthier and better educated. For this reason, we have many partners ranging from volunteer psychologists to art community. And, of course, I always respond to appeals for help. I often quote the “Green Van” movie to remind that we cannot give them “a box of nails or a bottle of whiskey for temporary use”. But if a school needs help to buy cutlery for a canteen, I will spend days and nights looking for the cutlery that meets sanitary standards, concluding agreements and persuading directors to take charge. In a sense, these are our children, we rent land around the villages they live in, and even if their parents haven’t entered into agreements with us, let them see who really helps the villages or who simply blows out their cheeks. Cutlery was an example, in fact, signing agreements and going through tender processes are the things I like the least, as all this paperwork devours a great deal of my time, but they are part of my job, too. This is why every year I personally look for suppliers of New Year presents for kids, or the bakeries to make Easter cakes, the health camps for the children of our land share owners and employees ... I look for those who are ready to help, with love and understanding, the ones AgroGeneration took social responsibility for in 2007, and has been carrying it ever since.

Step 7. Multitasking and versatility
Guess what the full title of my position is?

You can never guess because according to the employment agreement I am “AgroGeneration’s Deputy chief land management specialist on social work, public relations and mass media”. Try to say it without getting tongue-tied or memorize it at one go. No success? Don’t bother about it. I see four areas of focus behind each word: work with land share owners, work with staff, work with journalists, and work with public authorities, social entities and speakers. In other companies, different employees are hired to work in all these areas. But after optimization it turned out that I can handle everything with a properly organized working day. At 7 a.m. I may start receiving calls from the farms (farmers are early birds) or go on field trips; late in the evening management may call. And yes, oftentimes when asked on the phone “Are you sleeping yet?” I reply like in a movie “Why! I never sleep”. In fact, I lead a lifestyle familiar to many: I work, raise my son alone, read a lot and hang out with friends, but any moment I am ready to set out to my much-loved farms and plunge into my favourite projects.

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