KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A goat kid escaping from its pen, stumbling and bleating its way through slides and ramps and jumping pillows is the subject of the winning YouTube video at the North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Association.
Entitled Plan your escape to Leeds Farm, the video features a goat’s eye view of the fun that awaits visitors to Rob and Christy Leeds’ adventure farm at Ostrander, Ohio.
Colleen McKay of Your Farm Market in Woodstock, Ont., said the goat video had the cute factor.
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“You’ve got to have an emotional connection, something to pull on the heart strings,” she said.
Most delegates interviewed agreed the best video gives viewers a sense of place.
Andrew Dixon, who operates Granddaddy’s Farm at Estill Springs, Tennessee, said “being genuine and being yourself” is the most important element of a good farm produced video.
“Don’t copy someone else,” he said.
“It should have the feeling of your operation.”
His family tried to share the experience of being at Granddaddy’s, he added.
McKay said video makers could set the mood with Christmas lighting or decorations because such details put viewers in that setting. A video for her market store could showcase where the products come from, she added.
“You want to see the farm, tell a story,” she said.
“You need to paint a picture with more than just words.”
McKay said combining videos with social media sites such as Facebook can increase awareness for the farm operation without adding extra advertising costs.
Jennifer Beaver of Tanners Orchard in Speer, Illinois, also saw value in YouTube videos as training for her young staff.
“It shows you how to fix or do something,” said Beaver, who feels her daughter’s generation is most familiar with YouTube and the best candidate to create a video.
Link to the goat kid video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=KorFsOsMWU4.
