Macon County Farmers Market
Content strategy and community driven marketing
The Macon County Farmers Market serves as a central gathering place for local farmers, artisans, and community members. While the market already had strong local support, its digital presence needed clearer storytelling and more consistent engagement to reflect the vibrancy and values of the community it serves.
The goal was not to rebrand the market, but to strengthen how its story was communicated online.
Overview
The Macon County Farmers Market plays an important role in the local community, bringing together farmers, makers, and residents on a weekly basis. While the in-person experience felt welcoming and well established, the online presence didn’t always reflect the same sense of connection.
Content varied week to week, vendor stories were underrepresented, and engagement depended heavily on timing and format.
This work took place during a four-month unpaid internship, which naturally limited how much long-term growth could occur within that timeframe. Even so, the market had a strong foundation to build on. People already cared about it. The opportunity was simply to help the digital presence better reflect what was already happening in person.
Objective
The objective was to improve clarity and consistency across the market’s digital platforms while maintaining its existing identity. The focus was on helping the online presence feel familiar, human, and reflective of the real-life experience of attending the market.
At the same time, the goal was to increase visibility for vendors and small businesses and strengthen the connection between the market and the surrounding community.
Approach
Rather than introducing new branding or visual direction, the approach centered on working within the market’s existing identity. Content strategy emphasized people, seasonality, and storytelling, with flexibility to adapt to weekly changes and community needs.
The goal was to let the market speak for itself through thoughtful content rather than overproduced messaging.
Execution
The strategy focused on consistent storytelling tied with the weekly market taking place.
Key initiatives included:
• Launching a Vendor Spotlight series highlighting local farmers and artisans
• Producing short-form video content showing the market in action
• Creating a consistent weekly posting rhythm tied to market days
• Writing and distributing weekly newsletters featuring vendors and seasonal products
• Monitoring analytics weekly to better understand what content resonated with the community
Outcome
Even within a short four-month time frame, the refined content approach produced measurable improvements in reach and engagement.
Results included:
• 240,000+ total content views across social platforms
• 51,000 unique viewers reached
• 129% increase in audience engagement year over year
• Vendor Spotlight campaign increased vendor visibility and participation by 20%
• 38.9% increase in Facebook visits driven by short-form video content
• 30.4% growth in link clicks connecting audiences to market information and vendor features
• Weekly newsletters improved email open rates by 18% and click-through rates by 22%
Within a limited time frame, the market’s digital presence began to better reflect the energy and sense of community that people experience in person.
Selected Writing & Campaigns
Further Insight: Marketing Strategies for Farmers Markets
During this project, I began thinking more deeply about the marketing challenges many community farmers markets face. While working with the Macon County Farmers Market, it became clear that many small markets struggle to translate the energy of the in-person experience into their digital presence.
To explore this further, I wrote a short whitepaper that looks at how storytelling and consistent content strategy can help community markets strengthen engagement.