BF 205: Social Media & Online Marketing

Attract More Customers with a Strategic Farm Presence Online

  Enroll in Course

Attract and Connect with Customers Using a Strategic Farm Presence Online

Are webpages still useful? Does Facebook drive sales in real life? What do hashtags do? What kinds of photos do customers respond to? What are good strategies for low-cost online sales/marketing? What is Square and should I be using it? If you’ve been struggling with questions like these for your farm, this course is a great starting place for you. Taught by farmers and other ag professionals, you’ll get real-life, practical ideas and explanations to help you build a successful online presence, grow your customer base, and sell more product.

Target Audience

Aspiring, new, or experienced farmers are welcome to participate, but it assumes participants will be beginner to intermediate social media/online marketing users who are interested in polishing and expanding their skills for increased social media traffic and online marketing for farm businesses. Students should have basic digital proficiency, including use of email, internet searches, and may already have some personal and/or business social media accounts set up, including Facebook, Instagram, etc. The course is not geared to advanced online marketing users and/or those who anticipate the majority of their farm sales to come from online sources.

Course Objectives

The course is designed to improve your understanding of social media, online marketing ideas and tools that may increase sales and increase awareness about your business. From experienced farmers and farm service providers, you will learn:

  • Some of the more common tools and strategies to attract followers online,
  • How to drive customers to sales locations (online or real-life)
  • Marketing planning activities, including distribution, pricing, customer demographics and sales region.
  • Tips for improving photos, videos, graphics, memes, and more.

Webinar Activities & Topics

This class will include content by instructor/s, including marketing planning, photography, and more. A variety of guest speakers will share experiences in building a farm business and how they use social media/online marketing in business. Two to three agri-service professionals will provide overviews of social media, online marketing, digital sales tools and strategies.

Webinar Schedule

Live instruction for 2025 has concluded. You are welcome to enroll now to complete this course on a self-paced schedule and join our next live session in Winter 2026. All webinars are recorded and posted in your online classroom to watch anytime. Once enrolled in this course, you will retain access to all materials indefinitely and may return to participate in future live offerings of the course as well. Please join us!


Your Instructor


Kacey Deamer
Kacey Deamer

Kacey is the Communications Manager for the Cornell Small Farms Program. In this role, she manages all storytelling and outreach across the program’s website, social media, e-newsletter, magazine and more. Kacey has worked in communications and journalism for more than a decade, with a primary focus on science and sustainability.


Student Testimonials

"The perspectives from multiple folks who have been successful at online marketing was the most helpful."

"The value has truly come in understanding the full value of social media marketing. I feel confident to utilize each of the platforms different set of tools and also how to integrate them so they work together to drive traffic and hopefully sales. I also appreciated the guest speakers shared experiences."

"Kacey D. was an excellent instructor for our six-week social media/marketing course!"

Course Curriculum


  General Course Resources
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Week One: Getting Started - Sites & Tools for Online & Social Media Promotion
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Week Two: Marketing Planning - Defining My Customer, Sales Approach, and More
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Week Three: Building a Website - How to Plan and Build Your Farm's Web Presence
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Week Four: Online Farm Storytelling - How to Optimize Social Media Posts for Profits & Ag-vocacy
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Week Five: How Farmers Can Tell Their Story Using Social Media
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Week Six: Maintaining Customer Connection as You Grow
Available in days
days after you enroll

Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course start and finish?
The course officially starts on the date given above, when the instructor gets involved and begins hosting live weekly webinars. If you are registering after the webinars have concluded for the year, you will have immediate access to all the course materials, and will be able to participate in the next year's webinars if you choose to.
How long do I have access to the course?
How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
What if I am unhappy with the course?
We would never want you to be unhappy! If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, contact us in the first 7 days and we will give you a full refund.

Online Course Tiered Pricing

The Cornell Small Farms Program offers a tiered pricing model to provide greater access to our online courses. To determine your course enrollment cost, please consult the chart below, and honestly identify your current financial situation.


We realize that not everyone is able to afford the price of our courses, so we also offer a small number of scholarships each year to New York State residents. To apply, please read scholarship requirements and complete the application here.

Get started now!