The blog is not an advertising tool – it’s classic PR

Marc-Wilhelm Kohfink picture: privat

The Berlin-based beekeeper Marc-Wilhelm Kohfink has been running the Imkerblog for four years now. We spoke to him about blogging, social media marketing and the potential target groups farmers could reach with it online.

Why did you start a blog?
I am not just a bee keeper I am also an economics journalist. In 2006 blogging was a new thing and I wrote an article about the blog as a marketing tool. I found that this could be something for my bee keeping business. I thought: “I can write and if it works as well as everyone says, a blog would be the ideal thing for my marketing.”

How much time do you spend every week on the blog?
Between 30 and 45 minutes. I find writing easy.

How do you find your topics?
I have never had a problem with finding something to write about. I think it has got something to do with my journalistic past. With a job like that, finding topics to write about is a basic skill. I write about everything to do with bee keeping. It’s a broad subject. Things like architecture, art, sport and history are connected to bee keeping, believe it or not. Let me give you an example: If you go with a joiner, who really loves his job, into an art gallery you will find he mainly looks at all the wooden frames. The pictures are nice but he is mostly interested in the frames. I want to show people the world from a bee keeper’s perspective.

Is your blog viable for your business or is it more a communicating tool between bee keepers?
When I first started the blog I hoped more customers would read it, because my customers always ask tons of questions about bee keeping. But at the beginning the blog was used more by the bee keepers themselves. But they have got their own honey and would only buy one of my rare honey products out of interest. So the blog made me known with bee keepers who use the internet themselves.

Have you gained customers by running the blog?
Yes but not by people who read the blog and then buy my things. That only happens if journalists are researching bee keeping. Then they will find my blog and think I have got something to say and ring me. And if they write something nice about me I, in return, get lots of customers. So the blog is not an advertising tool it is more classic PR.

There are not so many blog writers of the farming world – what do you think is the reason for that?
A farmer becomes a farmer because he loves nature and likes his animals. Most farmers hate the time they have to spend in the office filling in forms and sorting out the bills. And therefore they will not spend even more time in the office running a blog. And anyway the blog is a tool to get in contact with customers. Most of the farmers already have long-running contracts with customers. For those farmers the blog is not important. Or have you ever bought a turnip, malting barley or a piglet?

Have you got any tips for farmers who would like to start a blog?
They should know exactly who they write for and what interests the target group. Do I want to write it for colleagues? I would, for instance, write about my fabulous new tractor. If I have a farm café or guest rooms I would write nice stories about the “adventures” of my guests or things about the surrounding area.

Since January you have also been active on Twitter. Are you pleased with the feedback?
For a long time I have stayed clear of Twitter. But when a friend told me how I could use Twitter to get more blog readers I registered straight away. And it works perfectly.

Dr. Marc-Wilhelm Kohfink runs a Bioland bee keeping business in Berlin. He specialises in rare types of honey and offers training courses in bee keeping. His Imkerblog has been online for almost four years now.