From Pond to Post: How Digital Marketing Revived a Local Koi Fish Farming Group
Having recently delved into reviewing the study, Using Digital Marketing to Develop Marketing Strategy for Fish Farmer Group Products in Jehem Village. The specifics of community service efforts aimed at transforming local businesses through technology, I want to share the powerful findings from a paper focusing on the “Mina Kumala Sari” Fish Farmer Group in Jehem Village. This study serves as a crucial blueprint for how traditional businesses, and product marketers generally, can leverage social media to achieve unprecedented visibility and drive sales, especially in challenging economic environments like the one created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Challenge: Invisible Products in a Digital World
The “Mina Kumala Sari” Fish Farmer Group, established in 2006 in Jehem Village, Tembuku District, Bangli Regency, focuses on fisheries, particularly koi fish. Despite their promising business, the group faced significant marketing hurdles. Their methods were highly conservative, relying on word of mouth, distributing physical brochures, and radio advertising, techniques that were costly and demonstrably less effective. Furthermore, the group’s physical location, situated near rice fields with road access only reachable by motorbike, made it difficult for potential buyers to visit.
Prior to the intervention detailed in the paper, many people were simply unaware of the group’s existence, with consumers often travelling to areas like Ubud for ornamental fish. The fundamental goal of the service activity was clear: to utilize digital marketing as a strategy to reach the target market, increase sales turnover, and enhance product branding.
The Digital Strategy: Visibility Through Social Media
The community service activity laid out a clear plan to transition the group to digital promotion, focusing heavily on social media marketing. The authors employed a thorough methodology, beginning with observation and interviews with the group leader to identify strengths, weaknesses, and marketing problems.
The core of the strategy involved providing the tools and education necessary for digital engagement:
- Content Creation: The team produced promotional posters and videos. The posters included essential information like the group’s address, available facilities, and seed prices, while the videos offered an overview of the cultivation group, the types of koi fish available, and the environment around the fish pond area. (Figure 2 in the paper shows examples of these promotional posters).
- Socialization and Education: Crucially, the activity involved educating local youths and community representatives on how to use social media effectively for promotion. This included guidance on creating engaging captions for uploaded posters and videos to attract consumers.
- Targeted Promotion: Promotion was carried out through social media (as seen in Figure 3 in the paper), supplemented by direct and online promotions with representatives from groups and communities of ornamental fish lovers.
Key Takeaways: From Unknown to Recognised
The results of this strategic shift to digital marketing were compelling, demonstrating the power of integrating digital techniques with traditional business models. The service concluded that utilising social media as a marketing tool was quite effective.
- Increased Recognition: After the promotion efforts through social media and engagement with ornamental fish communities, the “Mina Kumala Sari” Fish Farmer Group became increasingly recognized by the wider community.
- Consumer Surge: The visibility led to a surge in consumers who started visiting the location. People came not only to buy koi fish seeds but also to spend time refreshing themselves by fishing in the pond, an additional benefit stemming from the group’s appealing location near the rice fields.
- Efficiency: Digital marketing proved advantageous over conventional methods because it is cheaper, saves time, and facilitates interaction between producers and potential consumers.
The paper affirms that attractive promotional content and the intensity of uploaded content are essential in maintaining consumer interest and driving visits.
Application in Industry and Product Marketing Management (PMM)
This case study from Jehem Village offers vital lessons, extending far beyond small farmer groups to businesses of all sizes adapting to the digital economy.
Wider Industry Application
In an era defined by rapid digitalisation and heightened competitiveness, business owners must become technology literate and adapt quickly, especially following policy implementations like Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB) that drastically altered consumer shopping habits. The paper reinforces that businesses leveraging digital marketing enjoy significant advantages in terms of innovation and revenue.
Digital marketing provides the ability to reach the target market more accurately and offers crucial benefits in terms of cost-efficiency and the ability to quickly evaluate performance. For any business currently relying on outdated, costly methods like print brochures or conservative advertising, this paper is a reminder that proper guidelines for achieving digital marketing targets through social media are readily available and essential for growth.
Key Takeaways for Product Marketing Managers (PMM)
For PMMs focused on crafting and executing successful go-to-market strategies, the findings provide three critical directives:
- Prioritise Content Volume and Quality for Awareness: The paper underscores that interest is driven by both attractive content and the frequency with which it is uploaded. PMMs must ensure their content pipelines (photos, videos, blogs) highlight unique product advantages, in this case, the uniqueness of the koi fish types and the appeal of the facilities, such as the fishing pond. High-quality, consistent content is the engine for market recognition.
- Highlight Secondary Product Benefits (Positioning): The “Mina Kumala Sari” group initially sold fish, but the promotion highlighted the experience, fishing and enjoying the relaxing environment. This suggests PMMs should leverage all aspects of the product and environment for positioning. The paper recommends the group could be developed as an educational tour for fish cultivation. PMMs should always look for opportunities to bundle the core product with experiences or unique services to differentiate from competitors.
- Embrace Efficiency and Measurement: Digital marketing is celebrated for being able to measure success quickly and accurately. PMMs must ensure their digital strategies are focused not just on exposure, but on utilizing channels that offer granular data on target market reach and performance evaluation, allowing for swift strategic adjustments.
The story of “Mina Kumala Sari” illustrates that digital transformation is not optional; it is the pathway to wider community recognition, increased sales, and enhanced business competitiveness. By focusing on creating compelling visual content and systematically engaging target communities online, businesses can effectively overcome geographic limitations and traditional marketing shortcomings.