New Holland: an ultra committed fan community!

Iconic manufacturer of agricultural machinery, New Holland has been uniting its fans on social media with OTTA since 2018. From the daily lives of its farmer users to the latest technological innovations, not to mention the cult that some enthusiasts have for the “big yellows” and the entire range, the topics are as rich as they are exciting throughout the year.

A strategy of communication co-constructed with the OTTA teams that relies on the expertise of the New Holland teams but also on user-generated content, at the heart of the reality of the field. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin, but also very soon Twitch, connected and passionate farmers follow their favorite brand online with unfailing interest and commitment.

What was your social media need before contacting OTTA?

Elodie Rousseau: In the agricultural world, there are very few brands. So our goal was not to make ourselves known but to make our brand shine! The idea was to rally our numerous fans but also to attract those who are still hesitating to join the yellow and blue brand! To do this, we needed pages and content that speak to French users, that meet their expectations and therefore managed by the French market. It is from this key moment that the OTTA agency started to accompany us.

What are the objectives of your social media strategy?

Our will was and still is to develop interactions with our community and to increase our online visibility.

What do you expect from the collaboration with a social media consulting agency?

To engage in effective community management over the long term requires a presence on the networks almost 24/7. The agency that accompanies us must provide availability, flexibility and support.

Do you have an example of a successful post to give us? Why did it work well with your audience?

Our users are fond of pictures of equipment, especially on Instagram which lends itself very well to it. Most of them are enthusiasts! On Instagram, the most popular posts are always fan photos. Some have garnered over 5,000 likes with considerable engagement rates.

Have you seen an evolution in the relationship with your community?

Our community is pretty good and really likes the brand. Managing the pages locally has made our relationship evolve positively, we feel it every day.

Social ads, an essential support!

Why choose to invest in advertising on social networks? What are your objectives?

To ensure that our community accesses our publications but also to reach a new audience and ultimately generate leads. The health crisis that hit us hard pushed us to develop this strategy, especially because of the cancellation of many trade shows. We had to keep this special bond that we have with our customers, social networks facilitate the creation and especially the maintenance of this bond over the months and years.

What are your targets? How do social ads help you reach them?

Our targets are users of agricultural machinery in the broadest sense, and we have refined our core targets according to the media. For example, on Facebook we target farm managers looking for information, on Instagram young farmers, and on Linkedin our internal community.

The editorial strategies are therefore defined in co-construction with the agency to reach these targets with the right content, on the right network, at the right time.

What does social media represent today in your global strategy?

Digital communication has become an important part of our global strategy. Social networks have therefore become an essential communication vector.

Is it easy to work/collaborate with an agency remotely?

Trello has made our work much easier! We also organize a weekly call to validate the posts: organization and rigor are a must. We can count on OTTA to support us on a daily basis.

Would you recommend OTTA?

Yes, of course! It’s a human-sized agency that knows how to combine dynamism, responsiveness and professionalism.

What are the next steps in your social media deployment? What are your plans for next year?

It’s been 3 years since we started managing our own pages on the networks. Now that we are at cruising speed, we want to continue to increase the interaction with our community.

New Holland X OTTA : insights!

Lessons learned:

– For relevant statements, the editorial calendar must adapt to the agricultural calendar (date of crop harvest, sowing, haying …) and commercial highlights

– UGC contents are very appreciated by our audience, relying on them allows us to value our fans and make them real ambassadors of the brand.

– Social Ads allow us to amplify our actions, to conquer targets, but also to have different objectives and a different discourse between publications and dark posts.