Best Foot Forward.

 By Aly McClure for American Cattlemen.

 Raising cattle can be the compilation of many goals, but at the end of the day, you need to move cattle in order to make a paycheck. If you are in the business of selling your cattle either at auction or even private treaty there are a few ways you can amp up your game to see better results. While every day on the farm may not be picture perfect, in the world of marketing, that’s what it needs to be, and you need to be marketing your cattle.

Marketing your cattle begins well before the auction or private treaty announcements to increase your odds of walking away with the biggest pay day possible.
You can create any environment you want to with a little imagery and good weather. In a world flooded with pictures on social media and advertisement, it is imperative that you also have pictures to share with the crowd before the event. If you fancy yourself a camera slinger this can be an easier step for you, BUT, and this is a big but, you need to have good images. If you do not know how to compose a good image, please hire someone with livestock photography experience to help you in this area. This initial investment will repay you tenfold. The bonus of professional images is that there is less work for you to do and you have beautiful pictures ready to go and share online.
When scheduling a photography session make sure you also schedule a rain out date. Do your best to have clean, possibly clipped animals for pictures. I understand that this is not a realistic situation for everyone, but if it is possible, you will love the picture that much more.
Stir up some dust on social media by creating hype leading up to the big day by sharing images and information regularly. It is a best practice to share on your accounts daily, if not twice daily when possible. This is where hiring a photographer to create great images for you can pay off, because you will already have a prebuilt album to populate your queue and auto-share. By setting up a queue using one of many services available such as HootSuite, you again take out the daily work of trying to remember to post and figuring out what you should share. Plus, your images will all have a similar feel giving you a polished and put together appearance.
Having ads created by a professional graphic designer is usually a good idea as well. You can go as far as creating an ad for each animal or a general catalog; it depends on the number of animals you are listing and the price point at which they will sell.
A lot of good auction prep boils down to the adage, “Spend a little to make a little.” When you go the extra step of hiring professionals to help you in these areas you will have less stress, a more polished advertisement, and be able to spend time doing what you do best, raise great cattle. Don’t drop the ball after a sale is made, follow up with your customers, and you may have repeat sales for years to come. A good sale starts with great customer service.
Put your best foot forward, starting now, present the best animals and information that you have, and you will see great success when selling your animals.