How to communicate effectively from the swine industry to reach consumers
04-Jul-2025 (11 months 1 days ago)
What consumers really care about
Before we speak, we must actively listen. As the Interporc report (2024) points out, consumers express concerns about sustainability, animal welfare, antibiotic use, nutritional health of meat, and production ethics.
The key is to respond with facts, without denying the other's emotions. As I always say, “showing the reality of the industry is not just showing a farm, it is translating what we do into the language of the person on the other side”.
How to craft effective messages: 3 key ingredients
1. Information + emotion
Consumers don't buy data and companies, they buy stories and people. That's why the most effective disclosure is not the one that offers graphics, but the one that combines information with emotion.
- Practical example: An Instagram Reel showing how a farmer cares for their sows during farrowing can be more impactful than an infographic on biosecurity.
2. Transparency
Today, transparency is a differentiating value. It is not about appearing perfect, but about being coherent, explaining our processes, and admitting that we are also evolving.
- Practical example: Showing a change in farm management (such as improved biosecurity) to reduce antibiotic use may build more trust than a denial of historical antibiotic use.
3. Human protagonism
People connect with people. Showing the faces of industry professionals (veterinarians, livestock farmers, drivers, etc.) speaking about their vocations and their day-to-day lives is one of the most effective strategies.
Platforms and formats that do work in 2025
According to IAB Spain (2025) and Metricool (2025a), 2025 trends in social networks focus on:
- Short, real videos (Reels, TikTok, Shorts): natural, little editing.
- Educational carousels (on Instagram and LinkedIn): ideal for reputation and facts, as they allow information to be structured in a progressive way that favors retention and learning. In addition, content that educates and provides real value is among the most valued by today's digital user, who seeks authenticity and usefulness in what they consume.
- Stories for loyalty and emotional connection. Their ephemeral nature allows them to show more informal, direct, and emotional content. They consolidate as a space where the community can feel that there is a real person behind it, not just a brand. This is especially valuable in industries such as swine, where the consumer needs to put a face and a voice to what happens behind the final product.
- Microinfluencers and internal ambassadors: authentic and credible. The content strategies that work best when working with these profiles are:
- User-generated content (UGC): With 82% perceived effectiveness, it is the most trusted type of content, as it shows real consumer experiences.
- Employee-generated content (EGC): reaches 76% efficacy.
- Creator economy (external creators, which is where micro-influencers would come in): they achieve a 70% effectiveness rate, thanks to their perceived authenticity and ability to connect with niche audiences.
Therefore, it should be of interest for companies in the swine industry to encourage their workers and farmers to participate in their social networks with personal content, always related to the industry and, if possible, to the company.
In the case of LinkedIn, the following table shows the average level of interaction (engagement) generated by the different Metricool (2025b) publication formats:
| Format | Average engagement |
|---|---|
| Carousels (PDF) | 5.7 % |
| Surveys | 4.1 % |
| Text + Image | 3.2 % |
| Videos | 2.9 % |
This type of data is very useful to define what content to prioritize when communicating from the swine industry on professional platforms such as LinkedIn. Using carousels to explain technical processes or break myths is a great strategy.
The mistake of only being on the defence
As the book "Expert Secrets" explains, you don't sell a product, you sell a movement. We need to create content with the vision of a future cause: sustainable, ethical, and people-connected swine production.
We cannot fall into the trap of “reactive communication,” which involves going out to defend ourselves every time there is an attack, because that always puts us on the defensive (and in a loser's position, since we are not the ones dominating the conversation: topic, approach, etc.).
- Practical example: Instead of responding with data to a post opposing the industry, use the topic as an idea to create content that shows the reality of the industry and disseminate it. We have already mentioned what consumers' concerns are, so we should use them as topics to talk about without being asked. In the long term, proactive communication is what builds a good reputation, as it helps to improve the industry's reputation in society.
Conclusion: Communication is not defending, it is leading
The swine industry has a great story to tell. But it is not enough to say that we are sustainable; we must demonstrate it with transparency, emotion, and humanity.
The challenge is not only reputational, it is an opportunity to lead through communication. Today, the people and companies that take the step to tell their story with coherence, consistency, and connection are the ones that create a real and lasting impact.