Grass Roots Media

13/11/2025

As often as you check your rain gauge, you should be checking your social media metrics.

To understand if your audience is genuinely enjoying and engaging with your content, here are the three analytics to focus on and why:

1️⃣ Engagement Rate - it measures the percentage of people who saw your post and did something with it. It’s important because it tells you your content is resonating strongly enough to prompt an action. It tells you what your audience genuinely finds valuable or interesting (and what content to stop wasting your time on!)

2️⃣ Comments - review the comments on your posts and gauge your audience's sentiment. Is it positive, negative, or are they asking questions? Comments indicate that your content was compelling enough to start a conversation (and it makes for good FAQ content in the future!)

3️⃣ Shares - This is the highest form of social media endorsement. Just like an offline peer-to-peer recommendation, the person sharing it is putting their reputation on the line by vouching for your content by wanting their friends to see it.

In a nutshell: Stop focusing solely on post likes or page numbers. These three metrics will give you a clear picture of whether your audience is not just seeing your content but truly enjoying it and connecting with it.

31/10/2025

🎃 The horrors of social media are real……
From dying reach to hashtags waking the ghosts of 2016 💀

Here’s to surviving another spooky season in the digital world!

💬 Tell us - what’s your biggest social media nightmare?

23/10/2025

🚶‍♀️Throwback Thursday alert! Let's journey back to 2016 and our second-ever newsletter.

As we work on revamping and relaunching 'Over the Fence post' (don't forget to sign up if you haven't yet!), we're diving into the archives for some inspiration.

In the past 9 years, we've seen epic highs, faced some not-so-epic lows, welcomed new team members, refreshed our logo, and even changed ownership this year. What remains unchanged? Our passion for all things rural and our caffeine-fueled drive through those hectic times 😏.

Do you have any 'early days of Grass Roots Media' memories to share? We'd love to hear them!

20/10/2025

😅 We’ll just leave this here….

19/10/2025

Our eyes might be going square after a big few weeks 😅 Share your weekend view so we can live vicariously through you 🙏

16/10/2025

You wouldn’t have a Bunnings sausage without the sauce (if you do, we have some questions), so why are you posting and not utilising stories?

Facebook stories are PRIME real estate that you need to invest in.
They’re often the first thing people tap on, long before scrolling their feed.

That means your story isn’t buried in the endless scroll - it’s just a swipe away = more reach.
Add in the 24-hour lifespan and you’ve got the perfect mix of visibility and urgency to grab attention fast = more engagement.

Here are some extra tips to help you on your way.

👉 Leave space at the top and bottom
👉 Keep videos to 30 seconds long per story slide
👉 Don’t forget the call to action!
👉 Create stories ahead of time and in line with your timeline content

12/10/2025

Annie had a huge day of refreshing her knowlege at the Collab Digital Marketing Breakfast in Tauranga recently - she even took notes! (Her old Uni lecturers would be impressed 😂)

Biggest takeaways?
📱 Facebook is still the biggest platform, but it’s a bit of a minefield right now, with Meta testing all sorts of new things.
🎥 Video is king, and not just short clips. Long-form content is on the rise, and YouTube leads the way as the most-used platform in New Zealand..
🧠 AI isn’t replacing marketers, but those who know how to use it will replace those who don’t. It’s a tool, not a team.
✨ The magic happens when creativity and empathy meet AI’s speed, scale, and data smarts.

Let’s be honest, social media can feel scary, confusing, and sometimes pointless if you don’t know what you’re doing. That’s where the Grass Roots Media team comes in! We help brands navigate the chaos, build strategy with confidence, and create content that actually connects.

Get in touch! We'll help your rural business show up with intent and make your content worth stopping for. 👏

10/10/2025

Mental health matters - and so do you.

Opening up and being honest about how you're feeling is HARD. There’s still a stigma around mental health. But the more we talk about it, the more we normalise those conversations, raise awareness, and remind others they’re not alone.

Our incredible boss (and mate), Amber, walks the talk when it comes to being open about mental health matters - something she also champions through being a Farmstrong ambassador.

Recently, she shared her story on the Flower Farming in New Zealand Podcast with host Joe Robinson and Farmstrong’s Gerard Vaughn. It’s been a journey of highs, lows, twists and turns, but through it all, she’s found ways to ‘keep above the line’ as she says, and keep moving forward.

“My journey hasn’t been a straight road. Transitioning from a corporate executive role into full time farming was a huge shift, both in lifestyle and identity. Add in the challenges of becoming a mum, the reality of burnout, and navigating situations that have tested us mentally, and it hasn’t always been easy.

But through those challenges, I’ve learned that looking after yourself isn’t optional; it’s the foundation that allows you to keep going. Talking openly, leaning on your support networks, and finding small ways to recharge can make all the difference.”

In recent years, Amber and her family have had their resilience tested even further - from cyclones and flooding to burglary and other on-farm challenges. Those experiences have reinforced just how vital rural wellbeing initiatives like Farmstrong are. Farmstrong provide support, practical tools, and stories that help farmers take steps towards prioritising their own wellbeing and building resilience in what can be a demanding and isolating role.

So today, on World Mental Health Day, we encourage you to reach out, listen, and share. Sometimes the smallest conversation makes the biggest difference.

💚 Find out more about here: https://gettingthrough.farmstrong.co.nz/

💚 Listen to the podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/23Co2DNGKvci4LtjCUaP0Z?si=Iezmfy2rTraF4CLjbHMhVw&nd=1&dlsi=e53294303188487b

Flower Farming in New Zealand · Episode

03/10/2025

Behind every post, ad, and campaign at Grass Roots Media is a team of passionate who bring a mix of rural roots, creativity, and digital smarts to the table.

Here’s who’s in the crew 👇
✨ Amber - Social Alchemist
Farmer, strategist, and creative at heart. She’s got a love for reels, a soft spot for all things “pretty,” and a knack for making content both engaging and effective.

✨ Cheyenne - Social Sorceress
Creative wizard with a knack for turning ideas into scroll-stopping content. If you’ve laughed, liked, or shared, chances are she had a hand in it.

✨ Annie - Social Siren
MC, speaker, wordsmith, and queen of connection. She’s got the voice and the talent to make any story sing.

✨ Annabelle - Story Telling Drafter
Journalist turned adventurer, she’s got a way with words and a passion for bringing stories to life, especially those rooted in food & fibre.

We’re proud to help rural and regional businesses connect with their people online, and we have a lot of fun along the way! 🌱

👉 Check out more about us here: https://grassrootsmedia.pulse.ly/k9eobe3kx2

01/10/2025

🌱 Hey team, it’s been a while since we’ve talked about us!
At Grass Roots Media, we’ve been flat out behind the scenes helping our clients shine online ✨, from social media posts that stop the scroll, to ad campaigns that get results, to websites and newsletters that connect businesses with their people.

We love seeing rural and regional businesses kick goals with their digital marketing, and that’s exactly why we do what we do.

So here’s a little reminder….. if your business needs a hand with social media, ads, EDMs, websites or just some down to earth digital advice, we’re your crew.

From the paddock to the boardroom, we speak your language.

💬 Flick us a message if you’re keen to chat about how we can help your business shine online!

29/09/2025

We’ve got some awesome news to share, Cheyenne is back with us at Grass Roots Media! 🎉

Many of you already know Cheyenne and the incredible work she does. She’s brilliant at making complex ideas simple, telling stories that really connect, and keeping strategy on point. We’ve missed her creativity, her spark, and big picture thinking.

Having her back is a huge win, for us, and for the clients we work with. 💚

👉 Watch this space......exciting things are on the way.
👉 Or if your business is ready to step up its digital game, get in touch.

Drop a 👋 below to welcome Cheyenne home.

24/07/2025

Amber here, and yep, that’s me in the latest NZ Dairy Magazine from Waterford Press Limited!

From the shed to the screen, I’ve always believed that good things happen when we tell real stories, have real conversations, and show up for the ag sector in our own way.

Running our dairy and beef operation with (my better half) Fraser, raising our boys, and leading a business that champions rural brands, it’s a life I’m proud of and grateful for every day.

Big thanks to the team for the feature, and if you fancy a read, you’ll find me on page 92 👇
https://digitalpublications.online/waterfordpress/nz-dairy-winter-25/92/

Amorangi Farms Ltd Amber and Fraser Carpenter are showing what smart rural diversification looks like. Their Mangatawhiri-based operation milks 465 cows across 200 hectares, plus 74 hectares for young stock. Alongside this, they run Grass Roots Media, a digital marketing company focused on the food and fibre sector.

With a self-contained dairy system producing 500kg milk solids per cow, and a growing dairy beef enterprise, the Carpenters are future-focused farmers helping rural businesses thrive online.

Onroad Transport, Campbell Tyson Chartered Accountants