If you run a farm park, your ads, your emails and your socials aren’t the only powerful drivers for bookings. So are your customers.
A parent recommending you in a WhatsApp group. A family tagging you in a photo.A quick “we went here, it’s really good” message to a friend planning the weekend.
That kind of word-of-mouth carries far more weight than anything you can say about yourself, and it’s often what tips someone from “maybe” to booking.
The challenge is that you can’t force it.
People don’t share because they’ve been asked to. They share because something felt worth sharing; a moment, a memory, or something they think someone else would enjoy.
So the goal isn’t to push people to post about you. It’s to create an experience where sharing feels like the natural next step. Here’s how to make that happen.
People don’t share places, they share moments. Yes, photo opportunities help (and click here for 40 ideas to help you create more of them!); but, really, they only work when they create a reaction:
- Something funny (“we didn’t expect this”)
- Something chaotic (kids covered in mud or foam, goats jumping up)
- Something genuinely lovely (first time feeding an animal, big family day out)
If a moment makes someone smile or laugh, they’re far more likely to share it on social, send it to a friend or drop it into a WhatsApp group.
2. Remove friction at the point of sharing
- Clear signage with your handle (where they’ll see it while taking the photo)
- A short, memorable hashtag (not 5 options; just one)
- Good phone signal / free WiFi in key areas (massively overlooked, and also an opportunity for adding more contacts to your email list!)
3. Give them a reason to tag you
- The chance to be featured on your page (“we share our favourites every week”)
- Social proof (“look, we were there too”)
- A bit of fun or recognition (“best muddy wellies of the day”)
4. Use light-touch competitions (without overcomplicating it
- Long rules
- Multiple steps
- Anything that feels like effort
5. Make WhatsApp sharing easy
Any parent with kids in school knows that word-of-mouth doesn’t just happen on public social feeds, it happens in WhatsApp groups too.
You can’t always track it easily, but it’s incredibly powerful. So to encourage WhatsApp sharing:
- Create moments that feel worth recommending (“this is actually a great day out”)
- Use simple language on-site that mirrors how people talk (“perfect for a few hours with the kids”)
- Give people something to pass on: a quick photo, a short video, or a simple message
- A sign with a QR code with something to share (and the encouragement to do so)
- A copy-and-pasteable message or image in the booking follow-up email in your ticket system, bonus points for including a discount code
6. Build referral behaviour into your offer
If you want more people talking about you, reward it subtly. This could be:
- “Bring a friend next time and both get 10% off” (you might need to create a secret ticket category in your booking system to do this, that’s only ever linked to in automated visit follow-up emails)
- Returning customer perks for people who’ve referred others
- Bounce-back offers that are easy to forward
The key is to make it shareable, not just redeemable.
7. Collaborate with the right people (not necessarily celebrities!)
- Local parenting accounts
- Schools and nurseries
- Nearby attractions or cafés
- Micro-creators with engaged local followings
Often, smaller accounts drive more real visits because their recommendations feel genuine. So offering a free family ticket or another perk in return for some great content is a no-brainer. Make sure you:
- Agree a clear deliverable (e.g. one reel + a story and a post)
- Get permission to reuse their content afterwards
8. Show people that others are already doing it
People follow people. If your social channels regularly show you sharing:
- Real families enjoying themselves
- Tagged photos reshared
- Busy, happy scenes
…it builds confidence and encourages others to join in. It’s subtle, but powerful: “People like us go here.”
And don’t forget you can boost the best posts with a bit of money to reach more local families!
9. Make sharing part of the experience, not an afterthought
The biggest shift is to stop treating sharing as marketing, but to treat it as a part of the experience.
From arrival to leaving, there should be small, natural prompts:
- Moments to capture
- Easy ways to tag
- Reasons to talk about it afterwards
When that’s built in, you won’t need to push it. Click here to get 40 ideas for photo opportunities for your farm park.
10. Focus on this one outcome
Everything comes back to one simple goal: Would someone recommend you without being asked?
If the answer is yes, because the experience was easy, enjoyable, and memorable, then the posts, tags, messages and referrals tend to take care of themselves.
And that’s when your best marketing stops being something you create… and starts being something your customers do for you.
Want help turning this farm park marketing strategy into actual bookings?
It’s one thing to understand the ideas. It’s another to put them into practice in a way that actually drives footfall and revenue. And that’s exactly what we do at 3XM Marketing!
We’ll look at your farm park or attraction properly; not just your social media, but your whole customer journey, and show you:
- Where you’re missing easy wins
- Where you can increase word-of-mouth
- How to turn more visitors into repeat customers and referrals
No generic advice. Just clear, practical actions you can implement straight away.
If you’d like a second pair of eyes on your marketing, you can book a free Business Growth Call here:
Get help to grow your business, for FREE
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During your Business Growth Call, we’ll:
- Take a look at the marketing you’re doing, and give you our two cents on how to improve it
- Tell you what we’d be doing if we were in your shoes
- Give you actionable tactics and strategies we’re using right now to get leads and customers for our clients
- Make sure you walk away with something you can take away and use straight away
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