With the introduction of the Internet and social media, the dairy cattle auction business has gone through a tremendous change.  In the beginning there was dairy cattle marketing 2.0 where dairy breeders could use the power of social media to promote their cattle. More recently there has evolved dairy cattle auctions 3.0.  This is where dairy cattle breeders are able to harness the triple powers of internet marketing and social media and websites like Holstein Universe, Holstein Plaza, and Eurogenes to actually sell their genetics to the world.

In our recent analysis of what is selling at the Canadian Auction sales of 2013, we found that high genomic animals, (animals that are over 3,000 LPI) outsold all other animals by a whopping 61%.  (Read more at An Insider’s Guide to What Sells at the Big Dairy Cattle Auctions).  This change in market demand has coincided with changes in how these sales can now be run.  A great example of this is the recent Genomic Giants Sale series held in Quebec (Read more: The 2013 Genomic Giant Sale Was a Giant Success!) and the Planet Holstein Sale at the 2012 World Dairy Expo (Read more: The Plant Explodes at World Dairy Expo – 2013 Planet Holstein Sale Recap).  Both of these sales had outstanding sale averages ($33,775 and $40,853 respectively) and yet none of the animals were actually present at the sale.  The reason this startling change works is that breeders’ buying decisions are backed by confidence in genomics and in the favorable buyer satisfaction guaranteed terms.  Breeders are investing in these animals with confidence.

The next evolution of these sales is about to happen as they are taken fully online.  There have certainly been many breeders who have taken advantage of social media (Read more: The Dairy Breeders Guide to Facebook) and there is no question about how it helps promote your sales consignments (Read more: Nothing Sells Like Video).  However these are all tools that facilitate the sale but do not actually result in the sale.  That is where sites such as Holstein Universe, Holstein Plaza, and Eurogenes  can help.  (Read more: EUROGENES: You Love It.  They List It! and Tag Sales: What are they? What makes them successful? and What does the future hold?) Breeders from around the world are looking to actually purchase genetics.  While sites like Facebook are great for getting the message out there, you also need a platform to list all your genetics.  Enter Holstein Universe, Holstein Plaza and Eurogenes.  Holstein Universe is like an online tag sale.  Tag sales have caught on like wildfire in North America and Holstein Universe is the digital version of a tag sale.  Holstein Plaza and Eurogenes are a combination of donor listing services, live auctions and news and events.  Breeders are looking to not only market their genetics to the world, but also to join the community and list actual genetics for sale.  These three sites offer all these aspects.

The Bullvine Bottom Line

For years the knock on the internet and social media has been,”Yeah that’s great but how do I actually make money?  How do I actually sell something?  Instead of just using the internet and social media as a large megaphone, how do I use it as a sales tool?”  That is where online auction sites and dairy community sites have greatly changed the game.  No longer is it just a tool to get the latest news about your genetics out to the world but you can actually sell to the world.” Cha-ching!!

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