Common uses of social media within the agriculture industry:
- Advocacy
- Community Building
- Relationship building with clients and partners (new and old)
Advocacy
According to Buckeye Farm News, the issue of animal welfare practices being brought forward by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) “has been called the most important issue to ever face Ohio agriculture”. Andra Troyer of London, Ohio agrees. She joined Facebook two months ago and finds it a useful tool in spreading information about animal welfare practices in Ohio, the efforts of HSUS, and Ohio Farm Bureau articles and programs.
Andra Troyer would like to see current OFBF members helping spread the message regarding Ohio agriculture’s struggle with HSUS. She states:
“Use the Farm Bureau’s site. Its easy to share from their site. (Look for the Share button in the bottom right of articles posted on http://ofbf.org.) All you have to do is hit the share button. I would like to see others using their networks. If each of us goes out and finds 250 friends on Facebook, like I did, that is 250 more people we are touching. If we don’t stand united then we fall. We have to work as a group and an organization. We need to put out the same message and involve as many people as we can.”
Animal husbandry practices may be the most important advocacy issue for Ohio agriculture right now but it is not the only issue and it will not be the last issue. Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter provide a means of interacting with more folks more efficiently. And when it comes to advocacy, the larger your communication circle, the better.
Community Building
How does one build community offline? Get to know folks. Let them get to know you. Discuss shared interests. Work on projects together. Building community offline or online, the purpose and the process is the same.
Bob Peterson, former OFBF Board President, finds Facebook useful for maintaining relationships within his community and with his Farm Bureau contacts across the country. He states, “Facebook is like walking into the coffee shop. All the characters are there and their stories are there.”
Jaime Moore of Wayward Seed Farm states “[Social media] is a way to connect with other farmers, other businesses, form partnerships, form friends. And it's the best form of free marketing there is. You have to meet people where they are, and today, that's online.”
Use Facebook to keep up with folks you would love to have coffee with but simply do not have time.
Relationship Building with Clients
As a new business, Snowville Creamery is uncertain how much of their experimentation with social media is impacting their quick growth. Jen Bhaerman, Snowville Creamery’s Marketing Director, states: “I think there is a tremendous opportunity to promote agriculture through Twitter (http://twitter.com/snowvillecream) and blogs (http://www.snowvillecreamery.com). Eventually, I see us using Twitter more frequently to promote other producers in partnership with Snowville (strawberries and cream at the farmers' market). I also see great opportunity in using Twitter to entice people to read blogs which provide more information on our products and ideas for use. “
Jaime Moore of Wayward Seed Farm says it best:
“We use Twitter (http://twitter.com/waywardseedfarm) as a means to keep up with the goings on of our clients and associates around town, and we use it to share the small details of what's going on at the farm. I like Twitter as a way to get to know everyone a little better and as a way for them to connect with us personally. It offers a completely different experience than through our blog and through Facebook--it's two-way and it's real time. It's greatly improved our visibility in the community, and most importantly our relationships with our customers.
It's fun to communicate back and forth with someone, get to know them on Twitter and then finally, you get to meet them in person. At the market, we're working and we don't have the time to catch up with people as much as we'd like, so we often find ourselves solidifying those relationships through Twitter and Facebook and our blog.
We're not tracking metrics or looking for statistics. For us, using social media is about connecting to people and building deeper relationships--and there's no doubt we continue to achieve that every day.”
Using Social Media Effectively:
- Who you are online should be who you are offline. Social media tools are a means of reaching your offline goals. To do so, you must be yourself when online.
- Use social media to strengthen relationships you are building offline. You do not have time to go to coffee with everyone. Think of social media as virtually building relationships you would build offline if you had the time.
- Each social media tool has different functionality. The right tool for the right job applies to our online activities as much as it does to our offline activities. Before jumping into social media, determine what you want to accomplish, research the tools and determine which tool(s) will help you reach your goal(s).
- Be genuine. Others recognize sincerity. Your online efforts will have much greater impact if you are sincere.
- When expanding your network, get to know interesting folks. That makes being genuine much easier!
The Time Issue
Once folks determine using social media may provide value in their lives, they then need to figure out how to fit the social media into an already tight schedule. Bob Peterson spends fifteen minutes an evening on Facebook. “Like anything on the computer, you can burn and waste a lot of time.”
Set an allotted social media time (and stick with it). Define your purpose for being on the social network (such as Facebook or Twitter) and keep that purpose in mind while on the network. If your efforts are focused and you limit your social networking time, you will ensure there is minimal time wasted.
OFBF Community Online
The Ohio Farm Bureau Federation and its community are already using social media. They are experimenting, building, researching, making mistakes. Since social media is relatively new, its use involves a good deal of trial and error. Each user’s experience with social media is different. The difficult reality of this is that social media strategies are not cookie cutter. The positive side is that social media strategies are not cookie cutter! There are no step by step directions but there is a good deal of general guidance available. The most important tip we can provide is to suggest you slowly begin using social media. Watch how others use various tools. Ask questions. Make mistakes.
Facebook Page of the American Farm Bureau Federation
Facebook Page of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation
Facebook Page of Town Hall Ohio
An official (and full version) of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation's pdf of the above article.
