Agri Media
Influence of Social media in Agriculture
About Social Media and its influence in agriculture
Social media is a method to build relationships, share information, and connect with various audience of people you may never meet in real life. Networking on social media allows you to develop a community and share your story in a way that was never possible before now.
Famous social media tools
Begin with a positive conversation in Facebook about agriculture, connect with the younger generation, and get people excited about farming. By following ways, facebook can be useful for agriculture marketing
1) Post photos from the farm.
2) Share agricultural messages.
3) Connect with agriculture pages.
4) Share farm facts on your page.
5) Post videos of your operation, a note about activity on your farm, or a tour of your barn.
6) Advertise agri-tourism events.
Pinterestallows you organize and share visual information. It is a unique way to share agriculture’s story through pictures. By creating a board dedicated to agriculture, other users can see what a real-life farm, ranch, barn, or crops actually look like. Pinterest has 12 million users and is growing quickly. Its users skew female and represent a wide age range.
Things to know:
Pin: A link or image added to Pinterest. It can be an image added from the web using the “Pin It” button or uploaded from your computer.
Board: A board is a set of pins– It can be titled anything you want (Example: “Life on the Farm”) and can feature any subject.
Re-pin: You can search and re-post other images from other user’s boards.
The “Pin It” button for your web browser is easy to install and allows you to post images easily. You can install the button directly through the Pinterest page, under “Pinterest 101. “ You can also follow people and see what they are posting on their boards.
Linkedincan be used to spread positive messages of agriculture through group forums. It is important to continue sharing knowledge to consumers, and other professionals, as well.
1) Use Linkedin to reach professionals that may not be connected through other types of social media.
2) Share information or resources that highlight your area of expertise. It is a great way to connect with like-minded people and start deeper conversations about animal agriculture.
After you join a LinkedIn group, you’ll probably want to see who’s in the group and how the group members are connected to you.
1) To find a specific Group, navigate to LinkedIn.com, click the “Groups” tab and then “Groups You May Like”. Based on your profile information, you’ll be served with a list of suggested Groups.
2) Many Linkedin Groups are set up to only accept members who are relevant to the Group.
3) Other Groups are open and will accept anyone who joins. An open Group can mean to less-focused subject matter.
Twitteris easy to use once you get a hang of the lingo. All you need to do is sign up, create a username (which can be as creative as you want) and find interesting people to follow.
Tweet: A 140 character message that you use to share and communicate.
Re-Tweet (RT): How to share what someone else has tweeted or give credit to someone else on Twitter.
Direct Message (DM): A private 140 character message.
Feed: A stream of tweet updates from the people you follow.
Handle: Your username (example: @animalag)
Mention (@): What you use when referencing another user by their handle (such as @animalag). Use @ to communicate publically with other users.
Hashtag (#): A hashtag is used to denote a larger conversation and see what other people are talking about based on subject, words, and themes (examples: #agchat or #harvest).
There are many other popular forms of social media, including blogging and YouTube. Blogging can communicate positive messages about agriculture through longer posts. However, to have a successful blog, it takes time and effort to cultivate a steady following. YouTube is an another visual social media tool that is user- friendly and reaches a large population. YouTube is the third most popular search engine.
Important points About Social Media:
1) Keep all posts positive and build your community.
2) Step out of your comfort zone.
3) Showcase agriculture and your personal story.
4) Be transparent and honest.
5) Don’t forget to listen to others on social media. You might just learn something!