thought leadership for agriculture in the social media era...thought leadership for agriculture in...
TRANSCRIPT
Thought Leadership for Agriculture in the Social Media Era
Michele WalfredCommunications Specialist
Women In AgricultureMay 22, 2019
THOUGHT LEADER
A respected individual who both creates and curates content from the Internet around a particular subject or area of interest. On social media, thought leaders support engagement with others, provides resources (serves as a hub), and strives to earn trust and expertise in his/her area. Thought Leaders are “go to” people.
• Content Strategy• Builds Trust• Builds Brand• Demonstrates Integrity• Establishes Your
Expertise
Thought Leadership ..
2
• “Go to Location”• Expands Network• In Person• Online
My Social Media Leadership Journey• BA, Journalism• MA, Digital Humanities• 2011 Ag Communication
Conference• 2014 eXtension.org Fellow in
social media• 2014 UD Certified• 2015 $10,000 national winner
Delaware 4-H SM• LEADelaware Class IV
• Administrator on several platforms for:– UDCANR, UDExtension,
Delaware 4-H, Carvel.– MidAtlantic Women in
Agriculture – planning committee & presenter
– #AgChat moderator– Delaware Press Association
4
Online Curation
5
● What is in your museum?● What is your content?● Who do you want to visit?● Who do you want as patrons?
Thought Leadership and Online Content
● Balance original content with sharing other people’s content
● Goal 50-50% or at least... ● 60% original, 40% outside
content
6
Mine Theirs
What Would Thought Leadership Look Like for Walfred’s Winery?
Winery
• Follow conversations using hashtags #wine #cabernet
• Follow wineries/vinters• Share other vineyard’s content• Discuss different types of grapes• Health benefits of wine - share
articles
9
Winery
• Science and wine• Weather and wine• How soil types influence taste• Wine glasses• Label design• Famous wines• Follow local liquor stores
10
Winery
• Wine and art• Wine and literature• Poetry about wine• Food pairings• Create a hashtag
#WalfredWinery• Curate customer posts• Agritourism
11
12
We Need to Tell Our Stories!!!!
#DEAGWEEK
Who is Your Audience?
Choir-master leading a rural congregation singing hymns. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration (Photo credit: Mediastorehouse.com)
WHAT IS YOUR BRAND?How does your brand convey trust?
20
“The 21st-century human is learning that every action leaves an indelible digital trail. In the years ahead, many of us will be challenged by what we are making public in various social forums today.
The fact that one in five applicants disqualify themselves from an interview because of content in the social media sphere is a warning to job seekers and a true indicator of the digital reality we now live in.” – Eurocom Worldwide (PR firm)
Your Personal Brand• Demonstrates how well networked or “connected” a
candidate is. Many organizations are moving into social media and want staff that have these skills.
• Reveal a candidate’s truer nature– How they respond to stress– Party animal = substance abuse issues– Online literacy – use and frequency of expletives– Troublemakers– Good fit for the organization
• Lack of online profile can be harmful
BE CONSISTENT IN YOUR BRANDING…MY EXAMPLES
24
25
Who Do You Want to Reach?
• Do you want an expanded audience?• More customers?• More diverse?• Social Media platforms are not the same!• Understand the metrics of your current audience base
• Personal accounts (conversations between friends and family, typically have “friends only” privacy settings
• Page settings always public• Consider personal “public” posts regarding your ag
business• Comment on newsworthy community news as your
page.• Tag partners, donors, supporters, participants
● Two-Thirds of U.S. Adults use Facebook
● 74% Women
● 62% Men
● 45% Get News From Facebook
● 5% Totally Trust
● 33% Some Trust
Pew Internet Resource
28
29
Twitter• Fast paced• Agriculture Industry heavily invested• Government, elected officials• Reporters• “Mom Bloggers” “Foodies” • Organized chats expand reach• Content needs to be repeated• Hashtags• Engagement = success
● 74% of global users get news from Twitter
● Customer Service● 225 Million Active Users● 100 Million every day● Male-Female 50%● 86% Users on Mobile● Agriculture Industry
• Younger, diverse demographic• Audience of curators and seekers• Artistic• Hashtag dominant (Cross reference your hashtags)• Storytelling. Marketing. Education in a soft way• Owned by Facebook. Not the same• What is the most Instagrammed food?
● 1 Billion Users● 77% U.S.● 50 B Photos
Shared● 72% Teens● 59% Ages 18-29● More Popular on
Weekdays● More Popular
than Snapchat for Teens
• Professional - Most Facebook like without the cat or laughing baby videos • Job seeking - online resume• Journal sharing• Important for establishing personal branding• Thought Leadership• Groups and Associations
YouTube
• Third largest search engine• Storytelling ability• Meta tagging and titling are important
– Think of YouTube as a search engine, not as a channel• Can be used to counter anti-agriculture information• Free YouTube account with Gmail• On mobile alone, YouTube reaches more 18-49 year-olds than any broadcast or
CABLE TV network
33
Using Social Media • You on Social Media -- You are a brand!
– Establish a professional presence• Due Diligence. What does it mean? Rise of Fake News
– Responsible social media use– Fact checking
• Social Media and Agriculture– What’s out there– What’s needed
• Make Posts Public - whenever possible!!!
Spotting Fake News• OMG – Alert! You can’t believe this “mind blown” headlines. CLICKBAIT• Food, health, and politics.• Scary photo. • Don’t trust authorities. ”Here’s what so-and-so won’t tell you!”• Mentions science or cherry picks science. Never links to science.• Masquerades as a health advocate.• Advertisement overload!!! Main tip off.• Specifically says “Snopes verified.”• Imitates a news website.
More about Chinese
Watermelon
http://freshsein.com/whats-behind-cracked-watermelons/
Look at the adsThe main reason these sites exist is for ad and clickbait revenue.
“As it turns out, the images in question had been circulated before and were not originally labeled as crabs injected with formalin. English-language blog posts from December 2014 and May 2015 (as well as Chinese-language versions of indeterminate date) all labeled thesame set of images as showing adulterated crabs, but in those versions the crabs in question were injected not with preservatives to stretch their shelf lives, but rather with seawater to increase their per-pound weights:
In life, not just in social media, do your “due diligence”
• Think before you send!• Consider before you share!• Avoid drama!• Don’t be gullible!• Don’t overreact to the obvious “OMG” moments!!!!!!• Ask what voices are missing in the discussion or topic.• Don’t complain to get ahead. Compliment to get ahead.• Give credit to others. You will always be seen as gracious
and fair
WHO CAN YOU TRUST?
Advocating for Agriculture
“To tell someone that they’re wrong, first tell them how they’re right.” ~Blaise Pascal (paraphrase)
“When we wish to correct with advantage, and to show another that he errs, we must notice from what side he views the matter, for on that side it is usually true, and admit that truth to him, but reveal to him the side on
which it is false. He is satisfied with that, for he sees that he was not mistaken, and that he only failed to see all sides. Now, no one is offended at not seeing everything; but one does not like to be mistaken, and that
perhaps arises from the fact that man naturally cannot see everything, and that naturally he cannot err in the side he looks at, since the perceptions of
our senses are always true.” ~Pascal
Source: https://qz.com/778767/to-tell-someone-theyre-wrong-first-tell-them-how-theyre-right/
How Do We Discuss Agriculture?
• Economic: Yields & Profits• Scientific: Research, testing,
safety.
• Values: Connecting with consumer, or anyone who does not understand, through Values. Without a “value” connection, economic and scientific arguments fall flat.
AG LITERACYYOU CAN BE AN AGVOCATE
The Faces of Delmarva Agriculture▶ Greenhouse/garden
center▶ Farmers Market▶ Creamery▶ Poultry farmer▶ U-pick▶ Orchard▶ Grow for processing/grain▶ Events▶ Value Added/Retail▶ Agvocate
WHO THEY THINK WE ARE
49
50
They are not the enemy…
• Vegans• Raw food advocacy• Plant-based diets• Vegetarians• Organic farmers and customers
They can, do, and should co-exist withtraditional agriculture
…and neither are we!
Thought Leadership is...
• Being a part of a community! Be social on social media• Making others in your community look good• Sharing in the success of others• Avoiding controversy - remaining neutral• Collecting conversations about your area of expertise• Building trust in your communications and your brands
52
