I have to admit that before today, I’d never established a Twitter account. Aside from Facebook and a very neglected MySpace page, I don’t think anything I’ve ever posted really qualifies as a blog, either. Needless to say, my experience with social media has been a bit limited. When we received the assignment to review social media sites related to agriculture, I was interested to see how agricultural groups use these applications to promote their businesses and causes.
After following several groups on Twitter such as The Ohio Poultry Association (OhioEggFarmers), Ohio Department of Agriculture (OhioDeptofAg), Ohio Corn and Wheat, and Farm and Dairy, I find that Tweets are used as a source of immediate information. Seasonal or current news items appear to be best served by Tweets because of the instantaneous access followers have to their favorite organizations. Anything from tips on preventing foodborne illnesses to factoids about common farm products (such as how turkey contains less tryptophan than cheddar cheese!) can be found here. Dynamic, concise, and searchable Tweets maximize efforts to find the most timely information about a particular group or topic in the least amount of time. If you need to get the word out quickly, this is the place.
Since I’ve had a Facebook page for a couple of years now, I was more familiar with that format. Generally, the agricultural Facebook pages I reviewed for this assignment (FFA, OFBF, Cause Matters Corp., Farming America, etc.), provide more detailed information about the organizations: their purpose, philosophy, and activities are clearly outlined. I believe that the photographs, news stories, corporate and personal postings all work to create a more complete representation of the respective organizations. Anyone reviewing a Facebook page comes away with a sense of what that particular company or group is about. You feel connected to these entities because you can personally relate to the activities, posts, and mission statements they‘ve described. This is a very powerful tool; creating momentum for community initiatives and outreach programs or drawing attention to newsworthy events can be as easy as the next Facebook posting. In addition, individuals who post to an organization’s Facebook page are essentially speaking one-on-one with that organization; they feel that their opinions matter and that they are being heard. This kind of personalization can only strengthen a business or organization’s presence. Of course, no amount of print advertising comes close to the audience reached by Facebook.
I believe that as people become more aware of and take an interest in where their food comes from, and as the need to communicate to the public about what the farming industry is doing to meet the increasing needs of the population, farmers and agriculturalists will continue to reach out through social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and individual or corporate blogs. The immediate response to agricultural and other issues that affect our lives is undeniable. I feel that public accessibility and involvement, such as those demonstrated on Twitter and Facebook, will become essential components for the success of all future agricultural endeavors.
