A growing number of farmers and agribusiness people are becoming not only social media savvy (as in using social media) but proficient in using it to strategically communicate with consumers and each other. But we can all learn more and get better and the 2012 BlogWorld & New Media Expo is one of the places you can go to immerse yourself in social media. Registration is now open.
BlogWorld is a must-attend social media event, hosting thousands of attendees from 50+ countries, with more than 200 speakers. This will be our second year in New York and we’ve planned 3 days of cutting-edge conference sessions and eye-opening keynotes. It’s not just the conference content that BlogWorld attendees boast about, 2012 attendees will also find a thriving trade show and great evening networking mixers. This is the only industry-wide event bringing the global community of content creators and publishers together all under one roof.
BTW. This might be a good event opportunity for your company to get some great AgWired branding as our sponsor to cover the event!
Let’s talk about food. Okay. We can do that. In fact, we love to talk about food and the farmers who produce it. Here in the USA we’re very blessed to have the the most abundant, safe and affordable food supply in the world. We also ship more of it in the form of food aid around the world than any other country. So if we’re going to talk about food let’s not forget the farmers who produce it!
Since Sunday, October 16 is World Food Day, the folks at Blog Action Day decided to make food their topic. AgWired is signed up. Maybe you should too.
For 2011, our Blog Action Day coincides with World Food Day, so our topic of discussion for this year will be food. Take the first step now and sign-up your blog to Blog Action Day and then look at our suggested topics for some food flavoured inspiration to discuss.
World Food Day, October 16th, is a worldwide event designed to increase awareness, understanding and informed, year-around action to alleviate hunger.
He is the AgroBlogger. He’s Adrian Krebs. Adrian is the president of the Swiss Agricultural Journalists Guild and he was my partner for a presentation to the IFAJ Master Class and Boot Camp yesterday. I thought I’d share a conversation with him about why he’s blogging even though he is currently not working as an agricultural journalist.
However, he still blogs and it’s really because of his personal passion for agriculture. I introduced him to the word, “agvocate” and he like it! I think you’ll enjoy hearing him talk about why he blogs and what it means to him personally and professionally.
Our on-farm dinner included fresh picked and boiled sweet corn. It is definitely some of the best I’ve ever eaten. Having more than one ear was desert for me! There are plenty more photos in my photo album from our trip to the farm this evening.
I just learned that the folks at Seametrics have named AgWired to their list of Top 20 Agriculture Blogs! They said this was based on “recommendations from other bloggers and because we think your blog provides awesome content for people interested in agriculture.”
Seametrics is a “water flow measurement company that helps farmers, manufacturers, and municipalities to reduce water use and save money.”
Thank you Seametrics. We’ll keep trying to earn it!
Here’s a new blog to add to your feeds. It’s called, Tractor Parts Talk, from TISCO. The company provides “all-makes of aftermarket tractor and agricultural equipment parts and accessories in North America.”
“Tractor Parts Talk is an informative hub where everyone in the agriculture community can connect,” said William Stuckert, president of TISCO. “Our goal is to translate our many decades of experience serving the ag industry into an easy to use resource to help the farming community — whether they are a farmer in the field on their smartphone or a parts distributor in a store on their laptop.”
Tractor Parts Talk blog topics to date have covered the effect of heavy spring rains on the 2011 growing season, tractor part tips on air filter maintenance, a refresher on farm safety, and the importance of agriculture in creating jobs, stimulating the economy, housing wildlife and improving the environment. At tractorpartstalk.com, visitors can also find and purchase tractor parts through tractorpartmart.com to keep their equipment running in the field and connect with a local parts dealer in TISCO’s extensive dealer network.
Would you be surprised to know that many food bloggers aren’t real familiar with where the food they write about comes from? Probably not. Most people today do not understand how food is produced and have no real connection to the farm regardless of what kind of food or farm you’re talking about.
The Iowa Corn Growers have done something about this. Last week they hosted a group of “guest bloggers” to Iowa and I met them during Iowa Corn Indy 250 weekend activities. Pictured in the center is food blogger, Allison Loesch along with her husband on the right and Iowa Corn Promotion Board Chair, Dick Gallagher.
I know that many of you want to know how to reach out to and engage consumers more. How about reaching out to those very involved in social media on the consumer side? In this week’s program you will hear Mindy Willamson, Iowa Corn Growers, talk about the group they hosted and from Allison. I think you’ll find what they have to say interesting.
Hopefully they will join #FoodChat which is the Twitter conversation that takes place the third Tuesday of each month from 8-10pm, ET. All other Tuesday’s it is AgChat!
This week’s program ends with some music from Music Alley. It’s called “Food” by Deirdre Flint.
Thanks to our ZimmCast sponsor, GROWMARK, locally owned, globally strong, for their support.
The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired. Subscribe so you can listen when and where you want. Just go to our Subscribe page.
The Country Living Association has some tips for getting your farm blog “planted online” this week.
If you haven’t already, think about starting a blog to tell your farm story and grow your business online. Though it may feel overwhelming to add another farm chore to your list, in reality, a blog is simply a web-published diary or journal usually consisting of one page into which the blogger regularly uploads fresh content, and it’s much easier to maintain than your website.
Here are five tips for launching your farm blog:
1. Before you start, take time to research other blogs to determine what you like. It will help you begin building a vision for your own venture.
2. Find a blog buddy, someone to walk you through the first steps on one of the free sites such as Blogger or WordPress. Sites such as these are relatively easy to maneuver, but it may help to enlist a friend or a local teen. Teens today are part of the “millennial generation” and grew up so entrenched in web technology that they can be your seasoned mentor.
Meet some Real Farmwives of America and Friends. RFOA is blogging and you should visit to meet them and find links to all their social networking profiles!
RFOA & Friends is a growing group of women across the nation who blog about life on and off the farm. Our members either currently live on family farms, grew up on the farm and/ or work in the farming community. Our blogs focus on many different topics from humor to life to recipes to DIY projects to our families.
ZimmComm New Media gave the three year old site a face lift that just went live last month. Corn Commentary was developed in 2007 to provide NCGA with an outlet for providing opinions on issues impacting the industry, especially in the areas of environment, food safety, health and energy.
The blog was recently updated with a new design and multiple staff members of NCGA have taken over as primary contributors to the blog, which includes new posts several times a week. The new design also incorporates a Flickr photo album feed, as well as links to social network profiles on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. In addition, there is a live Twitter feed of tweets by Corn Commentators and a featured video built in to the new design. Those Corn Commentators include Ken Colombini, NCGA communications director; Mark Lambert, NCGA senior communications manager; and NCGA communications managers Cathryn Wojcicki, Susan Powers and Janice Tolley Walters.
If you need some current information about who is using new media and how then Pew Internet and American Life Project has a new report for you called, Generations 2010. This is a follow up to their Generations Online In 2009 report. I don’t really see any surprises in the report but you may find some. They highlight the fact that blogging is the only activity that is down in use among Millennials. However, they point out that the younger crowd is actually doing “blogging” via social networking sites. You also shouldn’t confuse posting onto your own blog with reading a blog. The study also found out that older demographics have increased their use of blogging.
Here’s some other summary information that I have edited and highlighted:
Millennials, those ages 18-33, remain more likely to access the internet wirelessly with a laptop or mobile phone. In addition, they still clearly surpass their elders online when it comes to:
* Use of social networking sites
* Use of instant messaging * Reading blogs
Finally, the biggest online trend: While the youngest and oldest cohorts may differ, certain key internet activities are becoming more uniformly popular across all age groups. These include:
Even in areas that are still dominated by Millennials, older generations are making notable gains. Some of the areas that have seen the fastest rate of growth in recent years include older adults’ participation in communication and entertainment activities online, especially in using social network sites such as Facebook. Among the major trends in online activities:
* While the youngest generations are still significantly more likely to use social network sites, the fastest growth has come from internet users 74 and older: social network site usage for this oldest cohort has quadrupled since 2008, from 4% to 16%.
Blogging continues to grow in spite of all the naysayers who have thought it wouldn’t “go anywhere.” In fact, I’d dare say that many people who read online content don’t even know they’re on a blog and don’t really care. As you’ll see in a comment from the author of a new eMarketer report (The Blogosphere: Colliding with Social and Mainstream Media), “. . . Over time, blogs will continue to become indistinguishable from other media channels,” blogging has become sort of mainstream. Who’d have thought?
But blogs continue to be important. eMarketer estimates that this year more than half of internet users will read blogs at least monthly. By 2014, readership will rise to more than 150 million Americans, or 60% of the internet population in the US. One reason for the rise in readership is that blogs have become an accepted part of the online media landscape.
I love that. “an accepted part of the online media landscape.” As if it isn’t already. The reason some don’t think it already is has most to do with their own fear or dislike of the mechanism and those of us who have chosen it as our information publishing platform. Or maybe it’s something else. What do you think?
There’s plenty to think about when you “launch” in today’s new media world. How about a blog, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube account? That’s what Elanco Animal Health has done with their Plenty To Think About blog, etc.
. . . the thinking person’s guide to feeding a hungry planet, sponsored by Elanco Animal Health.
The Plenty to Think About blog was inspired by global response to a 2009 white paper, “Food Economics and Consumer Choice,” authored by Elanco Animal Health President Jeff Simmons. The paper focused on the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s statement that the world needs to produce 100% more food by the year 2050 and that 70% of that food must come from efficiency-enhancing technologies. “Response to the white paper from producers, retailers and the business press indicated that hunger, food prices and agricultural sustainability are high priorities for individuals, farmers and businesses across the global food supply chain,” Simmons said.
I remember when the idea of a company blog was just so “silly.” But really, it is amazing how the self publishing platform has grown. The latest entry coming to my attention this morning is The Dirt On Seeds by Syngenta Seeds. Joanna has conducted a couple of interviews with Syngenta here at the Farm Progress Show btw. We’ll feature those soon.
Syngenta Seeds, Inc. has launched a new agronomy blog, TheDirtOnSeeds.com. This blog gives growers local insights from nine Syngenta agronomists representing nine regions across the country. Posts will cover a broad range of corn producing states, including Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
In addition, unlike many other existing grower blogs, TheDirtOnSeeds.com encourages comments to posts that enable growers, farm managers, crop consultants and others involved in the industry to engage in an ongoing dialogue with each other and Syngenta agronomists.
“Syngenta prides itself on the relationships that we, as agronomists, have created with growers all across the country,” said Chris Cook, head of agronomy for Syngenta Seeds. “We hope this new blog will help strengthen and improve those relationships.”
This is no surprise to ZimmComm New Media but it may surprise many agrimarketers. According to a post on Nielsen Wire titled, “What Americans Do Online: Social Media And Games Dominate Activity,” social networks and blog dominate people’s web use.
Americans spend nearly a quarter of their time online on social networking sites and blogs, up from 15.8 percent just a year ago (43 percent increase) according to new research released today from The Nielsen Company. The research revealed that Americans spend a third their online time (36 percent) communicating and networking across social networks, blogs, personal email and instant messaging.
Up 43 percent! That’s huge. The company also released a report that says seventy percent of people worldwide now watch video online!
USDA announced a new blog today.
USDA has just launched a newly revamped and refreshed Blog, bringing key enhancements to our previous offering. You will notice a new look and feel, enhanced search capabilities, easier navigation, categorization, and faster access to previous blog posts.
For over a year, USDA has been sharing stories and information on a wide array of topics, from Economic Job Forums and nutrition efforts, to beehives and gardens at USDA facilities. Through an unprecedented collaborative effort behind the scenes at USDA, we’ve been working hard to post blogs about our projects and initiatives, from Agency offices worldwide, and messages from the Secretary and Deputy Secretary. Our goal has always been to feature interesting articles in a more conversational and accessible way that allows for public discussion.
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association has just started its first official blog, Beltway Beef. Here’s the first post from blogger Mike Deering.
It is a pleasure to welcome you to the the first-ever blog of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. We are excited to engage in this new initiative and sincerely hope you are just as thrilled to have this blog as another resource at your disposal.
NCBA is stepping up its efforts to not only keep you informed, but also engaged. “Beltway Beef” affords you the opportunity to learn and express your views. You can rest assured we’ll be listening. This blog is intended to serve as a sounding board for the U.S. cattle industry. We will be covering mainly policy issues that impact U.S. cattle producers and rural communities. However, we may stray away from strictly policy-related issues from time to time. We also hope to provide a little entertainment now and then!
As we start this new project, feel free to offer any suggestions!
Congratulations to Cali Yost. Her website/blog Work+Life Fit made the Forbes Top 100 Websites For Women. Cali has been a ZimmComm client for years and had this to say when she let us know about the distinction: I thought I would share this with you because my blog was just named one of the Top 100 Websites for Women by Forbes!! And I couldn’t have done it without you! Thank you both.
We’re very proud of what Cali has accomplished. She’s a shining example of what you can do online today if you’re passionate about your subject and willing to be persistent and patient. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in either. There might just be something to this whole blogging thing, eh? See the complete list on the Forbes website.
To determine which sites and blogs made the cut we looked for compelling and decidedly female-oriented content, outstanding design, an active community and frequent updates. In short, sheer clickyness.
This week I’ve had the opportunity to speak to different agricultural communications groups about social media. The interest in this subject is very high. If you’re still somewhat skeptical about social media you should watch this video below. You can find statistics from the video here.
Social Media Revolution 2 is a refresh of the original video with new and updated social media & mobile statistics that are hard to ignore. Based on the book Socialnomics by Erik Qualman.
As you’ll see in the video it’s not a question of using social media to communicate but how well you’re using social media. Folks, you really don’t have a choice. Of course, if you choose not to participate in the online conversation then I guess you could call it a choice not to be in or have a successful business.
One of the questions I received most this week was how to get more traffic for your social media efforts with a blog being the specific channel pointed to. Good question and here are some of my thoughts on that:
1. Write about what you’re passionate and knowledgeable about.
2. Write regularly.
3. Write frequently. I can’t imagine having a blog you don’t post on at least 5x/wk.
4. Write as if you’re having a conversation with someone.
5. Don’t write only about yourself, company or products.
6. Point people to information on your subject they may not have known.
7. Use lots of links to more information, internal and external to your company.
8. Invite comment with questions. Solicit their opinion, questions, ideas.
9. Interact via comments or emails with your audience. Don’t ignore them.
10. Be persistent. Don’t give up. It will take time to develop an audience.
11. Use social networking to point people to your blog posts.
These are just a few ideas. There are more. I would also encourage you to create some objectives up front. How are you going to measure success? Realize that this isn’t about big numbers. This is about engaging your customers or members when and how they want. That will never include everyone. Think of social media as a big online cocktail party. Does everyone at the cocktail party get together in one group to chat? No. They are in many small groups. But those people mingle around and move from group to group. Influence your group and realize your audience will then go join another group and take what they learned from you with them.
The video says there are over 200,000,000 blogs. They’re not dead or no longer relevant. They’re more relevant than ever and I see them as the hub of your social media community. The spokes are Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, etc.
Showing that there is a career in professional blogging even for horse enthusiasts Cargill’s Nutrena brand launched a new blog site called The Feed Room that is designed to be a central source for horse enthusiasts to get the latest information on the care and feeding of their horses.
The site will cover a wide range of topics including horse feed, feeding tips, digestive health, weight control for horses, training tips & tricks, and industry events. Visitors can view videos, leave comments, ask questions and subscribe to receive updates via RSS feed or e-mail.
“Every day we engage in conversations with passionate horse owners across the country,” said Jackie Rieck, Nutrena® brand marketing manager. “We wanted to provide a central location for horse enthusiasts to educate themselves, interact with us and find a community of their peers.”
In developing The Feed Room, the Nutrena® brand commissioned a team of experts in the horse industry to blog and respond to site visitors’ questions, with new posts featured weekly. Featured bloggers will include experts from Cargill’s Nutrena® team and industry experts from outside the company.
Registration is now open for this year’s BlogWorld and New Media Expo. I attended last year and am hoping to do so again this year schedule permitting. If you really want to hone your new media and social networking skills then this is the place to do it. It would be cool to have other ag folks there!
Join us at the World’s Largest New Media event and learn about Content Creation, Distribution and Monetization strategies, step-by-step techniques and bleeding-edge tools from the most successful Bloggers, Podcasters, Social Media Pro’s, Internet TV and Radio Broadcasters, and Podcasters! From the premier educational sessions at the Social Media Business Summit and BlogWorld Conference, to the resource-rich New Media Expo, to Amazing Networking events…it’s One economical trip, One weekend, One Big Show you can’t afford to miss!
In this week's program Chuck talks with Mike Adams, AgriTalk.
Chuck and Mike often wind up at the same events all over the country so it seemed like a good idea to do a little AgriTalking about the changes they've seen in the ag media landscape.
A growing number of farmers and agribusiness people are becoming not only social media savvy (as in using social media) but proficient in using it to strategically communicate with consumers and each other. But we can all learn more and get better and the 2012 BlogWorld & New Media Expo is one of the places you can go to immerse yourself in social media. Registration is now open.
Would you be surprised to know that many food bloggers aren’t real familiar with where the food they write about comes from? Probably not. Most people today do not understand how food is produced and have no real connection to the farm regardless of what kind of food or farm you’re talking about. 
The 
USDA announced a 
In this week's program Chuck talks with Mike Adams, AgriTalk.
