New Holland is going social and in this week’s program you can learn all about it from Digital Brand Engagement Specialist, Rebecca Yates. I spoke with Rebecca at the Farm Progress Show to learn about how New Holland is using social networking channels like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.
One of the components of their launch into the new media world is the “Social Media Cow.” The cow will have an official name sometime in the future Rebecca says. Right now it is traveling the farm show circuit, raising awareness and New Holland is encouraging kids and adults to go to their Facebook page and suggest a name. The social media cow is an inflatable that has signs pointing to New Holland’s social media channels. During the show I saw families using it as a photo opportunity.
Hear all about what New Holland is doing in the social media world in this week’s program: ZimmCast 272
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!
That question is one I rarely get a yes answer to. In fact, after saying no the question I get back is “How do we create one?” or “Can you provide an example of one?” If you’re wondering about this then today’s eMarketer report is a good read. Recent research has shown that most companies don’t have a strategy or are only part way to having one. Part of the problem is probably the silo effect of internal company departments like sales, marketing, public relations, legal, human resources, etc. It’s difficult to prepare and implement a strategy when people in different departments don’t communicate! This point is made in the report.
“Companies that have held back on adopting social media throughout their organizations would benefit from starting with a cohesive plan that involves all of the key groups within the organization,” said the report, while those that have already adopted the social channel should get all departments and employees on board with a complete strategy.
Not surprisingly one of the top concerns companies (mostly attorneys I think) have is this one: “how to respond to comments on social sites.” I see that as a mostly irrational fear but understandable. But why should you let that keep you from creating a strategy and especially one that provides employees with guidelines for how to handle it? For example, if you assign an individual to create and maintain your company Twitter account then let them know what they can and can’t say in reply to messages received from followers. You can’t ignore them or you might as well not have a Twitter account. Social media is about engagement. It’s not just another way to force your message on people. But keep in mind that if you choose not to participate in social media you can’t complain about what others are saying about you. I think it’s best to join the online conversation and tell your story and let your voice be heard even if it is scary and requires an investment of resources. I’d be happy to help if you would like to discuss.
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.
The Alternative Fuel Vehicle Institute (AFVi) recognized outstanding use of social media in the alternative fuels industry as part of their 16th annual conference held this week in Las Vegas.
Robert White, Director of Market Development for the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), who tweets under the name @fuelinggood, was awarded the 24/7 Blend Award for “his leadership in industry-wide education about social media.” Robert helped RFA and other fuel advocacy groups get a $1.6 million U.S. Department of Energy grant to provide social media training for clean energy stakeholders.
No. It has nothing to do with tattoos. The Truth About Trade & Technology now has an iPhone app.
We are a nonprofit advocacy group led by American farmers – narrowly focused, issue specific – as we support free trade and agricultural biotechnology.
The TATT mobile app allows you to stay on top of the latest biotech, trade and agriculture news on the go. Perfect for farmers working in the field.
UFPA will launch UnitedFresh.TV with a live broadcast from their Las Vegas Convention. They’ll have daily on-demand video covering their educational sessions. I’m loving how the use of live web streaming and on-demand video is gaining momentum in ag communications!
The United Fresh Produce Association will launch a new online media website, www.UnitedFresh.TV, with the first live interactive webcast targeted to produce marketers and retailers from the floor of its annual convention.
The one-hour live internet broadcast will feature a discussion with winners of the United Fresh Retail Produce Manager Awards Program, sponsored for the past six years by Ready Pac Foods, Inc. The streaming video session will air live at 1:00 p.m. PDT in Las Vegas (4:00 p.m. EDT), Thursday, April 22. The broadcast will allow for live questions from internet viewers worldwide, in addition to United Fresh convention attendees on the trade show floor. (more…)
So we’ve gone from wondering if social media was just a passing fad to a general acceptance of its existence and usefulness. At least most people who haven’t closed their minds to reality have. So, let’s just say your company or organization is in the acceptance mode. What’s the future hold? What do you do next? Many of you don’t have a blog, Twitter account or Facebook page but you’re about to. Aren’t you?
First of all I highly recommend working with someone who not only says they understand social media but is actively engaged with it. Do they have a Twitter account themselves? I’ve seen some “experts” out doing presentations and consultation with inactive social networking of their own. That should be considered a reason to go with someone else (Like oh, let me see. Me!). Okay. Enough of that.
As your online social media consultant, let me point you to a new article on eMarketer about the future. The first paragraph says a lot.
In the few short years that social media has been a marketing vehicle, it has already had an enormous effect on the way companies do business. In the coming years there will be even more changes, as social media marketing extends from the marketing department to nearly every aspect of a company’s business.
That’s right. It’s not just for marketing purposes although social media is a fantastic tool to be using to connect with and engage your customers and members now. Let’s look at one example of how a company is integrating social media into their marketing campaign now. This is from a USA Today story about the Olympics and social media/advertising. They picked four companies to highlight how they’re moving to more social media. Visa. About 40% of its Olympic marketing funds will go to digital, four times the past share, marketing chief Antonio Lucio says. It created a YouTube channel where its six Olympic spots can be seen before they air on TV. Folks can pick their favorite and enter to have their name appear in the ad.
Have you thought about how you’re going to integrate social media into your marketing campaign? Are you afraid of it? What’s your major concern? Is it the production of the content? If so, there are companies like ours you can turn to for help with everything from writing to audio and video production for the web. I dare say the costs will be significantly less than a major national advertising campaign using traditional media tools. In fact, if your company or organization doesn’t have a big budget this could be your opportunity to make a big impact without breaking the bank.
So, looking into the future I only see more and more applications and growth for social media. I think it’s all about creating information your customer wants and engaging with them where they are. That’s online and on their phone and includes farmers as well as consumers. New technology like the iPad and increased broadband capability will continue to drive a move towards communications that we’ve never seen before. Because what the technology is allowing us to do is communicate like we want to and that’s conversationally as opposed to being forced to see or listen to information on another person’s schedule. That’s why this is growing and not a fad.
I happened to be in the right place at the right time to be a guest on “The Sheep and Goat Radio Hour” live with Ray Bowman from the National Farm Machinery Show on Thursday.
Ray is executive director of the Kentucky Sheep and Goat Development Office and does this live internet show every week on America’s Web Radio, which is pretty cool. He is very into social media as a communicator and follows us on Twitter. Ray did his whole show live from the media room on two cell phones, grabbing various guests to interview and talking about the NFMS. It was a really impressive use of the latest technology and he was a pleasure to meet.
AgWired continuing coverage at the National Farm Machinery Show sponsored by:
AGCO is providing a great example of how to integrate social media and networking into their communications strategy and to learn more about what they’re doing I spoke with Sue Otten, Director, Corporate Communications & Brand Communications Worldwide. In our conversation we talk about why the company has invested in very active social communications channels. Sue says that it’s a great way to “learn” from their customers and target a new demographic too.
As you can see in this image from their homepage they’ve put the spotlight on their Facebook page where you can see photos and video from their participation in AG CONNECT Expo. They’re working consistently to create online content relevant to their products and their customers.
One of the recommendations Sue makes is to not be afraid to get started with social media. She says that there are some great consultants out there who can help you too. I’ll use this opportunity to make a little plug for Todd Lohenry with e1evation, Inc. who has worked with AGCO.
Thanks to new AgWired Sponsor, Novus International, for their support of the ZimmCast.
You can listen to this week’s ZimmCast below.
The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired. Subscribe so you can listen when and where you want. Just go to our a Subscribe page.
Heads up farm podcasters and agribloggers. The new media game just ramped up a notch.
So you’ve got your iPhone and have mastered tweeting photos right? How about streaming live audio/video from it? Now you can thanks to the new Ustream.tv app.
I’ve already tried it and it works great. It uses either your 3G signal or wifi. It also integrates with your Twitter account to notify your followers that you’re now live.
Ustream.tv is the power behind Agwired Live TV. I’m thinking we may be doing even more of this in 2010.
Since I was just on the subject of social media I thought you might enjoy this video that kind of puts it all into perspective for you unbelievers. You know who you are. You’re probably the same people wondering if farmers will ever use the internet or if it’s just a passing fad.
You’ll find lots of great examples in the video and on the blog.
Nicholson Kovac has once again documented what agrimarketers know intuitively. This time it’s about veterinarians. The agency just released its Veterinarian New Media Usage Study. It has some interesting findings that should help make marketing decisions using new media easier to justify.
The Veterinarian New Media Usage Study provides comprehensive insight on the use of new and social media among veterinarians – including Internet usage, social networking and mobile phone activities − for business and social purposes.
“This eye-opening research shows that veterinarians are using a number of new tools to communicate with their customers and staff. Many of them send text messages to practice or clinic staff and other veterinarians,” said Sheree Johnson, Nicholson Kovac’s senior vice president, director of media services. “We also found it interesting that text messaging may serve as a customer service tool – a growing number of veterinarians, especially those who work with large animals, are also sending texts to their customers, possibly about the status of their animals.”
The inaugural podcast, featuring Novus executive VP for marketing and sales Dr. Giovanni Gasperoni, went on line today and is available on iTunes, Zune and www.novusint.com/podcasts to subscribe, download or stream.
Gasperoni discusses ALIMET® and Novus’s 30 year commitment to the product and 25 years of production in Texas. Upcoming topics of “What’s New with Novus” will focus on issues facing the global agriculture community today, such as the global food crisis and sustainability, and how Novus is meeting those challenges.
We have been attending the NAFB convention since 1985 and some things never change – like Ted Haller, for example. But, other things – like Ted’s hair – do change, and in recent years that has been the emphasis on usage of the Internet and social media. Teddy presented us with findings from Internet Ag Information Usage Study that surveyed farmers and ranchers about their Internet access practices and preferences for agribusiness information, including use of the mobile Web. That study will be available on the NAFB website for members to access.
Meanwhile, Dr. Emily Rhodes of THE Ohio State University (who is also a Gator), did a study of farm broadcasters and journalists about their usage of the internet and social media tools like Facebook and Twitter. She had some interesting findings and her main message to the media was that utilizing these tools helps us reach new audiences to get the positive message about agriculture to the general public.
Thanks to AgWired Sponsor, Fluidigm, for their support of the ZimmCast. Be sure to check out the combined NAMA/NAFB Flickr photo album for lots of pictures from both events last week.
You can listen to this week’s ZimmCast below.
The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired. Subscribe so you can listen when and where you want. Just go to our a Subscribe page.
The American Meat Institute recently unveiled a a new website on sustainability. The website opens with its main mission, which states, “A sustainable meat industry is one that takes a long term view of a business’ impact on natural resources, animal welfare, employees, consumers and the communities in which we work and live. The meat industry is proud of its efforts to be responsible coorporate citizens working to sustain our industry’s bright future in feeding our nation and the world.” The website is available for anyone involved in agriculture or the meat industry and for those dedicated to global sustainability. Kudos!
The site was developed by AMI’s Sustainability Committee chaired by Paul Rutledge of Johnsonville Sausage, LLC, and Leigh Ann Johnston of Tyson Foods Inc. Information contained on the site is grouped in key areas that fall under the sustainability umbrella: caring for the environment, caring for livestock, benefiting communities, ensuring safe and nutritious meat and poultry and caring for our employees.
The site was launched at the close of AMI Chairman Rod Brenneman’s tenure. Brenneman, the president of Seaboard Foods, initiated an effort to enhance the Institute’s sustainability efforts through expanded education, now underway in Chicago at Worldwide Food Expo; through a benchmarking survey and through a dedicated Web site that consolidates sustainability resources for the meat industry’s unique needs.
Each section of www.SustainableMeatIndustry.org details industry guidelines and showcases examples of actual programs that have been implemented by industry members. The site also features a section about communicating about sustainability to various audiences and a resource section for small businesses that are just beginning sustainability programs. On the site’s home page, members of the industry may download a self-inventory to determine what practices they have in place in broad areas and which ones they may wish to explore further and consider implementing.
The story starts out with a description of how and why one dairy farmer (Barbara Martin) is using social media.
For Martin, using social media and blogging is a way to dispel some myths about farmers and encourage a greater understanding of the slumping dairy industry.
She’s blogged about everything from fixing the pricing structure for milk to sharing her childhood memories about growing up on a farm. Her most recent post is a video diary about her heifer Chica.
So do you think dairy farmers are ahead of the curve or what?
The bottom line is that the use of social media by farmers continues to grow and grow and grow. And I just got an email today from someone in ag communications wondering “if Twitter is a passing fad.” Hmm. How would you answer that?
New communications technologies are developing faster than at any time in history. To choose not to participate is like deciding, “I don’t want to be part of your conversation.” Not a good strategy when they are your customers or members.
If you work in ag media, agency, company marcomm then you should really consider being there. This is your professional improvement opportunity to be immersed in new and social media for 3 days. That’s where you’ll find ZimmComm.
If for some reason you can’t make it then I will be writing about what I see and hear on ZimmComm.biz and here too. So I can be your new media eyes and ears.
Now if you really want to create some online branding for your company while learning more about today’s communications tools and mechanisms then I will be happy to have you “sponsor” my coverage. Just let Dave Larson or me know and I’m sure we can work out a deal!
I’m on a flight to San Francisco right now and using in-flight wifi for the first time. Works great. I’m getting some email work done among other things.
I’m also continuing to read “Six Pixels of Separation.” I hope you are too. One of the first points Mitch Joel hits on is the idea that providing free content can make you money. I think the question I get asked most often is, “How do you make money doing this?” Well, Cindy and I have built our whole business via new media using blogs, podcasts and social networking. As Mitch says, we’re all connected now. We can instantly connect with almost anyone. This has fundamentally changed the way business is conducted. For example, your brand is no longer what you say it is. It’s what Google says it is. Why? Because people are searching and finding lots of information about you and your brand. What are you doing to make sure those top results are links or information to you?
I’ll keep pointing out some interesting ideas as I come across them in this book but so far I think it’s the best one I’ve read that puts what we’re doing in language that business people can understand. If I was an agency, I’d buy this book for my client. Unless of course you’re a “traditional” marketer and still think these social media mechanisms are just wastes of time.
Here’s your newest new media reading assignment. It’s Mitch Joel’s “Six Pixels Of Separation.” I got it yesterday and believe it will help those of you who are over concerned about numbers and ROI of new media. Get it and let’s read it together.
We no longer live in the world of Six Degrees of Separation. We’re down to Six Pixels of Separation. Everyone is a simple Google search away.
We are all intrinsically connected. Mitch Joel unravels the fascinating world of new media and how it is changing business as we know it. Written in business language for business people, Six Pixels of Separation is a book about why these changes happened and what you can do about them to make your business grow. If everyone around you is asking what you’re doing on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube and you’re still concerned about that newspaper ad you will be running next week, this book is the perfect business primer for you.
The 2010 Farm Progress Show is over but the fun lives on in pictures. Chuck and Joanna have over 700 for you to see.
Social Media Cow
New Holland has gone social and their farm show inflatable cow is helping promote it.
In this week's program I talk with Rebecca Yates, Digital Brand Engagement Specialist for New Holland about their efforts to communicate with customers via YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.
New Holland is going social and in this week’s program you can learn all about it from Digital Brand Engagement Specialist, Rebecca Yates. I spoke with Rebecca at the Farm Progress Show to learn about how New Holland is using social networking channels like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.
One of the components of their launch into the new media world is the “Social Media Cow.” The cow will have an official name sometime in the future Rebecca says. Right now it is traveling the farm show circuit, raising awareness and New Holland is encouraging kids and adults to go to their Facebook page and suggest a name. The social media cow is an inflatable that has signs pointing to New Holland’s social media channels. During the show I saw families using it as a photo opportunity.
1
The 
Robert White, Director of Market Development for the 
I happened to be in the right place at the right time to be a guest on 
Nicholson Kovac has 
The inaugural podcast, featuring Novus executive VP for marketing and sales Dr. Giovanni Gasperoni, went on line today and is available on iTunes, Zune and 
We have been attending the NAFB convention since 1985 and some things never change – like Ted Haller, for example. But, other things – like Ted’s hair – do change, and in recent years that has been the emphasis on usage of the Internet and social media. Teddy presented us with findings from Internet Ag Information Usage Study that surveyed farmers and ranchers about their Internet access practices and preferences for agribusiness information, including use of the mobile Web. That study will be available on the NAFB website for members to access.
Meanwhile, Dr. Emily Rhodes of THE Ohio State University (who is also a Gator), did a study of farm broadcasters and journalists about their usage of the internet and social media tools like Facebook and Twitter. She had some interesting findings and her main message to the media was that utilizing these tools helps us reach new audiences to get the positive message about agriculture to the general public.
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I’m on a flight to San Francisco right now and using
Here’s your newest new media reading assignment. It’s Mitch Joel’s 
New Holland has gone social and their farm show inflatable cow is helping promote it.
