Learn To Be Social - GrowingProduce | GrowingProduce

Put your best foot forward. At some point, everyone has been told to do this. Whether it is giving a presentation in front of a crowd, interviewing for a job, or promoting a product, you want to shine. Actually, that saying applies (or should apply) to virtually all tasks, no matter how great or small. Having said that, one area where numerous people — customers — can determine where you “shine” is within the realm of social media.
In recent months, our Assistant Editor Rebecca Bartels has been providing social media tips in her “The Social Connection” column that can be found each month on our VegWire pages (see page 7). Last month, she mentioned that the goal of any business getting into social media is to expand its customer base. It seems in the short amount of time social media has been in existence it has mainly been comprised of Facebook. Today, however, “social media” means so much more and encompasses several other networking tools such as Twitter and the video-sharing website, YouTube — just to name two. In the end, though, all of these tools can be used to help grow your business.

Getting Involved

In a recent poll on our website, GrowingProduce.com, we asked our audience the question: “What Kinds Of Social Media Are You Using To Promote Your Farm?” The choices were Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Other. We asked the audience to choose all that were applicable.
The responses indicated that 30% use Facebook and 33% use Twitter. About 14% selected YouTube, 16% indicated Other, and the remaining 7% said they are currently not using social media to promote their operations.
YouTube, in particular, was the recent tool of choice for McDonalds when the company opted to profile some of the folks contributing to the success of the organization, such as its lettuce supplier, Salinas, CA-based Christensen & Giannini. The video focuses on the farm’s Dirk Giannini, who talks about how producing high-quality lettuce is not just a job for him — it is a way of life. Dirk seized the opportunity to put his best foot forward not only for his operation but for the fresh produce industry in general, and McDonalds capitalized on an opportunity to shine, highlighting the fact that fresh, nutritious produce is used in its restaurants.

Available Training

If you are someone who is still not convinced that social media will help your operation, or you are unsure of how to get involved, listen up. First, ask yourself why you are avoiding this marketing tool. If you are not participating because you need training, there are people out there who can get you over that hurdle. For example, the AgChat Foundation (http://agchat.org), whose mission, according to its website is to “empower farmers and ranchers to connect communities through social media platforms,” is offering social media training at its third annual Agvocacy 2.0, which is slated to be held August 23-24 in Kansas City, MO. Some of the features to be covered include information about the latest tools and trends, insights on the human side of being social, as well as the tools to tell farming’s story.

An excellent example of telling the story of farming can be found in this issue on page 8. Chris Drew, the production manager of Sea Mist Farms in Castorville, CA, talks about why farming is a great field to be in and the increasing role technology plays in producing healthy crops.

Let’s face it, at the end of the day, it is the healthy crop and healthy sales that matter. This is putting ag’s collective best foot forward. It’s time to tweet that message to the masses.

Opinion: Learn To Be Social

Rosemary Gordon discusses the importance of reaching out online.