USApple’s Social Media Numbers Sweet As Honey
January 4, 2015 
There’s a really annoying (or, depending on your opinion I suppose, entertaining) song out on the radio right now called “All About That Bass.” You know the one? “No treble!” Well, here at USApple, we’re all about the bees (and no trouble). Did you know:
- It takes one colony of honeybees to pollinate an acre of fruit trees.
- A colony can have more than 50,000 bees during summertime.
- Those 50,000 bees squeeze into one hive.
- A hive of bees may have to fly 50,000 miles to produce a pound of honey.
Yes, pretty basic bee facts — but the big news is really not the facts but the common factor of 50,000. In November, the USApple Facebook page surpassed 50,000 followers, a goal we’ve been steadily working toward since I started last year.
Busy Bees
Our consumer education team has been a swarm of busy worker bees this past year expanding USApple’s engagement with consumers on social channels. In fact, we’ve grown the association’s Facebook following by 30% just this past year alone. And, nearly 45,000 Facebook users (both followers and non-official followers alike) have shared a USApple Facebook post with their own followers. In other words, that group of 50,000 fans has helped us in turn reach 4 million people!
How many people is 4 million people? Well, bees have to tap 2 million flowers to produce a pound of honey — so twice that many! Yeah, I’m not sure what that connection actually means either, but trust me — 4 million people in the world of PR is pretty sweet.
The importance of our online strategy is twofold. It serves as a means to provide education on apples’ health benefits. And it allows us to help people explore new apple varieties, meal ideas, and kitchen tips.
How We Reach Consumers
Our recent campaigns have included:
- “28 Days of Apples,” an award-winning campaign in which USApple members and supporting brands got involved to encourage individuals to learn and share heart-healthy apple facts on social channels during February, American Heart Month.
- “Apple Summer Selfies,” an online contest rewarding individuals for sharing selfies with an apple or apple product in hand during summer travels and vacation.
- “AppletizeMe,” an online apple variety and pairing education program — timed to National Apple Month in October, featuring a humorous personality quiz matching individuals with their ideal apple varieties and perfect food pairings.
We have worked hard this past year to establish meaningful relationships with consumers online. Be it our brand new YouTube video series featuring top apple varieties, Pinterest recipe boards with beautiful food photos, Twitter parties offering health tips and cooking ideas, digital contests, or other outreach, our objective has been to hone the perfect mix of the moment to reach consumers with the resources we have. And Facebook has proven an effective channel to pull all of those pieces together and showcase our timely apple campaigns.
I learned another bee fact recently. Bees communicate by dancing. Probably not to that goofy song I mentioned, but apparently they do a little dance to alert other bees where nectar and pollen are located. And, somehow the dance explains direction and distance. Funny — it almost sounds like the bees have their own brand of social media.
Stay Connnected
You can follow USApple on social media at Facebook.com/USApples. You can link to USApples.org and USAppleBlog.org to provide your consumers with more information on apples and apple varieties. For a regular slice of new apple recipes and fresh information, sign up for USApple’s eNewsletter on the blog.
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