professionalleadership for agriculture in the social media era · my social media leadership...
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ProfessionalLeadership for Agriculture in the Social Media Era
Michele WalfredCommunications Specialist
AGRI130
September 11, 2019
Overview
1. Personal Branding2. Leadership3. Due Diligence4. Understanding your Audience 5. Advocating for Agriculture
My Social Media Leadership Journey• BA, Journalism
• MA, Digital Humanities
• 2011 Ag Communication Conference
• 2014 eXtension.org Fellow in social media
• 2014 UD Certified
• 2015 $10,000 national winner Delaware 4-H SM
• LEADelaware Class IV
• Administrator on several platforms for:
– UDCANR, UDExtension, Delaware 4-H, Carvel.
– MidAtlantic Women in Agriculture – planning committee & presenter
– #AgChat moderator
– Delaware Press Association
WHAT IS YOUR BRAND? How does your brand convey trust?
Quick! What do you think of…
BE CONSISTENT IN YOUR BRANDING…MY EXAMPLES
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Take Control of Your Brand!
1. Realize you have a brand!2. Your Name and Image are sacred!!!
a. Get a good headshot3. Create another account for non-brand content (sports, religion, politics,
pop-culture)4. Strategic Content/Curation: Pre vet? Follow vet schools, veterinarians,
#animalscience, places you want to work, schools you want to attend.5. Twitter is very popular in the Agriculture Sector6. Absence of a digital footprint can hurt
TwitterIf you are not on Twitter, you should be!
• Agriculture industry heavily invested• Consumers. Mom and food bloggers• Reporters• Funders• Elected officials• Best platform to establish brand, expertise• Organized conversations known as “chats” or “town halls”• High professional networking capability• Important to know local hashtags in use
Fast-pacedImages are very important
“Day in the life” and examples.Video length 2:20
Use keyword #hastags#soil #corn #soybean
Important to “tag” partners, interested parties @UMDextension @UDExtension
“A leader makes others feel safe” ~ Simon Sinek
Leadership occurs in an individual - it’s personal decision making, but it is also a characteristic within that inspires others
toward a goal or mission. Leadership is not about being “in charge” or being popular. Leadership is an ability to recognize the greatness and talent that exists in everyone. Leadership is
itself a talent in recognizing other people’s talents and inspiring them to use that gift. Leadership is the absence of ego.
Leadership is making others look good. It is is a craft. It can be learned, if you are paying attention. Leadership is not a
popularity test. It’s not about status. It is not about smarts. But, leadership has everything to do with wisdom.
LEADERSHIP + TRUST =THOUGHT LEADER
A respected individual who both creates and curates content from the Internet around a particular subject or area of interest. On social media, thought leaders support engagement with others, provides resources (serves as a hub), and strives to earn trust and expertise in his/her area. Thought Leaders are “go to” people.
You are being watched… ...You are being tested!
What Kinds of Tests Can You Expect?
• Pick up trash• Acknowledge the receptionist• Say “Thank You” to waitstaff - table manners• Do you make eye contact? Smartphones are a big issue!
– Your future boss could be a baby boomer!• Firm Handshake• Do you know how to use a stamp and envelope? Thank you notes
“The 21st-century human is learning that every action leaves an indelible digital trail. In the years ahead, many of us will be challenged by what we are making public in various social forums today.
The fact that one in five applicants disqualify themselves from an interview because of content in the social media sphere is a warning to job seekers and a true indicator of the digital reality we now live in.” – Eurocom Worldwide (PR firm)
Recommendations• High quality professional-looking headshot• Email with your name, not hobby or nickname
– [email protected] vs [email protected]• Limit smartphone visibility• Never show boredom. Lean in!
This is NEVER a proper place setting!
Building or Repairing Your Brand
• Create a blog. Wordpress, eBlogger, Weebly, Wix
– Showcase your academic interest
– Community service
– Written skills
– Integrate your social platforms
• Establish “good oral and written communication skills.”
• Avoid slang and text shortcuts” R U going to be their tonite?
• Offer thoughtful comments on public pages.
• Establish yourself as a “Thought Leader”
Advocating for Agriculture
Agvocate
We Need to Tell Our Stories!!!!
Careers in Agriculture Communication - Storytellers
● Digital Content/Communication Specialists - visual storytelling
● Videographers● Communication Specialists and Managers● Farm and Industry specialists● Photographers - art and photo journalism● Website support● Social Media strategists, educators
Clients: FFA, National 4-H, Extension, colleges, trade
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#DEAGWEEK
Who is Your Audience?
Choir-master leading a rural congregation singing hymns. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century illustration (Photo credit: Mediastorehouse.com)
“To tell someone that they’re wrong, first tell them how they’re right.” ~Blaise Pascal (paraphrase)
“When we wish to correct with advantage, and to show another that he errs, we must notice from what side he views the matter, for on that side it is usually true, and admit that truth to him, but reveal to him the side on
which it is false. He is satisfied with that, for he sees that he was not mistaken, and that he only failed to see all sides. Now, no one is offended at
not seeing everything; but one does not like to be mistaken, and that perhaps arises from the fact that man naturally cannot see everything, and that naturally he cannot err in the side he looks at, since the perceptions of
our senses are always true.” ~Pascal
Source: https://qz.com/778767/to-tell-someone-theyre-wrong-first-tell-them-how-theyre-right/
WHO CAN YOU TRUST?
In life, not just in social media, do your “due diligence”
• Think before you send!
• Consider before you share!
• Avoid drama!
• Don’t be gullible!
• Don’t overreact to the obvious “OMG” moments!!!!!!
• Ask what voices are missing in the discussion or topic.
• Don’t complain to get ahead. Compliment to get ahead.
• Give credit to others. You will always be seen as gracious and fair
How Do We Discuss Agriculture?
• Economic: Yields & Profits
• Scientific: Research, testing, safety.
• Values: Connecting with consumer, or anyone who does not understand, through Values. Without a “value” connection, economic and scientific arguments fall flat.
Value-Based Communications
Source: U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance, 2011
Spotting Fake News• OMG – Alert! You can’t believe this “mind blown” headlines. CLICKBAIT
• Food, health, and politics.
• Scary photo.
• Don’t trust authorities. ”Here’s what so-and-so won’t tell you!”
• Mentions science or cherry picks science. Never links to science.
• Masquerades as a health advocate.
• Advertisement overload!!! Main tip off.
• Specifically says “Snopes verified.”
• Imitates a news website.
LET’S LOOK AT A RECENT EXAMPLEHTTP://WWHTTP://WWW.HEALTHYFOODTEAM.COM/ONE-FRUIT-KILLS-MALIGNANT-CELLS-12-DIFFERENT-TYPES-CANCER/W.HEALTHYFOODTEAM.COM/BREAKING-AMERICAS-POPULAR-CHEESE-RECALLED-IMMEDIATELY-THROW-AWAY-CAN-KILL-FAMILY/
Website Presentation
• Huffington Post
– Progressive P.O.V.
• October 2014
• Factual article
– No hormones
– Breed selection
– Selective breeding
– 162 comments
Facebook Presentation
• SM editor sets a tone
• Changes headlines
• 14,442 + “likes”
• 6, 830 shares
• Thousands of comments
• Including me
More about Chinese
Watermelon
http://freshsein.com/whats-behind-cracked-watermelons/
Look at the ads
The main reason these sites exist is for ad and clickbait revenue.
“As it turns out, the images in question had been circulated before and were not originally labeled as crabs injected with formalin. English-language blog posts from December 2014 and May 2015 (as well as Chinese-language versions of indeterminate date) all labeled the same set of images as showing adulterated crabs, but in those versions the crabs in question were injected not with preservatives to stretch their shelf lives, but rather with seawater to increase their per-pound weights:
AG LITERACYYOU CAN BE AN AGVOCATE
The Faces of Delaware Agriculture▶ Greenhouse/garden
center▶ Farmers Market▶ Creamery▶ Poultry farmer▶ U-pick▶ Orchard▶ Grow for
processing/grain▶ Events▶ Value Added/Retail▶ Agvocate
WHO THEY THINK WE ARE
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They are not the enemy…
• Vegans
• Raw food advocacy
• Plant-based diets
• Vegetarians
• Organic farmers and customers
They can, do, and should co-exist withtraditional agriculture
…and neither are we!
2015
2017 Another outbreak in Virginia
Platform Review
• Largest demographic• Algorithm reduces reach• Pages typically reach 3-5 % of followers
– 500 Fans? Only 15 to 25 of them see your content• Pay for content.• Produce engaging content• Reaching out to new audiences• Don’t put all your eggs in the Facebook basket• INCREASINGLY MISTRUSTED
● Two-Thirds of U.S. Adults use Facebook
● 74% Women
● 62% Men
● 45% Get News From Facebook
● 5% Totally Trust
● 33% Some Trust●
Pew Internet Resource
• Fast paced• Agriculture Industry heavily invested• Government, elected officials• Reporters• “Mom Bloggers” “Foodies” • Organized chats expand reach• Content needs to be repeated• Hashtags• Engagement = success
● 74% of global users get news from Twitter
● Customer Service● 225 Million Active Users● 100 Million every day● Male-Female 50%● 86% Users on Mobile● Agriculture Industry
• Younger, diverse demographic• Audience of curators and seekers• Artistic• Hashtag dominant (Cross reference your hashtags)• Storytelling. Marketing. Education in a soft way• Owned by Facebook. Not the same• What is the most Instagrammed food?
● 1 Billion Users● 77% U.S.● 50 B Photos
Shared● 72% Teens● 59% Ages 18-29● More Popular on
Weekdays● More Popular
than Snapchat for Teens
• Professional - Most Facebook like without the cat or laughing baby videos • Job seeking - online resume• Journal sharing• Important for establishing personal branding• Thought Leadership• Groups and Associations
• Curation-based platform• Idea forum• Great for recipes• May not be the best platform for agriculture advocates• Low conversations
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● 250 M Users● 125 M From
U.S.● 81% Female● High
Correlation to Online Shopping
YouTube
• Third largest search engine• Storytelling ability• Meta tagging and titling are important
– Think of YouTube as a search engine, not as a channel• Can be used to counter anti-agriculture information• Free YouTube account with Gmail• On mobile alone, YouTube reaches more 18-49 year-olds than any broadcast or
CABLE TV network
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ResourcesCenter for Food Integrity
• http://www.foodintegrity.org/• @foodintegrity
U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance
• http://www.fooddialogues.com/• @USFRA Twitter
Common Ground• http://ourcommonground/• @CommonGroundNow
Twitter: @mwalfred
Instagram: @mdw302
Email: [email protected]
Cell: 302-858-1858
Questions?