SOCIAL MEDIA

FOR EXTENSION PROFESSIONALS

My name is Ashley Andrews.

I have worked for Cooperative Extension since

August 2006.

I am just like you.

FIRST, INTRODUCTIONS:

My mom is the

heart and soul of

our family.

I HAVE A FAMILY

My dad and brother, both volunteer

firefighters, are the entertainment.

I HAVE A FAMILY

I HAVE A FAMILY

I HAVE A FAMILY

My husband is the

accident-prone one of

the bunch.

I HAVE A FAMILY

I HAVE HOBBIES

I’m the nerd.

I like to figure out how things work.

I like the challenges of computer-building,

I HAVE HOBBIES

motorcycle-riding (I’ve always

managed to stay shiny-side up),

I HAVE HOBBIES

and gardening

in Nevada’s

high desert

climate.

I KNOW WHAT YOU’REGOING THROUGH

Because I’m just like you, I understand the

challenges Extension professionals face. For us, • Work-life balance is suffering.• We’re doing more with less.• It’s hard to keep up.• We’re burning out.

I KNOW WHAT YOU’REGOING THROUGH

To survive as an

organization and as

individuals,

something has got to

give. Something has

got to change.

WHY EXTENSION SHOULD USE SOCIAL MEDIA

Imagine that you’ve been diagnosed with a life-

threatening disease and that saving your life will

involve adopting a series of far-reaching lifestyle

changes. Would you adopt these changes?

- Jim Langcuster, Mission Extension: The Weblog

THE PAST

For 100 years, Cooperative Extension has been “an

important player in American life” (USDA, National

Institute of Food and Agriculture).

THE PAST

“During the Depression, Claude ‘Mud’ Townsend dispensed

education where the clients were– in saloons (Cooperative Extension

).

Nevada Cooperative Extension Poultry Specialist V.E. Scott goes to great lengths to reach constituents in the early 1920s.

THE PRESENT

Extension’s knowledge landscape monopoly is gone.

Only 27% of US adults know Cooperative Extension exists (2008

Copernicus Survey).

The public’s need for credible, science-based information has not subsided.

THE FUTURE

To help others, to continue to

exist, the organization must “adopt

a series of far-reaching” changes:

go online, listen, communicate and

community-build (Mission

Extension).

THE FUTURE

Extension has always gone great

lengths to reach those who need them.

Today, Extension must go online.

This is Cooperative Extension’s

chance to add value to current

programs, expand outreach efforts and

reach audiences in impactful new ways.

GET TING STARTED WITH SOCIAL MEDIA FOR EXTENSION OUTREACH

Cooperative Extension focuses on

people, not profit and

consequently operates with limited

resources.

Social media is a great way for

Extension to provide increased

visibility and marketing on a

budget.

STEP 1: ID YOUR TARGET MARKET

Are they female or male?

How old are they?

Where do the live?

What languages do they

speak?

STEP 2: FIND OUT WHERE THEY HANG OUT ONLINE

Facebook is popular across a diverse mix of

demographic groups. Pinterest holds particular

appeal to female users. LinkedIn is popular

among college graduates and in higher income

households. Twitter and Instagram appeal to

younger adults, urban dwellers, and non-whites.

- (Pew Research)

STEP 3: PICK 1-2 PLATFORMS

You don’t have to use them all, and

you will be more effective if you don’t.

Pick the top one or two platforms for

your constituents and sign up to use

them.

STEP 4: CREATE AND CURATE

Suggested posting schedules:• Facebook: 3-10 times per

week.

• Twitter: 5-??? times per week.

• Linked in: 2-5 times per week.

• Pinterest: 5-10 times per week.

• Google+: 3-10 times per week.

• Instagram: 2-10 times per week.

-Constant Contact

STEP 4: CREATE AND CURATE

Social media is social.

Seek out quality content and share it to save time, educate your audience and inspire reciprocal sharing.

Follow other Extension colleges, offices and programs and visit eXtension.org to discover content worth curating.

STEP 5: PROMOTE

Tell friends, family,

colleagues, volunteers,

program participants, etc.

Include social links in

anything and everything you

do.

Drive traffic to your website

from your social media posts.

FACEBOOK COMMUNITY BUILDING FOR EXTENSION

PROFESSIONALS

Your effective use of social

media influences Extension’s

outreach impact and fiscal

future.

FACEBOOK COMMUNITY BUILDING FOR EXTENSION

PROFESSIONALS

Foster an online community

to:• Help others: Assess

needs, respond with programs and monitor program impacts.

• Continue to exist: Nurture relationships with those who provide and control Extension funding.

BE NICE

Internet users are accustomed to

pervasive and often misleading

advertising.

Be polite, honest, consistent and

genuine in your communications.

BE ACTIVE

Continually post updates to have an

impact.

Post on weekends, holidays and during

your audience’s peak Facebook use hours.

Schedule evening, weekend and holiday

posts.

FACEBOOK INSIGHTS FOR EXTENSION

PROFESSIONALS

We need data, and there is a

goldmine of it available through

Facebook Insights.

The information can be used

to determine program need and

impact.

DEMOGRAPHICS AND NEEDS ASSESSMENT

Facebook Insights

provides gender, age

range, country, language

and city demographic

data to administrators of

Facebook pages with

more than 30 likes.

DEMOGRAPHICS AND NEEDS ASSESSMENT

Assess audience

needs in real-time.

Discover who

wants to interact

with which

program, when,

where and in what

language.

REACH, ENGAGEMENT AND PROGRAM IMPACT

When you post

information on

Facebook, your

impact is multiplied to

deliver much-needed

research-based

information to more

clients using fewer

labor hours.

REACH, ENGAGEMENT AND PROGRAM IMPACT

Facebook Insights lets you see how

much your impact is increased.

REACH, ENGAGEMENT AND PROGRAM IMPACT

One recent Grow Your Own, Nevada! post on

vegetable gardening reached 55 people out of

139 total fans. The post inspired 9 post clicks

and 7 likes/comments.

One recent UNCE Master Gardener post on

caring for trees during drought reached 131

people out of 352 fans, and inspired 21 post

clicks and 3 likes/comments.

SO HOW ARE WE DOING?

Now that

we know

what we

should do

and how to

do it, let’s

see how well

we’re doing.

COOPERATIVE EXTENSION OFFERS OUTREACH

All universities engage in research and teaching,

but the nation’s more than 100 land-grant colleges

and universities, have a third critical mission—

extension. ‘Extension’ means ‘reaching out’…,

solving public needs with college or university

resources through non-formal, non-credit programs.

-USDA, National Institute of Food and Agriculture

BUT DOES IT REACH OUT?

83% love Extension, but

only 27% know it exists

(2008 Copernicus Survey).

Extension offers great

outreach programs, but it

is not effectively reaching

out.

WEBSITE PERFORMANCE

INBOUND LINKS

Incoming links have a direct effect on search

results, an effective way to reach new customers.

• Nevada- F: 73/278= 26.25%

• Idaho- F: 95/278= 34.17%

• Utah- A: 274/278= 98.56%

• Colorado- A: 278/278= 100%

WEB ANALYTICS

One single free tool cannot analyze all four

sites due to their differing site structures.

Since the same tool cannot be used to analyze

all four sites, and since all four sites rank low on

whichever tool is used, no one wins this round.

SOCIAL MEDIA PERFORMANCE

FACEBOOK LIKES

Some use Facebook pages more effectively

than others.

• Idaho- F: 296/1,365= 21.68%

• Nevada- F: 584/1,365= 42.78%

• Utah- F: 694/1,365= 50.84%

• Colorado- A: 1,365/1,365= 100%.

FACEBOOK LIKEALYZER RESULTS

According to LikeAlyzer, Colorado is in jeopardy of

losing its social media advantage over Utah, Nevada

and Idaho.

• Colorado- F: 4/67= 0.05%

• Nevada- F: 28/67= 41.79%

• Utah- B: 54/67= 80.59%

• Idaho- A: 67/67= 100%

OVERALL WEB PERFORMANCE

Extension once again proves that while it offers great

outreach programs, it is not effectively reaching out.

• Nevada- F: (26.25%+42.78%+41.79%)/3= 36.94%

• Idaho- F: (34.17%+21.68%+100%)/3= 51.95%

• Colorado- D: (100%+100%+0.05%)/3= 66.68%

• Utah- C: (98.56%+50.84%+80.59%)/3= 76.66%

SO LET’S GET BETTER

Resources:• eXtension.org Social Media Strategist Anne Adrian’s

blog, http://blog.anneadrian.com/ • Beginners Guide to Social Media in Extension,

http://collaborate.extension.org/wiki/Beginners_Guide_to_Social_Media_in_Extension.

• Twitter and Facebook Marketing: Building Engaged Communities, http://www.ignitesocialmedia.com/facebook-marketing/twitter-and-facebook-marketing-building-engaged-communities/

LET’S COLLABORATE

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