How To Up YOUR Social Media Game?

3 ways to up your social media game..

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Social media is a big part of our lives.

According to Statista, people worldwide spend about two and a half hours a day on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other platforms.

Social media gives us an easy way to connect with the world around us.

It shows us what our friends are up to, what events are nearby, breaking news and even the president's latest action.

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Social Media media also allows us to share our story with our followers.

Whether it's posting a picture of your favorite coffee shop on Instagram or tweeting reactions to the big game, social media is a tool that allows us to touch the world around us.

It is also a way for companies to advertise products to customers and for advocacy organizations to share priorities and interests with members and policy makers.

Involvement may be personal or for business reasons, but with the right strategy and dedication social media can help us have a major influence.

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This Is Nothing New To Agriculture

Farmers and ranchers are very active on social media and their presence is constantly growing.

A Successful Farming survey found that farmers are most active on YouTube and Facebook. Additionally, 42 percent of farmers who are on Facebook and Twitter are active daily.

Whether you're a seasoned social media veteran or very new to the game, here are three tips to take you or your business' influence on social media to the next level.

Related Article: The Social Media Food Translator?

Be Authentic

Oscar Wilde said it best -- "Be yourself; everyone else is already taken." This quote applies to many aspects of life, and social media is no exception. Your social media pages should highlight what makes you or your business unique.

When drafting posts, it is important to remember what makes you and the story you are telling different from similar people or organizations. Also, figure out what your message is and stay true to it.

Show your followers what you do and what you are trying to accomplish. Share real photos of your farm or ranch and explain what it takes to operate your business. Accurately discuss things about your business that you find interesting and your passion will shine through.

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Connect With Emotions

While user intentions may vary and user demographics change over time, social media's primary purpose is a social network that connects people via emotion. I'd bet that at least once a day you get on Facebook to check out what your closest friends are doing.

Depending on the time of year or the specific day, social media feeds are full of emotion. Marriage and pregnancy announcements and news of job advancements and business expansions all tug at our emotions and keep us wanting to be part of the conversation. To increase engagement and ultimately your influence, don't be afraid to craft posts in a way that taps into people's emotions. When explaining an agricultural issue that affects your farm, ask others how that issue affects them, too. Further, share related memes or cute pictures of your pet and you'll be surprised at the popularity of those posts.

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Utilize Metrics

To be influential on social media it is essential to regularly measure the progress of your involvement. Social media metrics help illustrate the extent of your activity and what it means.

Two important metrics to use when measuring social media activity are reach and engagement. Social media reach measures the span of social media conversations or how many people could see a specific post or tweet. Social media engagement measures participation in social media conversations or how many people interact with a specific post or tweet. It is always useful to measure the overall progress of social media activity with monthly and yearly comparisons.

Guest Authored By Shiloh Perry. Shiloh is a media relations specialist at the American Farm Bureau Federation. Follow Shiloh on Twitter.

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"Social media isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

In fact, its platforms are always evolving with better metrics and ways for users to connect with their followers.

This will only make it easier for farmers and ranchers to share their story with others and make an impact that can benefit agriculture.." -ShilohPerry

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  Post Crafted By:

  Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at YourWorldBrand.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Loveland, Colorado. I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)

The Social Media Food Translator?

Author, farm girl and "food translator" Michele Payn encourages farmers to engage with people on social media about food and farming issues and to connect on a personal level rather than "bash" them with science..

Michele Payn describes herself as a farm girl, author, mom, science enthusiast, motivator and innovator.

She combines all those talents to be a "food translator," someone who encourages farmers and non-farmers to meet together at the center of the food plate and share their commonalities.

As the keynote speaker during the annual Idaho Ag Summit on Feb. 21, Payn encouraged farmers and other industry leaders to engage people on social media about food and farming issues.

Environmental activist groups are reaching millions of people through Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets - and they are not telling people things about agriculture that are friendly toward the industry, she said.

"Do you think PETA is putting any (positive) images out about farmers and ranchers?" she asked. "If I want the right story to be told about how I'm taking care of my animals the right way, I have to be participating in the conversation."

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Here To Stay

"Social media conversations about food and farming are happening with or without farmers," Payn said.

"Maybe we all wish it would go away," she said. "But it's here to stay and it's having a substantial influence over your future."

As an example of how much misinformation there is about farming and food, Payn pointed to peppers with a non-GMO label on them.

"Have there ever been GMO peppers? No," she said. "Does Suzie Q. consumer know that? No. How is she ever going to know that? There's no question social media has a lot of nonsense on it. So where is the sense going to come from if it's not from you?"

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Giving A Voice

Payn, whose second book, "Food Truths from Farm to Table" comes out March 20, grew up on a dairy farm in Michigan and now resides on a small farm in central Indiana with her daughter.

She founded a company, Cause Matters Corp., as a way to "give a voice to the farmers who feed the world."

Payn encourages farmers to connect with people on a personal level and not "bash them over the head" with facts and science.

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"What I always try to encourage them to do is not data dump or puke science on people's shoes but to connect on a human level," she said. "Food is a deeply personal choice (and) cramming facts and science down people's throats closes ears."

Personal Level

Connecting on a personal level will enable farmers to reach more people, Payn said.

"It's time to change the conversation, folks," she said."We have to look at this a little bit differently."

Guest Authored By Sean Ellis. Sean is a Journalist at Capitol Press Agriculture Media, covering West Coast Farm, Ranch and AgriBusiness News. Follow Sean on Twitter.

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"Idaho State Department of Agriculture Director Celia Gould said Payn's message "really resonated with me."
I think it's critical to our industry to explain what we do and why we do it," she said. "We have to be better advocates of our industry."

Idaho Barley Commission Administrator Kelly Olson said what she took away from Payn's presentation is that "not only do we need to have a fuller engagement on the social media platform but we probably need to retool our message.

That was enlightening to me.."

Michele Payn's Website "CauseMatters."

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  Authored by:

  Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at GetMoreHere.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Loveland, Colorado. I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)

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