social media marketing tools and strategies for master gardener coordinators

Social Media Marketing Tools

and Strategies

Kim Taylor

What is the role of Extension?

How have we done this?

Are we still reaching people?

The landscape is changing

Information then

Information now

Social Media Revolution 2 (Refresh), by Erik Qualman

http://www.youtube.com/user/Socialnomics09#p/a/u/0/l

FZ0z5Fm-Ng

More about online audiences

Why should we care?

• “Cooperative Extension will continue to keep its

local community ties, but has and will continue to

grow an online presence. Cooperative

Extension’s online presence is not

a replacement for our local, face-to-face

contacts, but rather a way to build, maintain, and

strengthen these relationships.”

– Anne Adrian, Auburn University

Need more reasons?

• Stats for Why Extension Should Use Social

Media (Anne Adrian)

http://www.slideshare.net/aafromaa/stats-for-

why-extension

• What is Social Media? (Marta Kagan)

http://www.slideshare.net/mzkagan/what-is-

social-media-2005829

Not sure you have the time?

Where people connect, share,

and learn online

Where should you start?

• What do you like to do?

• How do you like to share information?

• How much time do you have?

Key elements of success

• Listen

• Engage

• Measure

Rule #1 -- Listen

• Google Alerts

• TweetDeck

• SocialMentions

• RSS

Listen to what’s being said

http://google.com/alerts

Know what people are saying

http://search.twitter.com

SocialMention.com

Feed (RSS) Readers

Google Reader www.google.com/reader

Rule #2 -- Engage

• Comment on other

people’s content

– Facebook

– Twitter

– Blogs

– Flickr

• Start adding your

own original content

• Make it meaningful

Facebook

• Fourth largest population in the world (>300

million active users)

• 50% of users log on to FB on any given day

• Women older than 55 make up the fastest-

growing age group on Facebook

• 40 million status updates

• 2 billion photos and 14 billion videos uploaded

each month

• 70% users outside of US

My Facebook profile page (public)

What my friends see

My “Wall”

Privacy

• You decide how much

info to post

• You decide who it will

be shared with

(mostly)

• Search “Facebook”

and “privacy” –

NYTimes article is

good resource right

now

ReclaimPrivacy.org

(Fan) Pages

Insights (interaction data)

Advertising

Group pages

Twitter

• Twitter is a micro-blogging service, which is text-

based

• More than 25 million accounts

• 3 million Tweets/day (March 2008)

• Tuesday – most popular day

– Wednesday – close 2nd popular day

Twitter

• Tweets are updates or a mini blog

– Announcements

– ReTweets

– Direct Messages

– News Reporting

– Marketing

Photo Sharing

http://www.flickr.com/photos/floridamastergardener

Photo Sharing

• Set up a group and encourage readers to share

photos or videos of projects

http://www.flickr.com/groups/thefloridabotanicalgardens/

Photo Sharing

• Also a place for interaction and discussion

YouTube

• 70 million – videos (March 2008)

• 95.4 million – videos (May 2009)

Video Sharing

• Upload

demos

showing

gardening

techniques

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTAEvOEAxl4

Video Sharing

• Embed videos

into blog

posts

http://fruitscapes.blogspot.com/

Blogs & Microblogs

Blogosphere

• 346 million – people read blogs (comScore

March 2008)

• 900,000 - average number of blog posts in a 24

hour period

• 77% - active Internet users read blogs

Blogging

• Journal about

gardening

• Highlight workshops,

articles,

• Feature great garden

photos

• Embed how-to

videos

Be Successful

• Read

• Comment

• Write

• Respond

• Converse

• Connect

• Rinse &

Repeat

http://flmastergardener.wordpress.com

Going mobile

• iPhone, Blackberries, and smart

phones

• Connected ALL the time

• Many platforms/applications to

choose from

Rule #3 -- Measure

• How do you know

who’s stopping by?

• Once you know who’s

visiting, how do you

know what they’re

reading?

• What do they WANT to

be reading?

Web Analytics

• Many service providers (google.com/analytics)

• Helps to drive content direction

• Keyword searches

• Where are people visiting from?

• What are they looking for?

Dig In!

Things to Remember

• Keep it professional

• Post what is meaningful

• Make sure your information is current

• Make sure your information is correct

• Make sure your information is relevant

• Follow many others, but use filters

• Remember, social media is social and PUBLIC

Other considerations

• Do you offer ways for people to keep up with

news about your MG program (plant sales,

garden tours, other events)?

• Do you have ways for readers to comment?

• Look for other groups, forums, social networks

that are being used by your clientele.

Contact Kim

• Twitter: sassycrafter

• Slideshare: krtaylor

• Flickr:

– FloridaMasterGardener

– gardeninginaminute

• YouTube: UFGardening

• Facebook: thesassycrafter

• Blog: cannasandbananas.blogspot.com

Kim Taylor krtaylor@ufl.edu

Resources

• Intro Social Media for Cooperative Extension Directors

http://www.slideshare.net/aafromaa/intro-social-mediafor-extension-

extdir

• Ohio Farm Bureau Social Media Guide ofbf.org/uploads/social-

media-guide.pdf

• Facebook Privacy: A Bewildering Tangle of Options

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/05/12/business/facebook-

privacy.html

• 10 Privacy Settings Every Facebook User Should Know

http://www.allfacebook.com/2009/02/facebook-privacy/

Resources

• Twitter Guide: How to, Tips, and Instructions

mashable.com/guidebook/twitter/

• How to Use Twitter for Business

flyte.biz/resources/newsletters/08/06-twitter-for-business.php

• Deciding who to follow in Twitter (and Friendfeed) and who to friend

in Facebook blog.anneadrian.com/2009/07/decide-who-to-follow-in-

twitter-and.html

Resources

• RSS in Plain English, a video introduction to using news readers

from Common Craft commoncraft.com/rss_plain_english

• Use a newsreader blog.anneadrian.com/2007/05/how-to-use-news-

reader.html

• Poscente, Vince. The Age of Speed. (2007)

• Aral, Sinan and Van Alstyne, Marshall W., "Network Structure &

Information Advantage: Structural Determinants of Access to Novel

Information and Their Performance Implications" (January 18,

2007). Available at SSRN: ssrn.com/abstract=958158

Resources

• Clay Shirky "It's not information overload. It's filter failure" at Web

2.0 Expo NY

web2expo.blip.tv/file/1277460/

• Not information overload--filter failure

blog.anneadrian.com/2008/10/not-information-overload-filter-

failure.html

• Misconception about web technologies

blog.anneadrian.com/2009/06/misconception-about-web-

technologies_26.html

Resources

• Engaging Communities on their on Turf: Secrets of Social

networkers hconnect.extension.iastate.edu/p79426457/

• Feeding Frenzy eXtension 30-Minute recording by Beth Raney,

connect.extension.iastate.edu/p51525211/

• Beginner’s Guide to Social Media in Extension

collaborate.extension.org/wiki/Beginners_Guide_to_Social_Media_i

n_Extension

Resources

• Hampton, K. (2002). Place-based and IT mediated “community.”

Planning Theory and Practice, 3(2), 228-23.

• Hampton, K. & Wellman, B. (2003). Neighboring in Netville: How the

Internet supports community and social capital in a wired suburb.

City and Community, 2(4), 277-311.

• Ellison, N. B. Steinfield, C., and Lampe, C. (2007). The benefits of

Facebook “friends”: Social capital and college students’ use of

online social network sites. Journal of Computer Mediation

Communication, 12(4), Article 1.