DC Ag Communicators - Social Media for Agriculture

© 2009 | New Media Strategies www.newmediastrategies.net

Alex Redmond Leslie Bradshaw Business Development, Mid-Atlantic June 23, 2009 Communications Manager, Public Affairs

DC Ag Communicators – Social Media Overview

Making Sense of Social Media: 7 Areas to Focus On

Emerging Platforms

Media Sharing

Blogs

Twitter

Social Networks

Cloud Computing

Wikipedia

2

Blogs


Not “just a blog” – many considerations: Your organization’s blog Influencer blogs Employee blogs Coalition / member blogs Competitor / adversary blogs

Permanent, but imperfect – many decisions: Software Engagement strategy Message and positioning Intelligence and tracking

Blog Reading Habits of Capitol Hill

Communications Directors/ Press Secretaries

68%

70%Chiefs of Staff/Deputy Chiefs of Staff/Directors

47%

47%

42%

Legislative Directors/Senior Policy Advisors/Counsel

Legislative Assistants

Legislative Correspondents/Other

* Source: National Journal Group, Washington in the Information AgeBlogs

Local Blogs

Local Blogs

Wonkette

Hotline On Call

Daily Kos

Talking Points Memo

The Note

Red State

Townhall

The Corner

Hotline On Call

M. Malkin

49%

42%

39%

32%

29%

23%

42%

35%

29%

24%

21%

20%* Source: National Journal

Group, Washington in the Information Age

Local and National Blog Consumption

Blogs

States Have Vibrant Blogospheres, Too

Blogs

Logistics

1. Set goals

2. Establish team roles

3. Brand and integrate campaign elements

4. Scope, research, understand task at hand

5. Evaluate and select platforms

6. Document everything

The 6 Steps to Planning and Executing a Digital Campaign

Basic metrics Video views, comments and subscriptions Facebook fans, Wall posts Visitors and link-backs to your site and/or blog Blog and Twitter buzz – quantity and impressions Tonal reaction (positive/negative) Benchmark reports (beginning/end; weekly/monthly) How engaged, lasting, meaningful was the experience? (qual.)

Campaign-dependent metrics Units sold Actions taken (e.g., petition, contesting, etc.) Voters, constituents, consumers, students or decision makers

influenced Lasting, Google-able resources Launching point for future efforts

#1 – What Does a Win Look Like?

AGGREGATE

ANALYZE

FILTER

ACTIONABLE INTELLIGENCE

NMS METHODOLOGY: This is How We Do It

#2 – Establish Team Roles

Team: Community / Communications Management Role: Communicates on behalf of the campaign, under their own

name, everywhere online (think: touchy-feely spokesperson); Ensures that message and aesthetics are consistent across entire campaign (on and offline); supports Community & Profile team

Involvement: 2 – 3 people

Team: Profile Management Role: Populates profiles with content; works with / as Community

Managers; maintains and interacts continuously Involvement: 2 – 3 people

Team: Metrics, Reporting, Tracking, Innovating Role: Ensures that goals are being set and met; makes

recommendations to recalibrate based on results, emerging platforms and new goals

Involvement: 3 – 4 people

CHALLENGE: Digital and Geographic Divides

Solution: Communications Team Tactic: Point people in DC manage and solicit content from Farmers

Solution: Profile Management Team Tactic: Meet with Farmers once a quarter to scope out an approved

set of messages and topics; adjust and update as needed

Solution: Editorial Calendar Tactic: Create a master calendar for posting to platforms (e.g., blog

post, tweets, etc.); receive posts from Farmers via Communications team (need only be emailed; “photo attached” would be great, too); post for / as approved Farmers

Solution: Digital Press Events Tactic: Invite bloggers to the farm; encourage photo and video

creation; create universal tag so content can be aggregated

6 Tips: Social Media for Agriculture


ON THE FARM CASE STUDY: Leslie’s Family’s Farm

Worked with Intel to invite influential bloggers and media makers onsite to ISEF, resulting in: 776 photos on Flickr 160 blog posts and tweets Production of nearly 40

YouTube videos 20 audio recordings of

interviews with attendees

Helped manage and organize interested online communities, facilitating new connections

Reached over 1.5 million viewers

Created lasting online resources and relationships

Shifted previous perceptions about Intel and its dedication to education

DIGITAL PRESS EVENT CASE STUDY: Intel

Specific Platforms

Twitter


• What is it?– Permanency of blogging – Utility of emailing– Sociality of Facebook – Agility of text / IMing

• Why join?– Disseminate information– Converse and share– Build a network– Gain insights

• Who uses it?– The media– Politicians– C-level executives; decision makers– Brands and organizations– Online influentials

In Fact, Twitter Has Its Own Ecosystem & Economy

March 19Jay Leno Show

“I bowled a 129. … It’s like – it was like Special Olympics, or something.” - President Obama

TWITTER CASE STUDY: The Special Olympics

March 20Story explodes

Organic Interest:• Media & Blog Stories: 7,000+• Twitter Posts: 10,000+

“The president made an offhand remark making fun of his own bowling that was in no way intended to disparage the Special Olympics.” - Spokesman Bill Burton

March 31Special Olympics launches social media campaign with help from NMS

Results:• 3.8 million Impressions • 55,000 Facebook

users • 10,000+ Pledges • 16,000 video views• 100+ blog posts• 1,200 Tweets

High-Profile Twitter Placements:• John Mayer• Rosalind Wiseman• Chicago Tribune• Fox5 (lead to on-air)

April 1 - TodayConversation continues…

Social Networks


• What is out there?– Facebook – friends– Twitter – communications– Ning – organizations– LinkedIn – colleagues– MySpace – A & E– MeetUp – offline

• So I have a page, now what?– Upload your contacts– Relax the reins– Spark two-way conversations– It’s a garden: plant, water, weed, maintain; repeat.

2,200+ Members

Dozens of Wall Posts

News Updates

Shared Links

Targeted Ads

Thousands of Click-Thrus

FACEBOOK CASE STUDY: ACC / Drinking Water

Donation Motivation:1 Twitter follower = 100 liters of water1 Facebook member = 100 liters of water

Media Sharing


• Video – what is out there?– YouTube – massive reach– Vimeo – customizable– Viddler – interactive

• Photo – what is out there?– Flickr – open network– SmugMug – closed network– Twitter applications – Twitpic, Utterli

• Why you need it:– A picture is worth…– Tell your story; create a lasting resource– Make it compelling; short and something you’d pass on – Create assets to share with on and offline media outlets

BlogsSocial

NetworksTwitter

Media Sharing

“ALL CYLINDERS” CASE STUDY: C-SPAN

• Transformed their image in the eyes of online influencers and tech communities

• Reengaged their core political audience through embeddable video and blogger link-backs

• Exchanged their limited advertising budget for social capital, search engine optimization (SEO), brand awareness and historical, lasting resources

• 300+ blog placements; 600+ inbound links; millions of online views

22

Wikipedia


• What are wikis?– Collaborative resource– Relies on “wisdom of the crowds”– Not always accurate, buuuuut…– Read: Here Comes Everybody (Clay Shirky)

• Why you need them:– Define the debate at point of research:

Wikipedia– Replace internal intranets– Create a puzzle-piece mentality that

encourages more participation and knowledge-sharing

– Enable easy access– Document evolution and keep definitions

dynamic (e.g., of your issue / organization)


• What tools are available?– Google Docs – Google Reader / RSS– Slideshare– Delicious– YouSendIt– TinyURLs (recommended: bit.ly)– “Share This”

• Why you need them:– Cost effective ($0)– Accessible anywhere– Time-saving– Searchable; can make public

Cloud Computing

• What to watch for?– Aggregation (FriendFeed)– Portability (Facebook Connect)– Authentication (OpenID)– Integration (Google Connect)– Mobile (iPhone and BlackBerry apps)– “Life streaming” (Qik, USTREAM)– Status-o-sphere (Facebook, Twitter)– Blogosphere segmentation (state level, interest based)

• What will continue to evolve?– Boundaries: Personal / Private / Professional / Organizational– Sharing: Anonymity / Transparency / Intimacy / Translucency– Connectivity: Portable / Integrated / Aggregated / Authenticated


Emerging Platforms

Closing

5 Things You Can Do Immediately

• Share content, but not over email. Instead, use a single account on Delicious to store, share and tag relevant stories. • Tips: These can be public or private (just click the “do not share” box).

Add unlimited # of tags to help build context. Detailed repository.

• URL: http://delicious.com (also: most stories have multiple “share this” functions)

• Build a blogger media list; create an engagement strategy. Identify bloggers most interested in your issues and include them early and often on breaking news, surrogate interviews and other initiatives.• Tips: Treat bloggers like journalists, but don’t expect them to always perform like non-

biased reporters. Consider having your surrogate’s blogs link back to the blogs on your list. Reciprocity rules.

• URLs: http://blogsearch.google.com (more results) and http://technorati.com (includes authority)

• Monitor Twitter. The most instant and social conversations going on about your issues are on Twitter. Blogs lag. Facebook is closed, sometimes blocked. • Tips: On Twitter, you can take immediate action. For key conversers, investigate the

Twitterer’s # of followers and if they have a blog. Have a strategy to engage / respond if needed.

• URLs: http://search.twitter.com (basic search) & http://tweetgrid.com (up to 9 terms at once)

http://delicious.com/

http://blogsearch.google.com/

http://technorati.com/

http://search.twitter.com/

http://tweetgrid.com/

5 Things You Can Do Immediately (cont’d)

• Place digital Op-Eds with influential blogs. Facing a limited “real estate” issue? Editorial Board uninterested? You can be just as effective by placing a guest post on state and / or national blogs. Once place, pivot back to MSM.• Tips: Have surrogates pen for the web – links, photos and embedded videos are

excepted.• Sample sites: Huffington Post, Medical News Today, Health Bolt, My Family Doctor

• Have Farmers maintain a daily / weekly “diary.” Basically a blog, but in established communities with lots of activity. More efficient; good workaround.• Tips: If your content is consistent and strong, and you’ve made contacts with the site

administrator’s, you can get “front paged” (i.e., have your content featured on the homepage). To build credibility: make sure to comment on posts by others.

• URLs for top diary sites: http://RedState.com and http://TheNextRight.com (right-of-center); http://DailyKos.com, http://MyDD.com and http://TalkingPointsMemo.com (left-of-center); http://SoapBlox.com (state level and left-of-center)

http://redstate.com/

http://thenextright.com/

http://dailykos.com/

http://mydd.com/

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/

http://soapblox.com/

Authenticity and transparency rule the day. When you are transparent, you are credible. When you are credible, you maximize your results.

Try to workaround, not eliminate. Stuck on Twitter? Try a disclaimer: ‘Tweets from our friends do not necessarily represent the views of healthfinder.gov.’ Unable to access actual site? Use search engines.

You get out what you put in. Social media is a like a pet, not furniture. Nurture, don’t walk away.

The marketplace is now a conversation. Are you listening, do you have a voice? And like with any conversation, listening is key.

It’s a relationship, are you committed? The true value of participating online is in the ability to build lasting, meaningful ties.

To make it work in the long run, you need infrastructure. In order to circulate your content and maximize what social media has to offer, you need to have a plan and multiple pathways. Start slow, integrate and don’t over-commit.

6 Closing Thoughts


Thank you. Questions?

Leslie BradshawBlog: www.lesliebradshaw.com

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/lesliebradshaw

Twitter: www.twitter.com/LeslieBradshaw

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 703-253-0050 x 187

Alex RedmondNMS Blog: www.newmediastrategies.net/blog

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/ajredmond

Twitter: http://twitter.com/AlexRedmond

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 703-253-0050 x 195

http://www.lesliebradshaw.com/

http://www.linkedin.com/in/lesliebradshaw

http://www.twitter.com/LeslieBradshaw

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.newmediastrategies.net/blog

http://www.linkedin.com/in/ajredmond

http://twitter.com/AlexRedmond

mailto:[email protected]

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DC Ag Communicators - Social Media for Agriculture