Agricultural communications & social media

Introduction to Social MediaThe League of Agricultural Communicators

by Doug Lacombe, MBA July 6, 2009

Your speaker:DOUG LACOMBE, MBADoug has 20 years media and marketing experience with a concentration in Internet communications.

Now setting up communicatto, a communications consultancy that guides organizations towards integrated communications in a digital world.

multiple products, messages, targets, mediasocial media fits into some integrated campaigns, but not all

What is social media?“Social media are online communications in which individuals shift fluidly and flexibly between the role of audience and author. To do this, they use social software that enables anyone without knowledge of coding, to post, comment on, share or mash up content and to form communities around shared interests.”

Joe Thornley, President and CEO Thornley-Fallis

Social media is an umbrella term for a wide variety of collaborative web-based software tools that encourage sharing and conversation.

Doug Lacombe, President and CEO communicatto

Definition continued

The Three Cs (or more)

Content

Collaboration

Community

Other “Cs” include conversation, consistency, commerce, communication, and context.

Impact of social media

Societal implications

Shift happens

Disintermediation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbjtWh3d4Tw

Did you know?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL9Wu2kWwSY

Services and platformsDon’t fall in love with the gizmos

Types of social media

Social media “mix”

Video didn’t kill radio

WebsiteWebsite

NewslettNewsletterer

News News releasesreleases

PhotosPhotosMSMMSM

Earned/Earned/PaidPaid

Self-Self-publishinpublishin

gg

VideosVideos

EventsEvents

Social Social mediamedia

Integrated platform

Blog-centric approach

Social media etiquetteDon’t be a d-bag

Social media etiquetteCocktail party metaphor

Generosity

Attribute, credit, share and forward (RT)

Dialog not broadcast

Ratios: 3-1-1, 80/20

Twitter:

No auto-DMs, ever

No “CMJ”

Strongly consider no auto-follows

Profile and bio important; photo if possible, name(s), web link

According to Hoyle

http://digitallabz.com/blogs/the-11-rules-of-social-media-etiquette.html

http://www.chrisbrogan.com/etiquette-in-the-age-of-social-media/

Social media & crisisPreparing for the worst

Crisis, definitionAn unanticipated event or disclosure that threatens your organization’s reputation

• (Shel Holtz, ABC)

Crisis examples

OLD SCHOOL

NEW SCHOOL

Crisis preparedness Playbook Quarterback Identified spokespeople Lists, lists, lists

Staff/execs, home #s Media contacts Stakeholders, authorities E-mail lists Websites and services, usernames

and passwords Photographer/cameraman/

podcaster War room, venues, conference site

Content “in the can” Run scenarios Run drills

Measurement & metricsLies, damn lies, & statistics

Google Analytics

Facebook Insights

Twitter Grader

Wordpress

Commercial solutions

AND MANY MANY MORE!

Now what?Making your move

Next stepsReserve your organization’s name!http://www.namechk.com

Start monitoringhttp://google.ca/alerts, commercial options

Dip your toes in - low risk lurking

Liberate some content (YouTube?)

Start a Twitter account

Create social media guidelines & policy

Develop a social media strategy that dovetails with your communications, marketing, advertising, and crisis plans

Questions?

Doug Lacombe, MBAdoug@communicatto.comwww.communicatto.com403.988.0791