Judi Graff, the producer of farmNwife.com says farmers who wish to use social media now have a much wider range of options to choose from, many of them free.
Speaking at the Manitoba Swine Seminar in Winnipeg, MB in February Graff produces and authors a website, FarmNwife.com, she started in 2007, to help farmers tell their stories online.
She says there’s no better place to get information on farming than from a farmer and, once farmers start to tell their stories online, people can find them easier and put them in a better position to provide credible answers to questions.
There is so much stuff going on that sometimes the people who produce the food get lost in the hustle and bustle, especially their message, and the fact they produce the healthiest, safest and most cost effective food right here at home.
“I think the public is very interested in farming in general and there’s no better place to get the information than from a farmer,” said Graff. “People have questions and farming is a very hot topic issue especially in the media and people hear things that are going on and they have questions. If you’re there and available to people to answer questions, I think it’s very important to tell your story so people know where you’re coming from and how issues affect you.”
She thinks many farmers are mostly wanting to reach people they know and so that would be their family and friends, people at church and those on Facebook, Twitter, and / or LinkedIn, to name a few social mediums.
“If you’re wanting to talk to other farmers I would say mostly you can reach a lot of them through Twitter looking at hashtags that are more of your interest,” said Graff. “Then if you’re more business oriented, LinkedIn, you could reach a lot of business people that aren’t in the ag area so you can get your message out to them pretty quickly in LinkedIn.
Graff stresses blogging and using an interacting in social media is extremely easy. All you need to start a blog, is a computer and the Internet and using websites like WordPress.com or Blogspot, where people can start those blogs for free.
“You don’t have to have a smartphone but a smart phone just makes it easier to bring it around with you but getting on Twitter or Facebook is a great place to start,” she adds.
She emphasizes again, the public asks people in farming questions all the time, especially from family and friends that aren’t in agriculture.
“I think that’s a perfect place to start, answering those questions in a post or even on Facebook,” says Graff. “When you start answering those questions, you become more reliable and trustworthy instead of trying to hide something maybe. But that’s what I see it as, people are asking questions, just simply answer the best way you can and in your circumstance.”
Graff says how often to post is up to the blogger but she suggests at least once per week. People asking questions are usually not interested in the technical details so she recommends providing basic answers and adding details as people request them, and that is how it is quite easy to come up with the post.
For more information on setting up a website and blogging visit farmNwife.com. •
— By Harry Siemens