Farmers could benefit by learning more about how social media can affect their industry and their farms, says a leading web expert.
“You need to really decide that, ‘hey, this is something that’s important to me,’ and use it on a regular basis to get the full advantage of all the different tools out there,” says Amber MacArthur, web consultant and author ofPower Friending,which explains how businesses can use tools such as Twitter, You-Tube and Facebook to build their brands.
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Agchat Foundation at Agchat.org is an example of how the agricultural industry uses social media, she told the Farm Leadership Council’s recent Leading Change and Innovation conference in Saskatoon.
The American site is an on-line gathering that provides links to blogs, twitter feeds and a Facebook page aimed at allowing farmers to share stories, insights and information with each other.
MacArthur said this type of site would be ideal for Canada’s already tight-knit agriculture community.
“I think the next step is for someone to provide kind of a home base for all the social media efforts where the community can have those conversations, share information, and connect outside their working hours.”
David Meakin, who farms near Langham, Sask., said he came away with a newfound appreciation for what social networking tools can do.
The Farm Leadership Council, as a fairly new group, is going to need to be at the forefront of the technology in Canada, he added.
“This is a huge part of our future, for this organization that we’re moving forward with,” he said.
“There’s such a huge amount of information that’s pent up and it’s just to get that to flow back and forth with our farmer members.”
