On YouTube, the popular video website, viewers can check out last night’s hockey highlights, a musical performance by a favourite performer or a clip from a recently released movie.
Now there’s another reason to log on – to check the latest posting from the Canadian Wheat Board.
It recently launched a dedicated channel on YouTube, which will provide information about various aspects of its business and operations.
The first posting was a seven-minute video featuring David Burrows, the board’s vice-president of corporate communications and government relations, talking about the agency’s branding strategy.
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As of Feb. 17, it had been viewed 127 times, while an earlier test version had been viewed 84 times, for a total of 211 viewings.
Richard Martin, the CWB’s manager of design and web services, said it’s another way for the agency to communicate with farmers, adding the board plans to post videos on a regular basis.
“We’re bouncing around ideas to try to figure out what’s next,” he said.
Among the possibilities are market outlooks, insect forecasts or current issues like World Trade Organization negotiations.
Martin said the marketing agency has been considering making greater use of social media like YouTube or Facebook for some time.
Farmers at conferences, shows and courses have indicated they are using such sites. Also, about two-thirds of rural residents now have access to high-speed internet service.
The YouTube presentations can be embedded in the board’s own website, which until now has been geared toward a dial-up audience.
Martin said the ultimate goal is to record and post presentations from functions like GrainWorld, the board’s annual market outlook conference.
A cheaper approach would be to run a power point slide presentation with audio, but that would be dull.
“Having a live person certainly adds another dimension,” he said.
Martin added the board’s continued foray into social media will depend on the response.
“We expect the numbers will increase as we start really promoting it,” he said.
The board doesn’t have to pay to upload videos to YouTube but it could face costs in producing videos. The currently posted branding video cost $1,300 to produce.
The board’s YouTube channel can be found at www.youtube.com/canadianwheatboard.
