Friday, June 12, 2009 Sharing your story through social media
Many people mistakenly believe the only people using Twitter and Facebook are teenagers, college kids and celebrities who desperately want to be trend-setters and thought-provokers. While these audiences are heavy users of these mega-social media outlets, don’t let the stereotypes fool you. If you get on the sites and do some digging, you might be surprised who you find.
For example, Gilmer Dairy Farm, located in Lamar County, Alabama, is not only in the business of milking cows, but is also an avid tweeter and blogger. The dairy’s tweets range in content, from updates on putting the cows out to pasture, to promoting June Dairy Month, to joining other tweeples (as they are called) in a weekly discussion about agriculture (#agchat). A recent blog post addressed the current economic situation the dairy industry is facing, and demonstrated the farm’s dedication to providing healthy products for our country — no matter what obstacles they may be facing.
These posts are honest, real, and provide a true sense of what Gilmer Dairy is all about, and more importantly, how farmers care about their business and their customers. Some might resist using social media outlets in an effort to avoid coming across as narcissistic, vain, and self-serving. But when used properly, social media provides the opportunity to share personality and passion with audiences not typically exposed to you or your business. People want to learn about the human interior behind the business exterior — otherwise, this medium wouldn’t work.
Social media makes us think about what we want to tell the world and provides a place where even the tiniest voice can be heard. It can be whatever you want it to be. A method of networking, marketing, monitoring news and conversation about topics you’re interested in, or simply keeping in touch with people you care about.
I’ve often heard people sneer at social media sites saying, “I don’t care about what you’re doing at the moment.” But it’s not about the action — it’s about the feeling behind the action. And social media provides a place to share that sentiment with the world whether you are a dairy farmer, a teenager or a PR professional.
Reader Comments (1)
Great article from CNN.com featuring the "twittering farmer": http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/07/02/twitter.farmer/index.html