Social Media Basics

Kim KruseSenior Information SpecialistCenter for Landscape Conservation and Ecology

What is the role of Extension?

How have we done this?

Where do people search for info?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/holtsman/4753306273/

What is social media?“Social media is a term commonly used for digital tools (e.g., websites, mobile applications) that allow and facilitate interaction between users. Social media encompass a wide variety of tools such as blogs, discussion forums, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, and other social networking tools. The common thread across social media tools is that they enable interactive communication, conversation, and collaboration among the users of the tool.”

-eXtension.org

Why do people use social media?

http://mashable.com/2012/03/09/social-media-demographics/

Best social media sites for MGs

Let’s start with Facebook.

•Started in February 2004•Went public in May 2012

•20% of all pages viewed on the web are on Facebook

•250 million photos uploaded daily•2.7 billion “likes” every day•Average user spends 20 minutes per visit

What do people do on Facebook?

Check to see what’s new

Like / Comment / Share

How can Facebook help Extension?

Get started http://www.facebook.com/help

Create and customize a Page

• http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php• http://mashable.com/2012/07/13/facebook-pages-tips-tricks/#747871

Tips to get people talking

• Post good content • Share other people’s content

• Use tags• Like what people say

Engage your users• Ask people what they think about different topics

Admin panel

Insights

Ads

https://www.facebook.com/help/?page=175624025825871

Groups

Enlist some help• Assign other trusted individuals to be administrators for your Pages and Groups

What is Twitter?

Twitter

• Started July 2006• Appeal of Twitter is its simplicity• More than 465 million accounts• 175 million tweets a day (April 2012)

How do people use Twitter?

Twitter• 36% tweet (aka update their status) at least once a day

• 92% people share, aka “retweet,” content that they find interesting

• 69% decide who else to follow based on suggestions from their friends

How do I get started?

Set up an account

• https://support.twitter.com/articles/100990-how-to-sign-up-on-twitter

Start following people• Allow Twitter to check your email contacts for people who are already on Twitter

• Visit the Twitter profile of similar people/organizations and start following the people they follow

Tips to get people talking

• Post good content

• Share (retweet) other people’s content

• Use tags• @FloridaMGs• #2012Folklife

Tips to get people talking

• Reply to other people’s tweets to create conversations

Okay, so what’s Pinterest?

Pinterest“Pinboard-style social photo sharing website that allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections such as events, interests, hobbies, and more.” --Wikipedia

http://pinterest.com/jcambatls/garden-outdoor/

Pinterest• Beta version of site launched in March 2010• 11.7 million monthly users• 82% female• Average of 16:40 per visit• Pinterest is tied with Facebook for first place in terms of how long people spend on the site each month. The average social networker spends 405 minutes on both Facebook and Pinterest (and 89 minutes on Twitter)

https://pinterest.com/floridamgs/plant-of-the-month/

Interacting• Repin• Like• Comment

Finally, let’s talk about YouTube.

YouTube• 2 billion views per day (May 2010)• 3rd most visited website

YouTube• Upload demos showing gardening techniques

• Respond to questions and comments from users

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q7kCrb0mqs&feature=plcp

Video Sharing

• Embed videos into websites, blog posts, or Facebook

http://fruitscapes.blogspot.com/

Who’s watching?

UF/IFAS YouTube channels

• SolutionsForYourLife• YourFloridaLawn• UFEntomology• PinellasExtensionTV• PolkFYN• DougBugHimself• SuwanneeCounty4H• BakerCountyExtension

What’s the most important thing to remember with social media?

Other things to Remember

• Keep it professional• Post what is meaningful• Make sure your information is current• Make sure your information is correct• Make sure your information is relevant• Follow others and interact meaningfully with them• Remember, social media is social and PUBLIC

Is that all?

Why social media matters• “Cooperative Extension will continue to keep its local community ties, but has and will continue to grow an online presence. Cooperative Extension’s online presence is not a replacement for our local, face-to-face contacts, but rather a way to build, maintain, and strengthen these relationships.”• Anne Adrian, Auburn University

Need more reasons?• Stats for Why Extension Should Use Social Media (Anne Adrian)

http://www.slideshare.net/aafromaa/stats-for-why-extension

• What is Social Media? (Marta Kagan)

http://www.slideshare.net/mzkagan/what-is-social-media-2005829

• eXtension Social Networking Tools http://www.extension.org/pages/62095/social-networking-tools

UF MGs on Social Media

Facebook.com/Florida.MasterGardeners

Twitter.com/FloridaMGs

Pinterest.com/FloridaMGs

YouTube.com/UFGardening