Today’s thought going into the holiday weekend:
In Agriculture we tend to refer to the end user as consumers rather than customers. Have you ever heard of “consumer service”? However “customer service” is a very common and time tested aspect of the business world. In our opinion there is no better time than now to add a little customer service to agriculture.
If we in agriculture truly want to connect with others we need to start talking their language. By using terms that are non-scientific that emotionally and visually connect it is much easier to have a conversation based on common values. Sometimes the terms that connect are not the most fun to use such as “swine flu” versus its scientific name of H1N1 virus however it’s what is understood. By avoiding the use of a common term we are potentially doing more harm than good because we might appear to be hiding something or even doing more to confuse people than help them understand. Agriculture also recently tried to distance ourselves from the emotional and visual term “Pink Slime” and offered up Lean Fine Beef Trimmings (LFBT) an unemotional sterile scientific term.
The current topic of disconnect is “Mad Cow Disease” versus Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE). Mad Cow is so much easier to say and creates a visual image versus Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy or even its abbreviation BSE that sounds like a stock ticker. Personally it is hard enough for me to pronounce Encephalopathy I can only imagine what someone outside of animal science thinks when they see something like Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy. So let’s get the benefits of search engine optimization (SEO) by using the term everyone else is using and in turn when someone searches Google for things like “Mad Cow Disease” they find the explanations from farmers.
We need to use more emotion and empathy when we talk about farming practices and food, using science only when needed to provide facts.
What if we run with the more popular term and used it enough to re-own it?
Is agriculture in a race to acronym oblivion with other industries?
Do you connect better with your Doctor or other professional when they speak in terminology you can understand? Why should farmers and agriculture be different?
A lot of my friends have no idea what I do. If someone in passing asks me what my job is, the short answers is “Facebook and Twitter.” The long answer is, “Digital community management.” But, when you toss out the latter, people who aren’t excused to digital strategy will often get this deer-in-the-headlights look and ask for more clarification. Then, the default answer is, “Facebook and Twitter.” So, I remove the middle man.
I think the role of community management in social media is one that often goes unrecognized and unheard-of by people outside of the digital communications realm. It’s not the only position on the social media spectrum that fits into that assumption, either. In fact, there are many different roles that can be played in the social media spectrum. And while many of them overlap, both in necessary skills and mindsets, there are many different hats to be worn in the area of digital communications. » Read more..
In a earlier post I touched on what factors may help build Social and Emotional Capital, today in this post we will look at various scenarios and combinations and examples of such.
For a quick recap:
Combining Social & Emotional Capital builds advocates
Advocacy:
Loyal brand advocates come when both social and emotional capital are high. If the feelings about your brand are positive and the community spirit around you is positive then people can’t help being loyal.
A great example of a company that has a loyal advocacy base is Apple, the media and millions of people hang on the edge of their seats to hear the news of new products such as the newly announced iPad. Even though Apple was recently embroiled in a controversy about labor practices their Emotional & Social Capital was high enough that when a withdrawal (controversy) was made Capital was still left and Apple is still moving forward. Today alone thousands of people are either eagerly checking UPS tracking or standing in line to get their new iPads. » Read more..
Relationships with members of our target engagement groups are the key element in gaining loyal advocates, yet at the same time the lack of or low quality relationships can create activists who speak out against our brand or cause. We need to treat the relationships we build just like our finances; be careful to not overextend ourselves and dip into the red.
In today’s social environment news and even rumors can spread instantly through various channels, at times creating a monumental publicity hurdle to overcome. If we are investing time building networks of engaged customers and investing capital in those relationships we have a base of loyal advocates to work with in crisis. However if we do nothing to build capital and have liabilities then it is easier for activists to rise up against us because we have only a small group of loyal advocates interested in our brands or causes. By no means am I an expert on this topic however it is something I have paid close attention to over the last few years as I have become more actively involved in agricultural advocacy and watching the social business evolution. » Read more..
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