23 pages., via online journal, Cultured meat has yet to reach store shelves but is nonetheless a growing issue for consumers, producers, and government regulators, many of whom have taken to social media to discuss it. Using a conceptual framework of social cognitive theory and issues management, this qualitative content analysis investigated social-media discourse surrounding the topic of cultured meat in the United States by describing the content of the discussion in late 2018 and identifying individual influencers and communities of influencers engaged in the discussion. Data were collected from Twitter using listening platform Sysomos MAP. The thematic analysis revealed eight themes: legality and marketing, sustainability, acceptance, business, animal concerns, science and technology, health concerns, and timeline, and indicated that conflicting views and questions about cultured meat exist among conversation participants. Top influencers included philanthropists, government officials, journalists and writers, and animal-welfare advocates. These influencers were grouped into four distinct communities based on interactions with each other and other users. The topics identified in the analysis provide insight into ways in which communicators can enter these conversations, and influencer communities represent groups of users whose broad reach could more easily transmit pro-agriculture messages.
7 pages, To assess small rural retailers' use of social media and the role of social media in their business sustainability, we conducted focus group interviews with small business owners/managers from rural communities in a midwestern state. Participants revealed strong interest in social media, especially for use in sales and marketing. However, their engagement in social media was limited due to lack of knowledge and resources (i.e., time, human resources, financial resources, effectiveness measurement) related to developing and updating content. On the basis of these findings, we examine implications for Extension professionals and outreach educators regarding social media needs and programming for small rural businesses.
22 pages., via online journal, Agritourism is recreational travel for agricultural activities. While it provides many benefits, such as rural development and heritage preservation, many agritourism operators express challenges in marketing their operations. Social media is increasingly common in tourism marketing, but little research exists describing current marketing practices. Quantitative content analysis was used to describe 174 Oklahoma agritourism operations’ Facebook page activity in June 2018. Original posts created by the agritourism operations and community posts created by the general public had similar amounts of public interaction. Post interactions were not related to post length, and original post interactions were also not related to overall page likes. Live videos and traditional posts received the most interaction amongst types of original posts. Facebook event posts made by the agritourism operation received more public interaction than event posts made by the general public. Agritourism operators should focus on quality over quantity of information and be wary of creating posts in an “echo chamber” as only a small proportion of a large page following interact with posts. Marketing practitioners should avoid providing one-size-fits-all advice in Facebook marketing, as there was a large variety of Facebook activity observed. Future research should more specifically describe content of posts and consider perspectives of agritourism operators and visitors towards current Facebook marketing strategies.
16 pages, Social media are currently not only used for communication between individuals but an increasing number of companies use these means as simple and fast sales and communication channels. The importance of communication with consumers through social networks, such as Facebook, is essential in today's marketplace for small businesses, for which this tool is one of the cheapest alternatives to communicating and selling products. This trend did not escape agriculture-specific local farmers who process fresh local products. The study's objective is to highlight the importance of social media communication in the agri-food sector, specifically in the sub-sector of local fresh products, as well as to determine which consumers are most interested in local products from farmers communicated through Facebook. We conducted the research using our Facebook page called Ours-Yours (in Slovak Naše-Vaše). This account was created for research purposes and has a clearly defined objective of supporting and promoting local fresh products from small Slovak farmers. Research involved 42 small farms that sell fresh local dairy products. From these farmers we discovered what form of marketing communication they had used in the past. Afterwards, we visited eight selected farms, took professional photos of their products, and promoted them under one brand using our Facebook page Ours- Yours (Naše-Vaše). The methodology of the research was based on an analysis of Facebook posts, which were visualised, uniformly graphically processed photographs of the products. Contributions were advertised on radio located 50 kilometres from the farms to ensure local marketing of the products. We measured demographic factors (gender and age) and users' interaction with individual posts. Research has shown that women between the ages of 45 -- 64, who follow Facebook mostly from their mobile phones, are most interested in Facebook posts with local fresh products (and information about them)
6 pages., Article #:v58-1tt2, via online journal., Research supports Extension educators' use of social media as an engagement, outreach, and marketing tool beyond posts shared by staff and faculty. This article highlights the practical use of Snapchat geofilters at county and statewide Extension events to support the creation of user-generated content and increase Extension's visibility with the public. The development and implementation of an innovative statewide marketing project resulted in data and recommendations that can help Extension educators make meaningful marketing decisions.
"Experiential marketing can be interpreted many ways, but our approach helps brands create relationships with target audiences through immersive and memorable interactions." Approach used by Osborn Barr Paramore, agri-marketing communications agency, St. Louis, Missouri.
