GET INVOLVED IN SOCIAL MEDIA
Have you been interested in talking about your farm to the world but you don’t know where to start? Blogging might be just the avenue for you.
Start here. CornCorps, a blog maintained by the Illinois Corn Growers Association and Illinois Corn Marketing Board, offers you an opportunity to see how we provide information to the world. We offer content for farmers and non-farmers alike, though our information is aimed more at an urban audience that is probably looking for a connection to the farmers that grow their food.
And then, read this. http://www.agweb.com/farmjournal/article/start_a_connection/ Anna-Lisa Giannini has compiled a great list of things to think about before you get started.
In my book, one highpoint is to tell the story of your farm just as you’d tell it sitting at the coffee shop or at your neighbor’s kitchen table. You don’t have to be an excellent writer and proper grammar doesn’t always matter (though spelling words correctly and having MOST of your sentences be complete sentences does establish credibility). Write as though you were making a diary entry. After all, the point is to show someone who isn’t a part of your life exactly what your life is like.
I also like the pointer that consistency is key. Your readers need to be able to count on you to show up every day or every week for them to read. Be there.
After you’ve developed a plan for how you’ll proceed, visit Wordpress or Blogspot or any number of other blog hosting services. You only need to choose a name, a design, and start writing!
If you determine that blogging isn’t for you, there’s still Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and more. Farmers all over the U.S. have had success in each of these mediums telling the story about their farms.
Need inspiration? Check out what these farmers are doing to promote agriculture.
Remember: “The distance is nothing. It is only the first step that is difficult.”
