Posts Tagged ‘The Now Revolution’

Agriculture, Business and Social Media

By Melissa Sawatzky, October 3, 2011

September 29 marked an important step forward for the associates and clients of AdFarm as we hosted partner Jay Baer in an open forum to discuss the “how” and “why” of using social media in business.

Jay Baer addresses the crowd

Jay Baer addresses the crowd

The topic – hot in all industries – is especially significant in agriculture where the end audience of growers and ranchers are well-suited to mobile business and online technology.

The event was held at the Loose Moose Theatre in Calgary and drew around a hundred guests, all representing varying angles of industry. Jay Baer, author, AdFarm strategic partner, and the brains behind the award-winning blog called Convince and Convert, spoke about the seven key shifts needed within organizations to operate successfully within the social realm. His recently-launched book, The Now Revolution, explains in depth these seven shifts.

“It’s ultimately about people, and less so about technology,” says Baer. “Companies need to focus more on being social vs. doing social – worry about the tools later. Find those individuals in your business that have a passion for it and that truly represent your company, and empower them.”

Ben Graham, VP AdFarm Canada, Jay Baer, Convince and Convert, and Josh Lysne, Director of Digital at AdFarm

Ben Graham, VP AdFarm Canada, Jay Baer, Convince and Convert, and Josh Lysne, Director of Digital at AdFarm

The presentation turned into engaging discussion as Jay and the AdFarm team demonstrated how they have effectively helped businesses understand where, when and how best to participate in social.

“We help our clients incorporate social into their overall marketing and communications in ways that make the most sense to their business. We develop social media programs that assist with such things as issues management, lead generation, loyalty, retention and promotion,” says Josh Lysne, Director of AdFarm’s North American Digital team.

During the morning, Jay referenced ThinkGeek as a case study about a company whose culture is so strong, their interaction in the online community is consistent and unswerving. A tweet was sent out @thinkgeek to say Jay was talking about them again, and within moments they had responded in the same forum:

“@adfarmtweets AGAIN!? Geez. Like a broken record of awesomeness, that guy.”

A great, timely example of how to truly be social.

Is your company social in the online environment? Why or why not?

We’re curious how much social media is a part of your company’s brand. Share some of your stories here. 

 

Melissa Sawatzky is always eager to share and explore ideas with others. Contact her directly at Melissa.Sawatzky@adfarmonline.com 

Posted in Ag Events, Digital/Online, Events, Social media | 2 Comments »

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Sacramento streams Jay Baer social media event live

By Shaun Crockett, June 2, 2011

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The Midwest has been dodging tornados, while the central north is getting pounded by one of the wettest springs in years. So when I was told about going to California for our Sacramento office’s grand opening and the Jay Baer social media event, I admit I was excited. I could endure the crippling time change to spend a few days in that wonderful California sun.

But as any farmer can tell you, Mother Nature doesn’t always cooperate. I think she has something against me.

But between unseasonably cool weather, rain, and tornadoes… YES, I said tornados, I learned a great deal and had a great time.

The AdFarm Sarcamento office sits on the 21st floor of a downtown office building, overlooking the local farmers’ market. The view of the skyline with thousands of trees lining the city is amazing.

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But our new office space was only half of what was going on. The star of the show was Jay Baer and his talk was about social media and agriculture.

Jay is a great presenter who makes social media easy to understand, no matter what level you’re at or business you’re in. He recently wrote a book called The Now Revolution – 7 Shifts to make your business faster, smarter, and more social. His talk shared some of the book’s key points with an audience consisting of people from the Social Media Club of Sacramento and the writers of influential agriculture blogs. Even people who weren’t sure how to make the social sphere work for their company, but knew they needed to start paying attention were able to take home a lot of ideas from Jay’s talk. To reach as many AdFarmers, clients, and other interested people as possible, we live streamed the event and Jay fielded questions via our Twitter hash tag, #AdFarmLive.

And if you didn’t make it to Sacramento and didn’t catch our live stream of the event, you can watch it in its entirety by clicking here for the true live experience. We haven’t edited the video, what you see is exactly what you would have experienced in our Sacramento office at the Jay Baer social media event – minus the great eats and drinks.

So take a few minutes to sit back and enjoy the show, which includes a panel discussion with a few of AdFarm’s own social media advocates.

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If you had taken part, in person or online, what questions would you have asked Jay Baer?

video_play

Posted in Ag Events, Digital/Online, Events | 1 Comment »

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