Posts Tagged ‘twitter’

Sacramento streams Jay Baer social media event live

By Shaun Crockett, June 2, 2011

AdFarm_live_banner

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.

skyline_sm

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.

paneldiscussion_sm

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

video_play

Live Streaming – Social Media Author/Blogger Jay Baer

By admin, June 1, 2011

JBaer_screen

Wednesday, June 1 @ 4 pm PST

Live from sunny California, AdFarm presents Jay Baer in conversation at the AdFarm Sacramento office.

Author of The Now Revolution, Jay Baer is a social media strategist and consultant who works with leading companies, corporate agency clients, and PR firms.

Join in on the live panel discussion. Jay will be responding to questions from audiences, physical and virtual. Don’t miss out – the live stream is on our Facebook page at:

http://goo.gl/ZOQAb

How to Build Community in Social Media

By admin, April 27, 2011

The single most relevant thing that social media has taught me is how build communities online.

Al Winmill is delivering California almonds from Katie Pinke.

Al Winmill was delivered California almonds from Katie Pinke. This connection was built and created through the agriculture social media community.

Through my work at AdFarm, I have been immersed in social media through AdFarm efforts such as the Know A California Farmer effort by the California Agricultural Communications Coalition. Additionally, I have listened and learned online and offline from AdFarm digital strategists Josh Lysne and Libby Hall. Personally, I have engaged from rural North Dakota in social media to share my family’s farming story that my mom blogs about daily at GriggsDakota. By being engaged digitally, I have built relationships. My online relationships have created opportunities for me join online communities of fellow advocates who want to tell stories of family farmers and connect with non-agriculture audiences to better understand where their food comes from.

This morning, I spoke to a group at North Dakota State University in Fargo on the topic of Engage and Empower Through Social Media. My online communities came to life offline when I hand delivered almonds from the farm of Brent and Brooke Boersma of Ripon, California to Al Winmill in Fargo, North Dakota. Brent and Al are Twitter friends. They are fellow #agnerds, a passionate group of agriculture advocates immersed in technology.  The name #agnerds comes from the hash tag they use on Twitter. Brent and Al have never met offline but have a connection online through the #agnerd community. I have met Brooke, Brent and Al all in person. As I fellow #agnerd, I had the privilege of being the deliverer of the almonds. I transported them two weeks ago from Modesto, California back to my home in rural North Dakota and finally to Fargo this morning to deliver to Al.

Brooke and Brent Boersma, 3rd generation almond farmers in Ripon, California

Brooke and Brent Boersma, 3rd generation almond farmers in Ripon, California

Why do delivering almonds matter in building community in social media?

It’s not about the almonds. It is the relationships, the passion for agriculture, the trust and personal connection that has been built between Brent and Al, all through social media communities. The almonds represent the community they commonly love and share, agriculture.

What are you doing to build communities in social media?

Katie Pinke lives with her husband and three children in the heart of the North Dakota prairie, where she connects people and businesses equally passionate about food, flowers, fuel, fiber and farming to AdFarm. You can find her @katpinke on Twitter or at Katie.Pinke@adfarmonline.com.

My two weeks on the Farm – Haleigh Packer’s guest blog

By Haleigh Packer, March 14, 2011

A combination of Agness and Adness defines AdFarm’s mission to connect agriculture companies with their customers through marketing, direct or online advertising, public relations and consulting.

I noticed AdFarm’s dedication to detail from the moment I stepped into the Calgary office. From the architecture and design of the office, to enthusiasm over an upcoming ad, to how much the employees invested in their work, it was easy to see the exceptional quality to which AdFarm commits.

Blog-Shot-Ad-Farm_1107_web

I’m a journalism student at SAIT and I chose to work at AdFarm for my two-week practicum, as I wanted to gain experience in the advertising and marketing industry.

AdFarm is a company that ignites the launch of new businesses or products. It is like Steve Jobs says: “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”

Here are a few things I have learned during my time at AdFarm:

  1. AdFarm has an advantage over other advertising agencies by specializing in agriculture. The company and its employees have specific knowledge about farming and maintain strong, long-lasting relationships with clients.
  2. Advertising is all about what the message portrays through imagery, words and video, to generate a greater impact on the audience.
  3. All types of personality traits are needed to work in an advertising agency. Creativity, organization, patience and optimism are characteristics needed to sell a business or product.
  4. Active writing is required when producing advertisements or news releases to keep the reader interested.
  5. Advertising is about speaking with the company’s voice (tone and style) without inputting personal opinions.
  6. Agriculture is an industry that mirrors a rollercoaster ride, as highs and lows depend on weather, weeds, grass production, diseases and insects.
  7. A majority of farmers are baby boomers. As a result, many are in the midst of handing down or selling their land.
  8. According to American Farm Bureau, three quarters of farmers and ranchers have a Facebook account and 10 per cent are using Twitter. AdFarm’s Facebook page is liked by 360 people and @adfarmtweets has 1,340 followers.
  9. Agriculture is an important industry. In 2009, Canada exported over $3.8 billion horticultural products globally.

What have you noticed about agriculture and advertising?

Haleigh Packer is a practicum student in AdFarm’s Calgary office. You can follow her on Twitter @HHKPacker.

Temple Grandin to speak at AdFarm co-sponsored event

By admin, March 2, 2011

Months ago, AdFarm made arrangements to co-host a speaking engagement featuring Dr. Temple Grandin. While the event is being held today at the Armacost Museum in Grandview, Mo., the focus has changed a bit.

On February 20, a fire at Sugar Creek Equinapy killed six therapeutic horses and destroyed the barn, trailer, stalls and equipment.  Dr. Grandin, who is a renowned autism advocate and animal scientist, graciously agreed to turn the event into a fundraiser for Sugar Creek.

image courtesy of Sugar Creek Equinapy

Image courtesy of Sugar Creek Equinapy.

We are looking forward to hearing Dr Grandin speak and having the opportunity to support all that Sugar Creek Equinapy does with its horse-assisted therapy program.

Although tickets for the event are sold out, donations are greatly appreciated and can be made directly at http://sugarcreekequinapy.com/.

Be part of this great cause. To follow the event on Twitter please use the following hashtag for your tweets: #grandinkc