Be My Friend: Utilizing Social Media Such As Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest to Engage and Interact with Your Audience.

Social media is a great way to interact with your clientele and also expand the reach of your educational programs. Agriculture Extension Agent Debbie Roos will share her experience with using social media tools to successfully engage diversified farmers, gardeners, beekeepers, and others over the past several years. Social media has greatly increased the visibility and accessibility of Cooperative Extension and has had a strong role in building a sense of community among stakeholders. Roos has seen visits to her Growing Small Farms website (www.growingsmallfarms.org) increase by over 30% since she started using social media. Learn how to select the best social media tools to engage your audience. We will discuss tips for interacting with farmers and others, improving outreach, and attracting new clients. A discussion of some pros and cons of social media will help users focus on successful strategies and avoid pitfalls. Roos will share the results of her recent farmer survey which highlights how farmers are using social media and how educators and service providers can most effectively utilize these tools to achieve their goals. Roos will provide examples of specific tools and share the types of posts that have been the most popular and effective.