How Social Media Is Being Employed in Natural Resource Outreach
This social media toolbox was developed for the Galaxy IV presentation titled, “How Social Media is Being Used in Natural Resource Outreach.” The toolbox includes social media tools and examples, steps for integrating social media into planning, marketing, and developing communities, and metrics for gaging social media efforts. Although the list of examples and resources is not all-inclusive and should not to be considered as an endorsement, it is our hope that the toolbox along with the Galaxy IV presentation will be useful to Extension professionals who are beginning to incorporate social media into their current programs to influence a greater number of individuals in a non-traditional sense.
Click here to view the Social Media Toolbox PDF
Robert Bardon, North Carolina Cooperative Extension
Laurie Gharis, North Carolina Cooperative Extension
William Hubbard, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
Eric Taylor, Texas A&M Forest Service
Social Media Tools
| Tool | Agency/Organization | Example |
|---|---|---|
| National Forest Foundation | https://www.facebook.com/NationalForestFoundation | |
| Flickr | Forest Service Northern Region | http://www.flickr.com/people/fsnorthernregion |
| National 4-H Council | http://www.linkedin.com/company/national-4-h-council | |
| MySpace | Grundy County 4-H | http://www.myspace.com/grundycounty4h |
| US Department of Interior | https://twitter.com/Interior | |
| Wikipedia | US Department of Agriculture | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Department_of_Agriculture |
| YouTube | The Nature Conservancy | http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3wgTTq0a8s |
Planning Process
- Formalize how the agency views social media usage
- What services will be provided through social media?
- What management changes are required to the culture, people, structure, and/or process to meet expectations?
- Specify rights, responsibilities, and engagement
- What are the responsibilities for each of the agency/organizational units?
- What are the rules for working with different social media applications?
- Develop a plan that meets the agency’s desired goals
- Develop a plan for what agency services will be provided through each social media application.
- How will the service be measured and defined as a success?
Dadashzadeh, M. (2010). Social media in Government: from eGovernment to eGovernance. Journal of Business & Economic Research. 8(11):81-86.
Marketing Process
- Define expectations
- Who is your audience?
- What are their needs/wants?
- What will make them want to change away from the norm?
- Obtain feedback
- Consider product, price, place, communication, & partnerships
- Be inventive
- How can you state your message in a new and appealing manner?
- Capture and keep your audience’s attention
Skelly, J. (2005). Social marketing: Meeting the outreach challenges of today. Journal of Extension [Online], 43(1) Article 1IAW1. Available at: http://www.joe.org/joe/2005february/iw1.php
Building an Online Community
- Listen to your audience
- Make a plan
- How will you help your clients?
- How will you measure your efforts?
- Digitally Market your new effort
- Engage
- How will you get your clients interested?
- How will you keep them interested and involved?
- Report
- Measure and report your success
- Make any necessary changes
Benson, C. (2011). 5 essential steps to building community online. Community Strategist. 21 June. Available at: http://conniebensen.com/category/best-practices
Measure Your Efforts
- Number of Visitors, Fans, Followers, and/or Mentions
- Incoming links
- Time on the website
- Conversation
- Conversation index
- Movement of the message
- Customer actions
Cornelisse, S., Hyde, J., Raines, C., Kelley, K., Ollendyke, D., & Remcheck, J. (2011). Entrepreneurial Extension conducted via social media. Journal of Extension [Online], 49(6) Article 6TOT1. Available at: http://www.joe.org/joe/2011december/tt1.php
Benson, C. (2008). Social media measurement. Community Strategist. 10 May. Available at: http://conniebensen.com/2008/05/10/social-media-measurement
Example Journal Articles of Extension Professionals Employing Social Media
- Brinkman, P., Hart, M., Olinsky, C., & Merkowitz, R. (2011). Using technology 24/7 for regional assistance after shutdown of major industries. Journal of Extension [Online], 49(6) Article 6TOT3. Available at: http://www.joe.org/joe/2011december/tt3.php
- Jones, M., Kaminski, J., Christians, N., & Hoffmann, M. (2011). Using blogs to disseminate information in the turfgrass industry. Journal of Extension [Online], 49(1) Article 1RIB7. Available at: http://www.joe.org/joe/2011february/rb7.php
- Kocher, S., Lombardo, A., & Sweitzer, R. (2013). Using social media to involve the public in wildlife research-the SNAMP Fisher Sock Collection Drive. Journal of Extension [Online], 51(1) Article 1IAW3. Available at: http://www.joe.org/joe/2013february/iw3.php
- Martinson, K., Skelly, C., & Fisher, L. (2011). Measuring the effectiveness of a Facebook fan page for equine Extension programs. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, 31(5):344-345.
- Werts, J., Mikhailova, E., Post, C., & Sharp, J. (2012). An integrated WebGIS framework for volunteered geographic information and social media in soil and water conservation. Environmental Management, 49:816-832.
