As well as using social media to engage and build relationships with your audiences – it can be very useful as a listening post. While it might be interesting for project/program managers to understand what is being said online about relevant topics, this is probably more important for larger organisations and bodies who should be on top of what is being talked about online. Particularly those interested and impacted on by sensitive subjects.
Using Pinterest to collect and collate observational data
There are so many ways to collect data in today’s online world that simply weren’t available even 10 years ago. Information can now be collated in many different ways from even the remotest locations.
Observation is a data collection method that has been around for a while. One example of this methodology is the use of photos taken at regular intervals to record changes of land use over time. A particularly useful method for Natural Resource Management (NRM) projects focusing on land rehabilitation.
Towards solving the social media evaluation mystery
In my experience social media as a communication channel can still feel overwhelming to many people. So taking the next step and thinking about how to meaningfully evaluate the use of it can almost feel too much of a mystery – which often means it doesn’t happen!
However, the more I’ve worked with social media evaluation the less mysterious I think it is. It’s easy to get caught up in the numbers that get thrown around like – we reached 20 million people with our tweet. To that I would say great, what does that number mean and so what?! (And there’s a whole other conversation to be had around how reach numbers are derived and what reach actually means.)
Autumn Update 2015
It’s autumn and time for a blog update from me. What is exciting for our web page is that Amy is also writing a blog and bringing in her insights and perspectives. The topic of using social media in extension and its evaluation, for example, is an area that there is growing interest – not just in Australia – but world-wide. She also has a twitter feed (@amyrsamson) – and I think I am going have to get more active in that area as well! We are certainly using social media (Whatsapp) to get regular updates on Amy’s daughter Evie’s milestones – first crawl, first word (nana) and first standing up in the cot! We are also using this app in some projects in which I am involved – with great effect.
Musing about the on-farm influence of social media
There are a few questions running around my head about social media and the rural space – particularly in relation to on-farm practice change.
What is its level of influence?
As a part of this I need to better understand how social media is being used by farmers, agencies, organisations, communities and government and for what purpose. And how is it being evaluated?