Southern Region PLN Session

1. Content Development & Social
Media
Craig H. Wood, Ashley S. Griffin,
Diane Bales, Jerri Caldwell-Hammonds,
Maggie Lawrence

2. 78%

6. I eat #cookies Social Media
I “Like” cookies Explained
Social Strand Media (socialstrand.com)
I hang out with people who like cookies
This is where I eat cookies
Watch me eat cookies
I am skilled at eating cookies
Here is a cookie recipe
I take cool pictures of my cookies
I write (blog) about cookies
I recommend my favorite places to buy and eat cookies
I am listening to the Cookie Monster Rap Song

7. Ref:

8. Ref:

9. Ref:

12. Ref:

13. Engagement Through
Blogging

14. Social Media Use in the eXtension
Alliance for Better Child Care:
Strategies and Lessons Learned
Diane W. Bales
Extension Specialist, The University of Georgia
Co-Leader, Child Care Community of Practice
dbales@uga.edu

15. Who We Are
• Extension faculty with research-based
expertise in early care and education
• Committed to high-quality child care
• Serve multiple audiences
1. Child care providers
2. Parents seeking child care
3. Employers supporting employees’ child care
needs
• Primary focus on child care providers’ needs

16. Why Facebook?
• We are there already
• Our Community of Interest is also there
• Making ourselves known among professionals
• Connecting with others in the child care field
• Chance to broaden conversation

17. facebook.com/eXtensionallianceforbetterchildcare

18. Facebook Provides Usage Information

20. Twitter Usage Statistics
• Output: 1,050 tweets and counting
• Outreach: 336 followers
• Influencing Others
– Retweets: your tweets, tweeted by others
– @ Mentions: tweets mentioning your name

21. Other Social Media Outlets
• Child Care and Military Families page on
Facebook
• Military Child Care Twitter feed
• Early Care & Education for Military Families
group on LinkedIn
• BetterChildCare channel on YouTube

22. What We’ve Learned
Through Social Media Use
• CoP members vary widely in technical abilities and
interest in social media
• A “champion” helps get started
• CoP members need to be intentionally engaged
and see this as a part of their eXtension work
• Paid staff are very helpful but not required
• Tools on social media sites make it easier
• Listen as well as talk
• We can do a lot with only a few minutes per day

23. SHARE SMARTER, NOT HARDER
Building Your Team & Connecting with Your Audience
Jerri Hammonds, Auburn University
Urban Integrated Pest Management
Community of Practice

26. THE URBAN IPM SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM
 Building a Team Who Shares
 Rules of Engagement
for the Team When Posting
 What We Share
 Facebook Analytics
 Feeding your Facebook Page & Twitter Feed

27. BUILDING A TEAM WHO SHARES
 There is strength in numbers so create a TEAM.
 Have MANY administrators on your Facebook page.
 Admins receive notifications per activity.
 Admins are able to post as the page.
 Suggest team members install an app on their
computers and mobile devices.
 Apps help to keep Twitter close at hand for posting
and for retweeting and allows them to stay
logged into the account.
 TweetCaster
 Hootsuite
 Play to the individual’s strengths.

28. THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
 Use conversational language.
 Post light and funny tidbits occasionally.
Post as your Facebook page.
Don’t “blow up” someone’s Twitter feed.

29. WHAT WE SHARE
 Events
 Blog Post Links
 Light and Funny
 Updated CoP Content
Light and Funny Posts
Updated CoP Content

30. WHAT WE SHARE
 Photos
 Videos
 Polls
Videos
Videos
Name that Bug

31. WORK SMARTER NOT HARDER

33. SHARE SMARTER NOT HARDER

34. SHARE SMARTER NOT HARDER

35. JUST GETTING STARTED?
 Block off an hour or so of time to learn and have
someone you can call on for help.
 Don’t be afraid to ASK questions.
 RELAX! Be patient with yourself and with your team
members.
“Of all the things you wear, your attitude is
the most important.”
― Janet Lane

36. KEEP SOCIAL MEDIA CLOSE
HootSuite TweetCaster Facebook App

37. SHARE SMARTER, NOT HARDER
Building Your Team & Connecting with Your Audience
Jerri Hammonds, Auburn University
Urban Integrated Pest Management
Community of Practice

38. eXHorses Channel

40. • Chunk Video
• Created
Playlists
> 48,000 Views

41. • Contextual descriptions with
keywords/tags
• Links back to the site

42. • Embed Video
• NEW Video Shorts
• Promotion for LEARN Webinars

43. • Comments
• Conversation

48. • Brand the channel
•
•
• Comments/Conversation
• Curate videos – user accounts
• Drive Traffic

50. Adm/College information/updates How you can
Program & timely events use Social Media
Updates to 4-H, Ag, FCS, faculty
Counties or building your in
Video updates
Network with other Extension Administrators
Share factsheets, County offices, etc.
Cool pictures of your College activities
Write your monthly update

51. Best Practices/Tips
• Pick one, be comfortable, then add
• Be Conversational
• Always be listening
• Be yourself
• Be regular and timely
• Don’t always broadcast
• Chunk content
• Use hashtags
• Engage in other networks (AgChat)

52. The Future