Tradition meets technology

Social media 101 among the topics at potato conference

Some may view farming as a traditional way of life.

But there’s nothing traditional about marketing their products in an age of rapid technological progress as growers literally have options at their fingertips.

That was the focus of a talk on social media at the recent P.E.I. Potato Conference in Charlottetown, given by P.E.I. Potato Board marketing director Kendra Mills.

With more people living in cities than ever, social media can help educate people with little knowledge of agriculture, Mills said.

“It’s all about telling their story directly from the farm. If you’re sitting in a tractor, if you’re doing something that’s unique or showing the good things that are going on, it’s a great way to reach out to the public.”

Mills’ session was aimed at people who don’t know how to get started with sites like Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.

“It was for those who might just want to dip their toe in, so kind of some tips and tricks, how to set up a page.”

Some may be hesitant or find the process overwhelming, but Mills said there was a “great” response, particularly from growers who were interested to see the sheer number of users worldwide.

“The numbers are staggering, and they’re only going to get bigger as we go on in time. Showing some of those numbers is really impactful and powerful to people and they really get the importance of it.”

It’s not about posting constantly, Mills said, but rather about capturing what happens on the farm. The level of knowledge varies from one grower to the next, but younger farmers, in particular, are making good use of social media, Mills said. She mentioned Bryan Maynard, Keisha Rose, Lori Robinson and Becky Townshend as examples.

“I think maybe with the older generation, there’s a little bit more hesitation, but I must say we have a really big, wide range of people who are kind of encouraged to try it out.”

It’s also a big part of the potato board’s strategy, with nearly 19,000 Facebook followers and an email database of roughly 55,000 users, Mills said.