Engaging Social Media Users through Videos

In our fast-paced social media driven world, pictures and videos help tell the stories that are taking place around us every day. There have been many studies done that have shown that time on digital media has replaced time once spent reading.

At the Delaware County Extension office, we realized short, exciting videos are one of the ways to reach followers, so we began making videos. What kind of videos, you might ask? Videos demonstrating different trials of our On-Farm Research throughout the state. These trials are also featured in the eFields report that was just released at the beginning of January.

People looking at a computer

Since videos are becoming more popular when it comes to telling a story, I want to offer some tips and suggestions when it comes to shooting videos that you are going to post on a social media outlet.

First, think about the story you want to tell. The best videos don’t just “happen.” It is important to have a plan before going out to shoot. For example, before heading to the farm to shoot, we sat down with the Extension educator to discuss the story we wanted to tell through the video. A couple important factors that go into this process are prompting your speakers-in our case they were the farmers-with the questions you want them to address. We also knew that we needed a lot of b-roll footage. Tip: You need way more b-roll footage than you ever thought possible. Have someone on your production team record footage the entire time you are there!

Next, you will want to consider how to make your video unique. You don’t want to create a video of a talking head. That is extremely boring, and your viewers will lose interest in record time. Think of fun, interactive, engaging things for the speaker to do while you film. For example, we chose a theme for each video we produced and then had the educator and farmer partake in said theme. The Western theme has been by far and away the most popular – saddle up, cowboy!

Cell phone videoThe most important tip: Always, always, always record footage and take photos horizontally if you are using a smart phone. You will understand why when you reach the point of actually producing your video.

One final thought I will leave with you: Check your acoustics before you record. Don’t record in a windy field, the inside of a combine cab while harvesting, or even while the neighbor is mowing the lawn. This will leave you frustrated when you get back to the office.

Enjoy this trailer of one of our popular On-Farm Research videos!


Kenzie JohnstonKenzie Johnston, OSU Extension educator, CD/ANR, Delaware County.


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Education through Social Networking

Social MediaI have the best job in the world. As an extension educator for Ohio Sea Grant and OSU Extension, my job is to help communicate science in an easy-to-understand way to the public. When I started in this role, this was done mostly through in person meetings, phone calls, emails, and within educational settings such as outreach events. I still continue to communicate with the public and my stakeholders through these outlets, but I have added a new approach for reaching others to this list: social media.

When I created my first Twitter account and a Facebook page for our program, I wasn’t really sure what I was doing! I had used these platforms to interact with family and friends, but was unsure of how to engage the public. However, I soon found that by following other colleagues and programs there was a community well-versed in the art of social communication. In my case, I found a group of science communicators who have taken to social media to help engage the public around the topics that they are researching, and to aid in communicating the scientific process to the public. The #SciComm community – as they call themselves – has helped me to realize the value of social media as a method for education and outreach. Another great network of people who provide helpful guidance on social media is the Educational Technology Learning Network, or #EdTechLN. You can find their social media feed here: extedtechs.org/edtechln/.

I use social media to promote outreach events, share news about recent accomplishments in my organization, and to provide current and factual information on a variety of topics related to my program and organization. As a company, community, or citizen – you can use social media to promote your business, recognize an exceptional employee or colleague, and to provide up-to-date, reliable information to your audience. There are many ways that you can follow and interact with OSU Extension and Ohio Sea Grant on social media – I’ve listed a few below. Feel free to engage with us through these platforms – we’re listening and here to help!

OSU Extension and Community Development:

 Ohio Sea Grant:

Clean Marinas program collage

On our Ohio Clean Marinas and Clean Boaters Page, we promote marina businesses that take steps to improve air and water quality at their facility. We in turn encourage these businesses to use social media to promote themselves as a certified Clean Marina to their clientele.

Sarah Orlando is the Program Manager for the Ohio Clean Marina Program. She can be contacted at: 419-609-4120, orlando.42@osu.edu, or @SarahAOrlando.

Using technology to expand our reach

There are only so many hours in a day and yet our work never seems to end. How can we better extend our reach and increase awareness of Extension?

For almost three years we have been using technology to enhance our efforts to inform and interact with the publics we serve. We drive web travelers to this very blog using popular social networking tools such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Together, these tools and the blog link users to our other web-based content that includes podcasts, videos, and a variety of downloadable materials.

In days past, we assembled a quarterly newsletter that required formatting, copying, and then hard copy distribution. With the advent of email, that approach gave way to an electronic PDF version that could be sent to an email list. The web enabled us to post the PDF but who would actually go there to read it?

blog-stats

Today, we are reaching literally thousands of people, many of whom are connecting with us for the very first time. Not only are they able to acquire the specific content that is of interest to them, we are also now able to interact in ways we could not ever before.

The entire staff plays a creative role which has built a real sense of teamwork. And knowing we are extending our reach and increasing awareness of Extension has been very motivating as well!

To learn more about our approach, please feel free to contact me or any of the CD team members.

To see how it could work for you, take the opportunity to investigate some of the recent posts, categories or tags that interest you on the left side of your screen. Notice how you can share the content you like with others, interact with the author and others who have an interest in the topic, and find additional information linked to the post. Enjoy!!

Greg Davis is the Assistant Director for OSU Extension, Community Development.

Extension Technology in the City

Cities have been known as centers for innovation and progress for as long as they have existed. This is especially true in the technology sector, as cities often produce new methods of communicating and living with technology. Technology has become a very integral part of society, having something to do with virtually every aspect of our lives, in urban, suburban, and rural regions. As technology becomes more and more prevalent, the need to keep up with the technological changes grows as well. There are already many ways that Extension uses technology to disseminate information and knowledge, reach a larger audience, facilitate professional development, and communicate more efficiently with their local community (Typhinia).

Technology as a Form of Communication

Urban Extension programs have the most to gain from maximizing technology use for their various programs due to their large population base (Schneider). There are many innovative ways of using technology to better communicate with residents, and distribute knowledge on a larger scale, boosting Extension’s presence. There is also an opportunity to become more relevant with a younger generation who otherwise would not use Extension’s services (Typhinia). These connections can be made by social media use, as well as offering new programs that are more based around technology, that would facilitate greater interest among youth and young adults, as well as potentially connect Extension with other programs/partners who are interested in the tech side of youth development(Typhinia).

The Digital Divide

Digital Divide 2015-09-17Extension in the City is also in a position to address an ever increasing opportunity gap in the inner cities in America. Those who are often victims of the digital divide are disproportionately in five groups. Age, income/educational attainment levels, community type, people with disabilities, and language (Mapping the Digital Divide). In a brief released by the White House, the digital divide and how to map it were discussed. The unit of measurement consisted of internet access, educational attainment, age, and household income (Mapping the Digital Divide).

“Closing the gap—between those who experience these social and economic benefits from Internet use, and those who do not—will require further efforts to reduce barriers in affordability, relevance, and computer literacy.” (Mapping the Digital Divide 9)

This quote from the article speaks directly to what Extension can do in bridging this gap. By having adult computer literacy courses, and offering locations in which people without internet access can do things like apply for jobs, or work towards a GED or college degree are just a couple of the many potential programs that Extension can facilitate works towards a more equitable economy. (Full Article: https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/wh_digital_divide_issue_brief.pdf.)

Potential Impact

Technology innovations give Extension the opportunity to impact the people, programs, partners, and presence of Extension in urban areas. Technology increases the ability to communicate with socially and ethnically diverse populations, assists in the accessibility of our programs, expands the variety of partners that we are able to work with, and increases the presence of Extension, both by name recognition, and physical locations. Maintaining a strong connection to technological changes will assist OSU Extension in the City to continue to be locally relevant, responsive statewide, and recognized nationally. Using this to improve marketing, programming, personnel through professional development, as well as creating new partnerships is necessary to have the type of collective impact that we are aiming for, while also laying the framework for years of Extension excellence in Ohio’s urban areas

(Submitted by James Stiving, Program Assistant, Extension in the City/Central Region)

Sources:

  1. Kudryavtsev, Alexey, Marianne Krasny, Gretchen Ferenz, and Lisa Babcock. “Use of Computer Technologies by Educators in Urban Community Science Education Programs.” Journal of Extension5 (2007): n. pag. Extension Journal, Oct. 2007. Web. Sept. 2015.
  2. Mapping the Digital Divide. https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/wh_digital_divide_issue_brief.pdf
  3. Schneider, Sandra, Donna-Jean Brock, Crystal Lane, Peggy Meszaros, and Barbara Lockee. “Using Information Technology to Forge Connections in an Extension Service Project.” Journal of Extension6 (2011): n. pag. Extension Journal, Dec. 2011. Web. Sept. 2015.
  4. Typhinia, Eli, Robert Bardon, and Laurie Gharis. “Collaborating with Your Clients Using Social Media & Mobile Communications.” Journal of Extension 53.1 (2015): n. pag. Extension Journal, Feb. 2015. Web. Sept. 2015.