Social media is a valuable communication, outreach, and marketing tool, yet Extension educators often underutilize social media due to concerns related to lack of guidance and perceived risks. This article showcases a unique approach to creating a social media strategic plan that applies best practices from the field of marketing and addresses Extension educators\u27 apprehensions about using social media. The development and implementation of a statewide plan provided opportunities for each Extension educator to support the plan in varying meaningful ways according to his or her time availability, interest, and comfort level

Davis, Jamie

Dishon, Karissa

English

Clemson University: TigerPrints

Journal of Extension Volume 55 Number 4 Article 24 8-1-2017 Unique Approach to Creating and Implementing a Social Media Strategic Plan Jamie Davis Oregon State University Karissa Dishon Oregon State University Recommended Citation Davis, J., & Dishon, K. (2017). Unique Approach to Creating and Implementing a Social Media Strategic Plan. Journal of Extension, 55(4), Article 24. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/joe/vol55/iss4/24 This Ideas at Work is brought to you for free and open access by TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Extension by an authorized editor of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact kokeefe@clemson.edu. August 2017Volume 55Number 4Article # 4IAW1Ideas at WorkUnique Approach to Creating and Implementing a Social MediaStrategic PlanAbstractSocial media is a valuable communication, outreach, and marketing tool, yet Extension educators oftenunderutilize social media due to concerns related to lack of guidance and perceived risks. This article showcases aunique approach to creating a social media strategic plan that applies best practices from the field of marketingand addresses Extension educators' apprehensions about using social media. The development andimplementation of a statewide plan provided opportunities for each Extension educator to support the plan invarying meaningful ways according to his or her time availability, interest, and comfort level. IntroductionThere is sufficient research to support Extension educators' use of social media as a communication, outreach,and marketing tool (Cooper, Cox, & Corbin, 2012; Cornelisse et al., 2011; Kinsey, 2010). However, Extensionprofessionals have been apprehensive about adopting social media as a professional communication tool (Hill,2015). Newbury, Humphreys, and Fuess (2014) examined the barriers that prevent Extension educators fromusing social media in their work. The researchers found that Extension educators perceived many risks relatedto using social media without sufficient supports, such as training, guidelines, or information on best practices.In addition, research has shown that Extension educators worry about the risk of commingling their personaland professional lives by using social media (Hill, 2014; Newbury et al., 2014).Armed with an understanding of Extension educators' apprehensiveness about using social mediaprofessionally and up-to-date market research, a team of county Extension professionals developed a socialmedia strategic plan for the Oregon 4-H program. This article describes the unique approach the team used toencourage Extension professionals with varying levels of social media expertise to support that strategic plan.Oregon 4-H Social Media Strategic Plan DevelopmentIn 2010, the Oregon 4-H program established a policy for using Facebook pages as communication, outreach,and marketing tools. However, in spring 2014, a pivotal market research report, Taking Stock with Teens,revealed that Instagram had replaced Facebook as teens' preferred social media platform (Piper Jaffray, 2014).Jamie DavisAssistant Professor ofPracticeOregon StateUniversityLakeview, OregonJamie.Davis@Oregonstate.eduKarissa DishonAssistant ProfessorOregon StateUniversityRedmond, OregonKarissa.Dishon@Oregonstate.eduThis shift in use generated a need to develop a cross-platform strategic marketing plan for social media. Agrassroots committee of county Extension educators readdressed and built on the 2010 policy to create theOregon 4-H Social Media Strategic Plan.The objectives of the plan are to support the use of additional social media platforms and to provide Oregon 4-H staff and faculty with concise resources forpromoting youth- and adult-led marketing of the Oregon 4-H program on social media platforms of theirchoosing to increase awareness among their peers of the Oregon 4-H program and its events;increasing awareness of county, regional, and state events; andcreating consistency of social media practices and efforts within the Oregon 4-H program to best achieve theaforementioned objectives.The strategic plan focuses on promotion of youth- and adult-led social media marketing in order to increaseuser-generated content. User-generated content is information shared by one's peers on social mediaplatforms through status updates, photo posts, and tweets. A study conducted by Ipsos MediaCT (2014) foundthat millennials are 50% more likely to trust information shared by their peers than information on mediadriven by companies and organizations. In addition, content shared by peers is 35% more memorable thancontent shared by other means and keeps users engaged longer (Ipsos MediaCT, 2014).The strategy for promoting youth- and adult-led social media marketing involved developing and promoting ahashtag for the Oregon 4-H program (#Oregon4h) and standardizing hashtags for county 4-H programs.According to Lee (2015), "Tweets with hashtags receive 2X more engagement than those without hashtags("Hashtags on Twitter," para. 4)." Whereas Twitter reaches a hashtag saturation point after two hashtags,other platforms, such as Instagram, actually increase engagement with each additional hashtag, even with 11or more hashtags on each post (Lee, 2015). By promoting the standardized hashtags through existing meansof communication (e.g., newsletters, Facebook posts, emails), Extension professionals are able to support thestrategy without opening a new social media account or using a personal account.As noted, the 2010 Oregon 4-H social media policy applied solely to Facebook use. Since 2010, a number ofother social media platforms have grown in popularity and are widely used by Extension clients. Therefore, the2014 Oregon 4-H Social Media Strategic Plan supports the use of multiple social media platforms (Instagram,Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest) by providing guidelines for consistent account usernames and profiledescriptions. This approach promotes continuity and uniformity across the state. Lastly, the Oregon 4-H SocialMedia Strategic Plan includes best practices for posting (related to timing, frequency, type of material, andhashtag use) and examples of posts tailored for each social media platform.Evaluation of ObjectivesSince its inception, the Oregon 4-H hashtag #Oregon4h has far exceeded 2,000 unique posts over multipleplatforms; examples are provided in Figure 1. Standardizing hashtags for the county 4-H programs hasresulted in widespread use of those hashtags as well. Of the 36 Oregon counties, all standardized countyhashtags have been used on at least one of the social media platforms. Over two thirds of these posts andtweets were made by 4-H members and volunteers. Additionally, the Oregon 4-H Instagram page has overIdeas at Work Unique Approach to Creating and Implementing a Social Media Strategic Plan JOE 55(4)©2017 Extension Journal Inc. 11,000 engaged followers. Of the 36 counties in Oregon, 21 counties have opened and maintain a countyInstagram page.Figure 1. Examples of Youth- and Adult-Led Social Media Marketing Using Standardized HashtagsRecommendations for ImplementationIt is important to note that hashtags are not proprietary. Using a hashtag for a purpose different from the oneoriginally intended is referred to as "hashtag hijacking." Hashtag hijacking is not a common issue and often isdone not out of ill intent but by accident. This accidental hijacking often takes place when a generic orambiguous hashtag is created and has more than one applicable use. To decrease the risk of hashtaghijacking, make hashtags as specific, but as concise, as possible. Also, prior to promoting the use of a hashtag,check to see whether it is already being used by accessing a free online resource such as tagboard.com.Social media is a rapidly developing field that demands attention and a strategic plan. Using market research isvital to success and worth the effort to obtain. We have found that many marketing companies allow people orentities to request copies of reports to download for free if they meet certain criteria.ConclusionThe unique approach to creating a social media strategic plan described here has allowed Extensionprofessionals to support the use of social media for marketing a 4-H program in a meaningful way, withoutrequiring that any individual use a personal social media account. In addition, carrying out the objectives ofthe plan has not required Extension educators to learn a new social media platform, yet support has beenprovided to those who wish to do so.ReferencesCooper, J., Cox, J. N., & Corbin, M. A. (2012). Social media in diabetes education: A viable option? Journal ofIdeas at Work Unique Approach to Creating and Implementing a Social Media Strategic Plan JOE 55(4)©2017 Extension Journal Inc. 2Extension, 50(6), Article 6RIB3. Available at: http://www.joe.org/joe/2012december/rb3.phpCornelisse, S., Hyde, J., Raines, C., Kelley, K., Ollendyke, D., & Remcheck, J. (2011). EntrepreneurialExtension conducted via social media. Journal of Extension, 49(6), Article 6TOT1. Available at:http://www.joe.org/joe/2011december/tt1.phpHill, P. (2014). "Connecting" with your clients [on Facebook]. Journal of Extension, 52(2), Article 2COM2.Available at: http://www.joe.org/joe/2014april/comm2.phpHill, P. (2015, December 29). What is the impact of social media? Retrieved fromhttp://www.paulallenhill.com/blog/what-is-the-impact-of-social-mediaIpsos MediaCT (2014). Social influence: Marketing's new frontier. Retrieved fromhttp://corp.crowdtap.com/socialinfluence.php?submitted=1Kinsey, J. (2010). Five social media tools for the Extension toolbox. Journal of Extension, 48(5), Article 5TOT7.Available at: http://www.joe.org/joe/2010october/tt7.phpLee, K. (2015, July 7). How to use hashtags: How many, which ones, and where to use them. Retrieved fromhttps://blog.bufferapp.com/a-scientific-guide-to-hashtags-which-ones-work-when-and-how-manyNewbury, E., Humphreys, L., & Fuess, L. (2014). Over the hurdles: Barriers to social media use in Extensionoffices. Journal of Extension, 52(5), Article 5FEA1. Available at: http://www.joe.org/joe/2014october/a1.phpPiper Jaffray. (2014). Taking stock with teens. Retrieved from http://www.piperjaffray.com/3col.aspx?id=3045Copyright © by Extension Journal, Inc. ISSN 1077-5315. Articles appearing in the Journal become the propertyof the Journal. Single copies of articles may be reproduced in electronic or print form for use in educational ortraining activities. Inclusion of articles in other publications, electronic sources, or systematic large-scaledistribution may be done only with prior electronic or written permission of the Journal Editorial Office, joe-ed@joe.org.If you have difficulties viewing or printing this page, please contact JOE Technical SupportIdeas at Work Unique Approach to Creating and Implementing a Social Media Strategic Plan JOE 55(4)©2017 Extension Journal Inc. 3

Unique Approach to Creating and Implementing a Social Media Strategic Plan

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Unique Approach to Creating and Implementing a Social Media Strategic Plan

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