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Almond Facts
SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2015
SOCIAL MEDIA
BRIDGES GAP FROM
FARM TO CONSUMER
In June, two Central Valley agriculturalists created the slogan
“My Job Depends on Ag” and generated a fan following on Facebook.
Currently, the group has close to 30,000 members, the page has more than 3,000 likes, and the slogan
is a bumper sticker and a hashtag (#myjobdependsonag) on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. This movement,
amid the continuing drought conversation, has allowed for heightened agricultural visibility along with those
whose livelihood depends on it. This is a perfect example of social media’s power and grassroots influence.
The way people communicate today is vastly different as smartphone technology took hold in 2007 with Apple’s iPhone
launch. Reliance on and trust in traditional news media is declining while popularity of social media is increasing, steadily.
Approximately 74 percent of American adults use a social networking site today, that’s 235
million people in the United States using some type of social media.
This new ability to communicate directly and instantly with audiences provides
opportunities to businesses and industries, including agriculture, to connect in real time.
Through digital platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram growers can provide
insight on their farm, crop and the industry they grow in.
By using social media, growers can tell their own story in their own voice and show followers
where the food on their table comes from. Because there is such a large amount of the
BY MALLORIE HAYES
