Tipping Isn’t Just for Cows: 5 Beginner AgBlogging Tips

1.) Determine your goals: Like most endeavors a road map to your destination will increase your chance of arrival. Just as a map helps us travel, a list of goals will help your blog become successful. On paper, brainstorm a list of accomplishments for

Photo credit: IQMatrix.com

Photo credit: IQMatrix.com

your blog. Then choose three achievable goals, set a date for completion and begin your journey. Remember to hold yourself accountable for these goals by reassessing your blog on those completion dates.

2.) Link to other blogs: The world wide web is just that. A web of conversations. Conversations which rely on hyperlinks to keep everyone connected and the conversation functioning. They are beneficial to the blogger because the recipient blog will likely see that you’ve linked to them and out of curiosity check out your blog. They may even providing you with a fresh channel of readership by linking to your blog.

3.) Comment, comment, comment: As you comment on other people’s blogs remember that you are increasing your blog’s visibility. This occurs by driving traffic to your blog and increasing your search engine ranking.

4.) Be unique: Re-visit your blogging goals. Most likely you are blogging to help connect people from the gate to the plate. So are many others. What will set you apart from the rest? If you have another hobby, be sure to introduce your readers. For instance, you may be a scrap booking farm mom, a fisherman farm dude or a bike racing, dairyman. Employing your past times will also increases the chances of creating a solid connection with your reader. Your reader will appreciate the higher value of your blog and become a loyal visitor.

5.) Be conversational: At times you may feel stumped and in a writing slump. Its happens easily and to many more people than you think. A great exercise is finding a quiet place to sit. Then begin breathing in and out ten times. Next, imagine yourself sitting down at the kitchen table with a friend over coffee. Think about how the conversation may begin to roll. Concentrate on conversing, not lecturing or teaching. As you consider what is being said begin to outline your upcoming post in your mind. Once you’ve collected your thoughts, you should hopefully find a renewed energy to write.

We are always looking for great ways we can help new bloggers. What are some of your best tips?

Filed Under: Social Media Tips Tagged With: ,
February 8, 2013 By

Resolutions or Goals

Last week ACF held a New Year themed #AgChat. It was invigorating to see so many new and old faces developing plans for 2013. The most interesting trend was the amount of people who were making New Agvocacy GoalsYear’s goals rather than resolutions. In fact, almost 90% of the participants had set goals on their agvocacy road maps.

We are now half-way through the month and are wondering how many have thrown their goals to the wayside?? Ouch. Well, we hope we can help super-charge you into getting back on track. Consider tackling some of these measurable goals:

  • Blog more.: = Blog at least once a week
  • Blog better.: = Create or begin using an editorial calendar
  • Videos: Master YouTube and make more videos = Make one video or vlog per month
  • Engagement: Be more proactive when writing. Use a more sensitive tone. Listen more. = Engage with at least one person a week
  • Feature guest bloggers = Feature two bloggers per month
  • Utilize Pinterest, Facebook and YouTube more. = Pin five times per week, post on Facebook two times per week, spend 15 min. per week ‘liking’ others videos
  • Show more pictures = Publish three photos per blog post
  • Tweet more = Tweet three times per day

Are you up for a challenge?

 

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January 18, 2013 By

December 11th, 2012 – AgChat Women Blogging About Ag

Women In AgWomen In Ag Do you feel there are topics only a women agriculture blogger could talk about? What are some of the activities women need to do to promote their blog? How should people in agriculture talk about agriculture while keeping non-aggies engaged? This AgChat bring together a conversation to highlight how women tell their story and share their experience in agriculture through social media.


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December 11, 2012 By

Evernote: A ‘must-have’ mobile app for AgNerds

by Dan Toland

I pride myself in finding the best mobile apps to keep me productive. You know, the ones that help me do a tad bit more than squash green piggies with disgruntled feathery friends.

I like to focus on apps that work on all platforms and gadgets. This avoids the whole Apple vs. Android vs. BlackBerry vs. Windows Phone vs. whatever else is out there issue, and just lets you get to work.

In this regard, Evernote tops the list of “must have” apps I always recommend to others.

Its concept is simple: “Remember everything.”

It takes awhile to fully understand the value of this. But once you finally remember to remember to use it to remember things, it may very well become your most-used app.

You’ll also travel a lot lighter without all those notebooks you used to have to drag around.

Here’s a look at some of the reasons to start using Evernote, and ways I’ve found it useful.

More than just Note-taking

Evernote is for note-taking, but it goes way beyond that. You can format your notes, making outlines, lists, reminders and more. It’s not just typed words, either. You can add photos, audio and other attachments, or just create separate notes for whatever format you would like.

Evernote Everywhere

Evernote is literally available on all of today’s mainstream devices and platforms. You can use it at Evernote.com, download a desktop version, or use the Evernote app on any smartphone or tablet. And since notes are automatically synchronized across your devices, you have access to them wherever, whenever and however you are able to access Evernote.

AMAZING Searches

Evernote can do the typical searches that help you find any word you have typed in any note you’ve ever created, but it gets better…it can also find words in the photos you have taken. How cool is that?! It will even recognize words in photos of handwritten notes (if you write legibly).

One of my first great moments with this was when I took a photo of my grandmother’s homemade ice cream recipe and saved it as a note. When I wanted to access it, all I had to do was search for the word “eggs” (because I remembered eggs were in the recipe). Lo and behold, up popped the photo with the word “eggs” highlighted in the picture. This is a great feature for those who like to clip recipes, classified ads and other items out of magazines, newspapers, etc.

Tagging and Sharing

Organize your notes by “tagging” each one with specific keywords. Then when you search for these keywords, all related notes will appear. You can also create “Notebooks” where you can save notes relating to specific topics.

Notes are private by default, but you can also share your notes with others. Keep your note private by emailing it or sending the link to it to others, or you can choose to make it public and post it to Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Web-clipping and email forwarding

Evernote Web Clipper is a browser add-on allowing you to save a webpage or selected portion of a page as a note in one click. You also get a special Evernote email address to which you can forward emails from your inbox to save as notes.

It’s FREE!

Although there are monthly limits, I have never reached them. A paid version is available for those who start using Evernote for everything. There are also some great free add-ons you can get from the Evernote Trunk, making the app even more adaptive to what you want it to be.

Here are some ways I’ve used Evernote

 

  • Jotting down meeting notes, shopping and to-do lists, Wi-Fi Router passwords, random ideas, drafting posts on the go.
  • Recording audio interviews and lectures/speeches, and leaving voice reminders for myself.
  • Snapping photos of powerpoint slides during presentations, things I would normally clip out of print publications, items I want to purchase (or receive as gifts!), parts I need to replace or model numbers I need to remember.
  • Taking photos of handwritten notes or agendas/documents only made available to me in paper format.
  • Planning trips: saving itineraries, confirmation numbers, receipts.
  • Forwarding emails with information I want to save for later.
  • Clipping entire web pages or portions of articles/blogs I want to keep.
  • Sharing notes with others.
  • Remembering where I parked at the airport during lengthy trips.
How do you use Evernote?

There are so many wonderful use cases out there for Evernote. I’ve only begun to scratch the surface here. Share how you use Evernote in the comments below!Dan Toland

Dan Toland is director of digital strategy at Ohio Farm Bureau Federation. He is passionate about integrating social technologies with collaborative environments for the betterment of the communities they serve. Follow Dan on Twitter @d_toland and @OhioFarmBureau.

Filed Under: #AgChat, Social Media Tips Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
October 4, 2012 By

Maintaining Positive Discussions While Blogging

by Mike Haley

When starting a blog there are many different things to consider. Passed the nuts and bolts of relaying information through the original design and structure, one blogging element is often forgot. A strategy to create a positive and respectful conversation in the comments following the blog and what to do when the conversation turns negative or, in some cases downright hostile.

The first step begins as you are writing the blog post, as the tone in which a post is written can set the stage for others to comment, either positively or negatively.  If a post is written to talk WITH the readers and respect their opinions, instead of talking AT them, readers tend to think more critically about what was said. It encourages your readership to engage in positive and constructive conversations that remain respectful, even when opinions on the subject can defer greatly.

Even when a very positive tone is taken there are often naysayers, trolls or haters may still be attracted to your blog. So what are some good and bad ways to respond to these comments?

1.) First, it’s important to read the comment that was left and try to understand the reader’s point of view.

2.) The biggest key to maintaining a professional and courteous dialogue with those who disagree is to remember you are not engaging in a debate, but a conversation.

3.) Any attempt to engage in a positive dialogue can help turn the conversation to a more positive tone.

4.) In cases when it’s unclear where the commenter stands, simply asking more background information can be a good start to the conversation. However, the reader may be overly passionate and have a sincere concern for the subject and is looking for a platform to voice their opinion. In this case it may be best to politely agree to disagree and move forward.

Often times the following mistakes are made, which only encourage more negativity, leading to a stalemate with harsh criticism towards the writer and other commenters. These mistakes include:

  • Dismissing others concerns – Too often the main concern addressed by the comment is overlooked and a different concern is addressed.  This only leads to more frustration and the perception of being sidestepped. Instead, be sure to fully read the comment and address the issue directly. If the concern is beyond ones understanding, be humble and admit it.
  • Stoop to their level – When getting attacked, it’s only human nature to become guarded and defensive.  This only encourages a continuing negative dialogue. When this happens take a deep breath, step back and then in a positive mindset, leave a constructive comment.
  • Ignore the comment – This is often the best way to end the conversation.  This can be a large mistake as no attempt was made to actually reach the reader and move passed any disagreements. It also leaves an unanswered viewpoint and an open window for other readers to continue a negative conversation.
  • Rally the troops – Blogs are not meant to be war zones.  When commentators are overwhelmed with others attacking their point of view, the opportunity for a true discussion is lost. Instead after the real concern for the comment is determined, reach out to one or two individuals that are knowledgeable about the subject and answer the comment positively.

Even when all attempts are made to be positive, it’s still possible for comments to be left in the form of hatred, racism, profanity or that can be a complete disregard to the blog’s community. In this case a responsibility statement of what is expected of your blog community should be posted. This lets commenters know what is expected of them and a platform is not created for them to stand on when their comment is moderated.

Regardless of your chosen approach, the key is finding the bright-side and positive possibilities in what could be a negative experience. Remaining positive from start to finish will allow you to do this effectively and learn, while having mutually beneficial conversations.

Mike Haley is a fifth generation farmer from Ohio who shares a vision with AgChat of empowering farmers and ranchers to connect communities through social media platforms and was one of the seven individuals who were instrumental in creating the foundation.  He maintains a website for his farm as well as blogs for Feedstuffs Foodlink and Just Farmers.

Filed Under: Social Media Tips Tagged With: , , ,
August 9, 2012 By
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