Car Rides and Reflections

As I reflect on this past semester and the lessons learned, I’m currently en route to Madison, Wisconsin to visit with friends who are hops farmers and then support my husband’s cousin who will be participating in Madison’s Ironman race tomorrow…literally all day tomorrow.  As I sit in the passenger seat, watching 200 miles of corn pass me, it stuck me the connection both scenarios have with social media.

Take our friends the Dave and Christie Lietz, owners and operators of Lietz Hop Yards.  They utilize social media, primarily Facebook, to provide the latest updates on their farm and harvest to not only friends and family but also to potential hops buyers.  They share beautiful photos of the grounds and crops, as well as content from local brewers, as presumably those who follow a hops farm would also be interested in brewery-relevant content.  Social media provides them with the perfect opportunity to give real-time updates from their farm, as well as interact with fans, potential brewers and share similar content increasing b-to-b interactions.   

Tomorrow, as we embark on an all day marathon of viewing an all-day Ironman race, we will rely heavily on social media.  In preparation, we’ve visited blogs to find the best viewing spots and to gather spectator strategies.  We plan to take a lot of Instagram photos chronicling the day, and his sister-in-law is sure to post a few dozen Facebook photos.  We’ve also downloaded an app where we can follow his every move.  No doubt Cousin Mike has utilized Twitter, Facebook and blogs in preparation for his big race, researching expert information on training and nutrition.   

This semester has reinforced the remarkable amount of information that is accessible through the Internet and shared via social media.  Of course, in this super fast environment of info sharing, immediate news delivery, and news stories being condensed into 140 characters or less, great caution must be taken by consumers, media and PR professionals to ensure accuracy and credibility.  And brands, both big and small, should focus on the genuine conversations consumers want to have with them and appreciate the value of a like, a share, a retweet, a comment, etc., while trying to refrain from directly correlating these interactions into sales.  Social media is a wonderful way to share engaging stories, and no one wants to get to the end of a great story and then hear “So, what do you think…you want to buy it?”

Hopping off to the hops farm!