Social Media How-to
Three social platforms explained by ANCW working group.
SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Feb. 3, 2015) — Through social media, the American National CattleWomen Inc. (ANCW) has reached more than 80.5 million consumers in 2014 alone. This impressive statistic was reached through 10 Twitter parties, four Instagram contests and two Pinterest beef recipe promotions, said Sarah Bohnenkamp, ANCW senior project manager.
Malorie Bankhead, assistant director of communications for the California Cattlemen’s Association and ANCW Social Media Working Group volunteer, explained some vocabulary basics during an ANCW Social Media & Online Advocacy Working Group session Feb. 3 at the Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show.To help ANCW members get more comfortable with these three social media platforms, Malorie Bankhead, assistant director of communications for the California Cattlemen’s Association and ANCW Social Media Working Group volunteer, explained some vocabulary basics during an ANCW Social Media & Online Advocacy Working Group session Feb. 3 at the Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show.
She admitted that comfort level will grow with time for CattleWomen unaccustomed to social media.
Twitter posts are limited to 140 characters, she explained. “Be brief, but be bold.”
A handle is the username in Twitter, signified by an @ sign. A hashtag — signified by a pound sign (#) before a word or string of words — acts as a search term, a conversation tracker and keyword, which can be made up. Retweeting is the act of sharing another person’s post (or tweet) with your own followers, and favoriting a tweet is showing the poster you liked it (but your followers won’t see it).
Instagram is a visual platform, she explained. To tag or mention is to insert or acknowledge someone in your post by using their handle. Direct messaging is messaging someone directly as if “behind closed doors.” The public will not see this message. Regram is to repost someone’s content from your own Instagram account, and the original poster is given credit. Comments allow you to post your thoughts on someone else’s post. A heart is the same as a like on Facebook or a favorite on Twitter; it lets someone know you enjoyed their post.
Pinterest is for, as Bankhead put it, craft-aholics and recipe-aholics. This serves as a digital bulletin board. A pin is a photo, recipe or a link to another website. A post is your own original content on this platform. A board is a space for you to organize your pins by category. Re-pin is reposting someone else’s pin on one of your boards.
Once you become comfortable with these three platforms, Bankhead and Bohnenkamp suggested following @AmericanCW and @BeefPros on all three platforms to contribute to the ANCW goal of reaching consumers. @AmericanCW is the member-oriented account and @BeefPros is the consumer-oriented account.
More Twitter parties, Instagram contests and Pinterest promotions are planned for 2015, and all CattleWomen are encouraged to contribute.
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