Okay, so you have several social media profiles (at least three, but no more than five) and you login at least once a day.

But are you really doing enough to engage with your followers, colleagues, and customers in a more effective and meaningful way?

Do you feel like you’re just wasting your time online?

Could you use a little perspective?

Here are nine things you can do one to three times a day to keep up and keep going in social media.

1. Set goals for the day/week. What are you using your social media presence for? Marketing? Outreach? Networking? Research? To increase sales? When you know the WHY of your social media presence, you can focus on creating content and engaging with your community in a way that really matters.

2. Set a time limit. If you knew you only had an hour to spend online everyday, you would be more productive and efficient.

3. Schedule your status updates. Social Media clients like Hootsuite allow you to schedule status updates up to a month in advance, a timesaving tool you should not be missing out on. Schedule announcements for upcoming events and sales, as well as blog posts, and use the time you save for other important tasks.

4. Share your favorite resources. What brings value to your life on a day-to-day basis? This can be both personal and professional. Create a conversation around the tools you use to make your life more meaningful and invite others to share theirs.

5. Share the laughs. We can all use a good laugh every now and again, so if you’ve come across something you think is absolutely LMAO, by all means share it. BUT, please exercise discretion and common decency in your choice. Keep it clean (nuances are okay), suitable for viewing work, and least likely to offend. Everyone.

6. Share your inspiration and motivations. What gets you out of bed everyday? Do you have favorite quotes or poems you refer to throughout the week to keep you motivated? Do you have a favorite tool, book, or person you can always rely on to keep your spirits up? There’s nothing like opening up to show your community that a real person does indeed exist behind that status update.

7. Ask questions. Humans love knowing what they know and they especially love talking about themselves, so ask your community questions about something you’d like to learn more about, ask them what a day in their life looks like, ask them about their values, concerns, and what their goals are. By doing this, you’ll build trust by connecting on a deeper level, and you can use what you learn to shape your marketing messages so that you’re really speaking to your target audience.

8. Talk about yourself. A little shameless self-promotion is healthy, so let the world know about your recent accomplishments and breakthroughs. If you’re a consultant, share how you helped a client work through a challenge or how your brilliance turned a sinking project into smooth sailing.

9. Share the love. 49% percent of Americans believe that online word of mouth marketing is highly credible, so share what you like about other businesses, even if they’re your competitors. You’ll gain trust and respect from your followers, and eventually, other brands will return the favor.

And here are a couple of don’ts for you to keep in mind:

Don’t oversell. Social media isn’t a space to hawk your product or service. Yes, you’re in business to make money and you should certainly tell your community what you’re offering, but the quickest way to lose followers and alienate customers is to always be selling.

Don’t call names. You may have a burning need to share something that has you seeing red, but be professional about it. You can use the opportunity to create dialogue around the issue, but always practice etiquette and customer service. Once it’s posted, you can never take it back, so be mindful of the tone and content of your words.

You may have noticed a recurring theme – share – throughout this list and it’s one you really need to understand if you want to a successful social media presence.

Sharing is at the core of social media, so be open and share your love, knowledge, and respect for all things you, your brand, and your industry.

What are your favorite ways to engage with your community online?

If you liked this post and still feel lost about what you should be doing on social media, sign up for my Social Media Agenda, my weekly how-to that offers specific tips, tools, and tricks to more effective online engagement. Click here to learn more

I received this email from Councilman Brad Lander, who represents the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Park Slope,
Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, and Kensington: 

Last week, I joined some of your neighbors at a meeting to support workers at Golden Farm supermarket. The store has been the site of many protests recently, because for years its workers were forced to work long hours for less than minimum wage.

At the meeting, Golden Farm employees spoke passionately about their fight to gain fair wages at the store and improve working conditions. They said that Golden Farm had threatened they would lose their jobs if they tried to organize.

The workers told us that their efforts so far have been working. Things have already started getting better at Golden Farm, but still fall far short of what most of us – and the law – would find acceptable. We need to increase the pressure on Golden Farm by making sure that the neighborhood knows about this important struggle.

Can you support the workers at Golden Farm? Please join us for door knocking in Kensington to help spread the word:

Weekday Shifts: 12:00-3:00 PM or 5:30-7:30 PM 
Thursday, February 2^nd
Friday, February 3^rd
Wednesday, February 8^th
Thursday, February 9^th
Friday, February 10^th

Weekend Shifts:
Saturday, February 4^th, 2 PM – 5 PM

Please let me know, by emailing lander@council.nyc.gov, if you can join us.

Rally to support Golden Farm workers
There is a rally on Saturday, February 11^th, from 2 – 3:30 PM, in front of Golden Farm supermarket, to support the workers. This is our chance to call for fair wages and decent treatment for the people who work at Golden Farm supermarket. I hope to see you there.

I know that Golden Farm has been a popular store in the neighborhood, but none of us want a good deal coming at the cost of a fair paycheck for the store’s staff. Let’s keep working for strong neighborhood businesses that have the community’s support and are good neighbors in return.

##

This reminds of me of the labor practices of Amish Market and Garden of Eve.

Have they come to their senses yet?

aka Gag Me with This Post-Black Nonsense!

When Carter G. Woodson, historian, author, and journalist founded Negro History Week in 1926, his goal was to highlight and recognize the contributions of Negros [sic] to U.S. American culture, industry, and commerce, as well point out the diversity of Negro culture and achievement.

Today, despite having grown from a week to a month and becoming a Nationally recognized and celebrated campaign, the origins and intentions of Black History Month have been diminished, ridiculed, and essentially, lost.

Growing up, black history was a part of my everyday life. I learned about the history of enslaved Africans and their descendents through books, films, music, plays, games, black vernacular, storytelling, fashion, and most importantly, food.

I don’t care to debate on whether or not the conscious acknowledgement of black American history during one month allows that history to be ignored for the remaining eleven months of the year. Nor do I care to argue about the commercialization of the experience of Black History Month.

What I am interested in addressing is how structural racism and normative whiteness continues to deny all people of color visibility throughout history and the present day.

I’m looking at the work that I do, especially in my own community and wonder why I rarely see people of color in leadership positions. I go to meetings and see that the policy makers do not include the (black and/or low-income) communities the decisions are being made for, or, at the very least, their input. I’m reading blogs that cover food and farming, specifically those that discuss access, food justice, and farmworker issues, and I wonder why they rarely include the voices of the very people affected by the inequities they are bringing awareness too.

I know hundreds of black (and brown, yellow, and red) folks across the country doing what I do (building and empowering communities around food and food sovereignty), but when I read popular blogs that highlight that work, they are not there.

I think about projects I’ve worked on that haven’t been successful, and wonder why the leadership found it easier to blame the recipients, or me, instead of looking at how the organization failed to recognize the ways in which their racialized consciousness and praxis affected the desired outcome.

Every time I read about “the first black person to ___________”, every time I attend a food and farming event and I am the only person there that looks like me, every time someone is surprised that I would be interested in agriculture, it reaffirms the necessity of a Black History Month.

And as long as structural racism and normative whiteness continues to pervade all aspects of U.S. American culture, Black History Month is still necessary.

I’m looking forward to spending the next 28 days highlighting the contributions, past and present, of U.S. Americans of African descent working passionately and tirelessly to transform their community’s relationship with food, farming, the outdoors, and the environment.

And not just because it’s Black History Month, but because I can no longer wait for someone else to think it’s necessary and important.

Le Sigh. Are the writers at Yahoo! living under a rock? Judging by this lazy, poorly researched article, I’d say, yes.

Or maybe the writer penned this during Wikipedia’s blackout?

Possibly, considering that he doesn’t seem to know about innovations in production agriculture, both rural and urban, like hydroponics, aquaponics, large-scale rooftop farming, and urban planning initiatives across the country to increase green spaces and improve food access by (hyper)localizing.

Currently:

- About 58,000 jobs annually
- Only about 39,000 Ag graduates nationwide including advanced degrees
- Ag placement rate w/in six mos of graduation is above 90% as compared to national average below 50%.

(from Cause Matters)

The author also doesn’t seem to know about this new crop of farmers, or these kids, or even this guy.

And what about the move towards more energy-efficient, off-the-grid practices like solar and wind to power equipment and facilities?

If the University of Idaho has to cut their ag programs, it has more to do with their inability to evolve and adapt to the changing face of agriculture in the U.S. then lack of job prospects.

On-farm waste management technology, anyone?

New Direct-to-Consumer distribution models, anyone?

Farmer and Eater-led regional food systems, anyone?

Anyone? 

If the writer was only looking at traditional employment prospects, sure, maybe these degrees are outdated. But if you’re a part of the good food movement, then you know that the jobs these degrees will serve will be the ones you create.

What say you?

Just a few months ago, my fridge was full to the brim of leafy greens, roots and eggs. At one point, I could barely keep up with my lofty culinary intentions and the fridge, as friend and colleague Olivia put it, became the place where vegetables went to die.

Today, I’m staring at an empty fridge and I’m feeling rather odd and out of place.

For 2012 I am making several changes to my relationship with food. The highlight is that some of these changes are for the new me (as yet and to remain undefined). The low point is that it hasn’t been very well thought out (typical me).

First, I’ve cut off my main food supply: my CSA.
For three years, I volunteered as a core member for the Bed-Stuy Farm Share in exchange for free produce. It was an amazing experience for me, not only because I saved several hundred dollars in produce and eggs, but because I also had an opportunity to experience my neighborhood in ways I never got to as a child (saving that for a later post).

Second, I’m traveling more.
At least, I aim to travel more, and that makes the issue of having all that food rather moot. This month alone I’m out of NYC for two weeks of the month. I won’t be around to tend to my former CSA duties this spring/summer, which also means no more good food on a weekly basis.

Third and lastly, I’m thinking now’s the time to explore a new dietary philosophy or two with more consciousness: Real Food and Paleo.
I’ve played around with some of the tenets of both philosophies (clean eating, whole foods, good quality fats, pastured-raised meat, poultry, and eggs, lacto-fermented foods) with immeasurable results in the past. And since dairy and I need to take another timeout (damn sinuses), I haven’t craved grains (not even my beloved quinoa!) in quite some time, and I really need to cut out white flour (damn sinuses) a Real Food/Paleo experiment is in order.

So now this leaves me to answer:

What to Eat? 

How should I buy groceries – every few days, once a day? 

How will I eat on the road?

Stay tuned, as I’ll be working these questions out over the next several weeks.

You’re welcome to share your thoughts and perspectives in the comments.

NOFA-NY’s ORGANIC RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM

CONTACT: FOR RELEASE:

Jessica Chittenden Ziehm Immediately, Wednesday

518-457-3136 January 11, 2012

STATE OFFERS FUNDS TO DEVELOP REGIONAL “BUY LOCAL” CAMPAIGNS

Federal Specialty Crop Funds Support Regional Efforts in Promoting “Buy Local”

New York State Agriculture Commissioner Darrel J. Aubertine today announced the availability of $200,000 in funds to support new and existing regional “buy local” food and agricultural campaigns throughout the State. This program is funded by a USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant and will be conducted in coordination with the State’s Pride of New York Program.

“There’s no doubt that consumers want to buy locally produced food,” the Commissioner said. “What we have found is that regional “buy local” campaigns further raise the profile of local products in a specific region and they often have the opportunity to provide a range of services and activities that help local producers market their products and assist consumers in identifying local products.”

The goal of the Regional “Buy Local” Campaign Development Program is to increase consumer awareness, increase recognition in the marketplace, and increase sales of locally produced foods and agricultural products in eleven defined agricultural regions.

Eligible proposals must reflect each region’s geography, agricultural production, local cultural identity and other unique attributes or specialties. They must help promote a broad-range of USDA-defined specialty crops, and they must also work synergistically with other regional “buy local” campaigns in the State, as well as the Pride of New York Program.

With $200,000 in federal Specialty Crop Block Grant funds, each region is eligible to receive $18,550, of which $2,800 is allocated to create a regional brand, and up to $2,750 for the development of a marketing/media plan. The remaining $13,000 can be used for implementing the marketing/media plan, which can include advertisements, the creation of promotional materials, website design, public outreach and more. As part of the grant award, the Department will provide professional and creative services for each region to help develop their regional brands, create individual websites and develop a multi-year marketing/media plan.

Government entities, not-for-profits, tourism boards and Industrial Development Authorities are all eligible to apply. Applications are available online at www.agriculture.ny.gov or by calling 518-457-7229. Applications are due into the Department by February 23, 2012.

The Pride of New York is the statewide umbrella promotion program for New York State food and agricultural products, offering New York producers and processors a variety of tools and resources to help them market and promote their products, while also helping consumers identify New York products.

The State’s eleven agricultural regions as defined in this RFP are: The Adirondacks, Thousand Islands-Seaway, Greater Niagara, Chautauqua-Alleghany, Finger Lakes, Central New York, Capital-Saratoga, The Catskills, Hudson Valley, New York City and Long Island. A map is provided in the RFP.

###

Jessica Ziehm

NYS Department of Agriculture & Markets

518-457-3136