b'S T R A T E G Y A featured segment designed to help you in the realm of retail seed sales. Social Medias an Investment. Make Sure Youre Using it RightIts time to stop ignoring social media and see how it can propel your business into the future.Alex MartinSOCIAL MEDIA CANbe a bear for companies to dive into. Theres Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, InstagramYoure generating that word of mouth, essentially.Now Tiktok as well? With so many different platforms toThat can help roll things into a bigger audiences view. choose from, its difficult to Sarah Cornelisseknow where to start. And, when you feel discouraged, you might even want to give it up. But, social medias becoming more important for businesses to use.According to the Pewmessages reach further toCreating that idea ofsays. If youre not using them Research Center, arounddifferent audiences. On ourtone, voice and culture helpspersonally, start talking to seven in 10 Americans useSeed World Strategy webinar,because people are looking topeople that you interact with social media to connect withtwo expertsCharles Tweedengage with brands that sharein your business and ask them one another, engage withand Sarah Cornelissejoinedthe same valuesTweedwhat theyre using. Then, join news content, share informa- to talk about what goes intobelieves thats going to bethose platformsspend time tion and entertain themselvessocial media strategy and howimportant today and pro- not thinking about how youwhich is a stark differenceto tackle it if youre feelingpelled into the future.would use it for your busi-even from 10 years ago inoverwhelmed by the task. And, if youre lost for aness, but just spend time on it 2012, when only about 53% ofstarting point when it comesto see how other people are U.S. adults used social media.Start with a Plan to social media, Cornelisseusing it.Its becoming more andIf theres one thing Tweedsays not to sweat itinstead,When youre working on more apparent that socialbelieves you need to knowstart with some research. social media personally, youre media isnt something busi- before diving into socialIf you dont have muchable to sit, look for businesses nesses can ignore. Marketingmedia, the first step is easy. social media experience, yousimilar to your own and check is going digital, and more andWhen you think aboutreally want to take some timeout different groups to under-more people are looking tosocial media, dont overthinkto learn and get comfortablestand the types of conversa-engage with brands online toit, Tweed, owner of Tweedia,with the different platforms,tions people are having. learn about their stories.says. Its the ability to connectCornelisse, senior ExtensionTheyre looking for a com-And, while you might thinkwith people that share like- associate of agricultural entre- munity, she adds. You want its different in agriculture minded interests. When youpreneurship and businessto be able to engage them its not. start to talk about social mediamanagement at Penn Statein those communities and Seed and agribusinessesfor business, you can reallyUniversity in the Departmentunderstand the language that need to have a social mediastart to develop some culture,of Agricultural Economics,takes place on social media.plan in place to help theirsome tone, some voice. Sociology and Education,Not only that, but experi-62/ SEEDWORLD.COMINTERNATIONAL EDITION 2023'