Work a day job but still want to access information that can help you out on the farm? Tired of driving for hours to get to seminars that are only an hour or two long?
“Explore Local,” an Alberta Agriculture initiative, has created a series of free webinars that help producers involved in the local food industry to access the information they need.
Eileen Kotowich, farmers market specialist with Alberta Agriculture in Vermilion, says webinars are a good tool to get the word out on specific topics.
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“Webinars are just another tool and way for us to connect with our producers. Some people cannot take the time to get out to workshops. A webinar works really well because it’s short, it’s really topic focused and if people can’t make it live, they can always view it after.”
Explore Local held face-to-face workshops in the past, but decided to offer a new series of webinars focusing on social media this year. Attendance at last year’s webinars, which focused on everything from pricing to regulatory issues, varied from 15 to 55 people. Over 300 people participated in last year’s webinars or watched them in the archives.
Kotowich says no advanced computer skills are required, and the registration link will advise participants how to access free software if needed. “You don’t need to be a computer whiz to take a webinar,” said Kotowich.
Participants will learn best practices and ways to incorporate social media into their business strategies and marketing plans. The first webinar on Sept. 17 will be led by Rob Eirich, who will discuss the different social media tools and how to use them to engage customers to increase brand loyalty.
David West will lead other webinars on using Facebook, blogging, Pinterest, Twitter and managing social media tools. Eirich will return for another webinar on cloud computing and business applications. The final webinar will feature a success story from a business that has effectively used social media tools. The webinars last for about an hour.
Margurite Thiessen, value chain specialist with Alberta Agriculture in Stony Plain, says producers have expressed interest in learning more about social media, since it seems to be a valuable way of connecting with customers and clients. Thiessen recommended these webinars for any new entrepreneur or existing company who wishes to use social media as part of their marketing plan.
There’s no cost for the webinars, but participants need to register for them ahead of time. A list of dates and times and links to register are at www.explorelocal.ca. All of the webinars are archived and available on the website.
