Poultry industry should connect with consumers through social media

Consumers are talking using social media to form their opinions on topics such as animal welfare and food safety, and the poultry and feed industries need to be part of the dialogue, according to David Armano, executive vice president of Edelman Digital.
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• Social media essential for poultry experts
Armano, who spoke at the International Poultry Scientific Forum luncheon sponsored by Novus International on January 23 at the International Poultry Expo, focused on four distinct areas where he said people are gathering their information: traditional media, new media such as blogs, social media and owned media such as company websites. They find information from all four sources, and often place equal value in opinions from all four areas.
“People are looking for expert opinions to help them cut through the noise on many topics,” said Armano. “They value the opinion of academics and experts from companies, and you should be working at getting those opinions out there in all of these channels.” That means having your experts participating in discussions on social media sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn, using Twitter, blogging and adding expert content to company and media websites. This can create a positive message for your cause and your company, which is becoming more and more important. “Consumers don’t care how much you know unless they know how much you care,” said Armano.
See a video summary of Armano’s talk, available here.