Members of the farming community will be encouraged to embrace and develop their use of social media at this year’s National Ploughing Championships by new company We Teach Social.
Amanda Webb and Lorna Sixsmith, owners of We Teach Social, are delivering social media workshops and offering free one-to-one social media training sessions throughout the three days of the ploughing championships from their stand in the Experience Carlow tent.
Webb and Sixsmith are offering training on Facebook, blogging, Twitter and Pinterest to businesspeople, farmers and anyone who would like to start a blog or commence tweeting.
Sixsmith has been blogging at Irish Farmerette for many years and believes that the benefits of social media for farmers are many – from showcasing the quality of Irish produce to increase sales to alleviating the isolation common in many rural areas.
Described as similar to a discussion group in your pocket, increasingly more farmers are using Twitter to connect with others, find answers to questions, stay informed, educate consumers, combat isolation and generally have a good chat from the comfort of their tractors and farmhouses.
Those booking online social media courses at the Ploughing can enjoy significant discounts and there will be prizes for those tweeting using the hashtag #digitalwellie.
The Tweeting Farmers team will also be promoting social media amongst farmers at the We Teach Social tent too. A ‘tweeting farmer’ will be tweeting from the Ploughing each day and bringing the news to followers worldwide.
AgriLand will naturally be linking in!
Tweeting Farmers team, from left, Anne Brady and Jess Zaffino, We Teach Social team – Amanda Webb and Lorna Sixsmith