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Survey says 50% of farmers use social media

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Survey says 50% of farmers use social media

A new Farm Credit Canada (FCC) Vision Panel survey shows that about half of
Canadian producers (54 per cent) surveyed have caught the social media bug,
using at least one network.

June 15, 2010, Guelph, Ont.
– A new Farm Credit Canada (FCC) Vision Panel survey shows that about half of
Canadian producers (54 per cent) surveyed have caught the social media bug,
using at least one network.

And they plan to increase
the amount of time they spend using social media in the future.

“We wanted to obtain information about the growing trend toward social
media use – whether and how producers were incorporating it in their
operations,” explains FCC vice president of Western Ontario operations, Barry
Smith. “Producers have always adopted new technology to grow their business, so
it was interesting to find out how they were using this new information
channel.”

“While the survey showed that producers
who use social media are much more likely to use it for personal (54 per cent)
versus business reasons (30 per cent), there are opportunities to incorporate
social media into a number of areas – such as research, making business
connections and promoting agriculture as an important part of society and the
economy,” says Kellie Garrett, FCC senior vice-president of strategy, knowledge and
reputation.

Online producers
identified the following main business uses for social media:

• Research/Seeking
  information – 44 per cent
• Remain current with
  industry news – 19 per cent
• Network with other
  producers – 13 per cent
• Advertise your product – 9
  per cent
• Build network of customers
  – 7 per cent
• Network with
  current/potential suppliers – 4 per cent
• Promote agriculture – 3
  per cent

Four in 10 producers who
are online (44 per cent) state that they spent more time using social media
this year compared to last year. Non-users say they don’t have the time (43 per
cent) or they don’t see value in using social media (30 per cent). Age is a
driving factor in determining whether or not a producer uses social media. When
using social media for personal use, Facebook is the application most commonly
used by producers.

The
survey was sent to 1,636 Vision panelists, including both primary producers and
agriculture-related businesses. Of these, 883 completed the survey,
translating to a 54 per cent response rate.

FCC
Vision Panel survey findings and be viewed at www.fccvision.ca/research.