Farming News - Social media-savvy growers needed for 'Digital Potato Ambassador' roles
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Social media-savvy growers needed for 'Digital Potato Ambassador' roles
Potato Council is searching for enthusiastic, social media-savvy volunteers to join a team of ‘Digital Potato Ambassadors’ to help spread the word that potatoes are healthy and sustainable, easy-to-cook and great value for money.
Following the success of the Potato Ambassador project, which saw two teams of ten Ambassadors from across England, Wales and Scotland promote potatoes on television, radio and in newspapers and magazines, the new digital team will be responsible for continuing to share important messaging to their own online community.
There are two different Ambassador positions available: ‘VIP Ambassadors’ will need to commit to at least one weekly tweet; in return they will receive social media training if required and monthly messages and support from Potato Council. ‘Campaign Ambassadors’ will be required to post weekly during the month of a planned promotional campaign, such as Potato Week (6-12 October 2014) and Chip Week (16-22 February 2015). They will receive campaign related messaging from Potato Council to support the marketing campaigns.
Potato Council marketing manager, Kate Cox, said: “Technology has now made it easier for people to access the web, for example a third of visitors to the Love Potatoes website access the page via Smart phone or tablet, whereas only 3% access it via a desktop computer. This change in technology calls for a change in roles which is why we are now recruiting a team of ‘Digital Potato Ambassadors’ to communicate key messaging throughout the year.
“We are looking for a team of enthusiastic potato and seed growers who own and manage their own Twitter account or blog and use the page regularly for either personal or business purposes. The amount of time they put into this role is entirely dependent upon their available time, so for example the VIP position requires weekly commitment, but if they are social media savvy, tweeting should be second nature to them, however if time is limited growers can still sign up to support our campaigns by becoming a ‘Campaign Ambassador’ where they only need to tweet during a campaign month. The more support we have to promote positive messages about potatoes, the better it will be for the industry as a whole.”
Recruitment for both roles will take place between June and September and the Digital Potato Ambassadors will be in place by October 2014. The teams will have their roles reviewed every two years and will have the opportunity to re-apply or stand down.
Applications can be made by emailing marketingl@potato.ahdb.org.uk