Breakout session presented at the Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Human Sciences (ACE) Conference in New Orleans, 2017. Presentation by Dr. Lauri M. Baker, Audrey E. H. King, and Dr. Kristina Boone.

1. Engaging online through
community-based social
marketing
Lauri M. Baker, Audrey E. H. King, & Kris Bone

2. What is “engagement”?
• Universities working with larger communities,
characterized by
• Mutual benefit and reciprocity
• Exchange of resources and knowledge
• Linked with public and private sectors
• Work with (not on) communities
• Community must talk about the problem in their own
terms
• NOT an expert-driven/information-deficit model

3. We are asking you to engage:
You get beads when you
participate in this workshop

4. A little history
• 1930s/1940s, Cooperative Extension
• Focus on developing community in addition to problem solving
• Problem solving not just technically but in context
• Provided discussion guides to local agents on how to convene
and facilitate discussion
• Model changed in 1950s to become experts providing
information
• Information age challenges the expert-driven model

5. Recent Studies
• Communities where Extension agents were engaged
tended to experience producers who had implemented
best management practices
• Integrated and engaged Extension agents are more
effective
• Engaging and communicating with constituents would
support producers to implement better practices

6. Community-Based Social Marketing
• Strategy for behavior change, particularly related to
sustainable behaviors
• Steps of CBSM:
1. Select behavior to promote
2. Identify the barriers and benefits
3. Develop a strategy
• Source of communication was essential to consider
4. Pilot the plan
5. Evaluate

7. Community-Based Social Marketing
• Identifying barriers is an important step but is often skipped.
• People think they already understand the barriers.
• Behavior change is best influenced by vivid and personal
communication.
• Know the audience
• Understand different sectors of the audience

8. Elaboration Likelihood Model
• Messages are processed either centrally or peripherally
• Centrally processed messages
• More relevant to the listener
• More likely to be acted upon
• Analyzed more heavily
• Peripherally processed messages
• Low motivation and ability to process
• Less likely to achieve a lasting behavior change

9. Local
Constituents
Local
Extension
Agent
Local
Extension
Agent
University
Research
Model of Extension based on Rasmussen, 1989

10. Community-Based Elaboration Marketing
Local
Constituents
Local
Extension
Agent
Local
Extension
Agent
University
Research

11. Community-Based Elaboration Marketing
1. Establish strong community connections
4. Deliver prompts with vivid personal
communications
5. Community established social norms
2. Select Behavior
3. Develop strategy with behavior-change tools
with community members
• Become a trusted
source
• Identify opinion
leaders
• Vivid visual and
personalized
communications
• Consider audience
• Identify barriers
and benefits

12. Moving It Online
• 1. Connect with people
• Ask people to
• “join your community”
• “join the discussion”
• “come learn with us”
• Then ask for the like or follow
• Identify key people to follow, like, and share
• Make sure they know what they will get – be transparent

13. Moving It Online
• 2. Evaluate your behavior and make it relevant online
• Remove barriers for people connecting with you online
• 3. Strategy with behavior change and online adaptation
• Use your online tools
• Online quizzes are great
• Think engagement
• Ask for interaction
• Ruralengagement.org

14. Moving It Online
• 4. Prompts
• Remind people how to engage with you online
• Put it on all marketing materials
• Announce it at sessions
• Make it easy – short URLs, scannables, etc.
• Contests
• Make it personal
• Segregate your lists
• Use A/B split testing

15. Moving It Online
• 5. Norms
• When people ask for info – give it to them, but remind them to follow you and
look for it on social media
• Make your sites “the place to go”
• Get your opinion leaders on Board
• Use faculty, agents, staff, community members, and other opinion leaders
• K-State Agronomy http://www.agronomy.k-state.edu

16. Let’s Put This in Action
• When in the south…
• Prepare for a hurricane
• How can we improve these plans through what we now know?
• LSU
• http://www.lsu.edu/eoc/severe-weather/hurricane-preparedness.php
• UF IFAS
• http://solutionsforyourlife.ufl.edu/hot_topics/disaster_prep/hurricane_prep_f
c.shtml

17. Applying This To Your Work
What is a major communication challenge in
your work where you can apply this
framework?
• Take some time to walk through applying
this framework
• Share your problem…it helps

18. Questions?
• Continue the conversation
• RuralEngagement.org