May 14, 2020

WG COVID-19 #AgIsEssential Social Media Campaign Tops One Million Reached

In an effort to highlight the extraordinary responses of Western Growers (WG) members to the COVID-19 crisis, WG launched an #AgIsEssential social media campaign in early April. To date, the campaign – which features selfie-style videos of WG members and compelling infographics – has reached nearly 1.2 million people on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

In an array of videos, WG members have shared positive messages about the role of agriculture in providing a safe, secure and healthy food supply in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, and have detailed the countless measures being taken to protect an essential workforce. 

Using the #AgIsEssential hashtag, the videos and graphics are tied together across WG’s social media platforms, including FacebookTwitter and Instagram. Since early April, #AgIsEssential videos have been viewed more than 250,000 times, and more than 36,000 people have liked, commented or shared #AgIsEssential posts.

Because of its significant impact, WG plans to extend the campaign for the foreseeable future, and is encouraging all members to participate by recording selfie videos on their smart phones answering either or both of the following questions:

  1. If you could say one thing to the public about your farming operation or the agriculture industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, what would it be?
  2. What is your farming operation doing to ensure the health and safety of your workers during the COVID-19 pandemic?

We encourage you to record your video horizontally and in a field or where activity is occurring, being mindful of background noise and wind (use your body to shield the wind, if you can). Introduce yourself, where you are standing, and keep your comments brief, under a minute if you can. And remember, it is always easier to show rather than tell, so use visuals to help tell your story.

Please contact Cory Lunde at [email protected] if you have any questions, need further guidance, or would like to submit a video.

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