ePLATFORMS
My work and digitalization now
I work for ProAgria in Eastern Finland as a consultant for cattle feeding and milk production management. So my work is mainly planning cattle feeding and sparring entrepreneurs so that they get the best possible financial result in their work, especially in terms of milk production. When I started working, I prepared a certain list of clients that I was supposed to work for. Some of these customers have already stopped milk production, so the number has naturally decreased. Since the beginning, getting new clients has been up to me. How well I succeed in my work and how I am known has a lot to do with how much work I have. I feel that I have succeeded in my work, because I have steady work. The customers are therefore in contact with me because they have usually heard from someone they know that I have been good at my job.
The most used digital tool in my own work is definitely WhatsApp. It is my main communication channel. Customers like to send messages through it, because it is possible to send pictures, videos and even voice messages. In this way, much better observations of the cows can be obtained and even the success of feeding can be evaluated. In Whatsapp, group communication is also very easy.
In my own work, Facebook serves as a kind of marketing platform. On my own page, I share various customer references and some professional blog posts made by others. Our workplace also has its own Facebook pages. All willing employees get access to it, but there is no obligation to update. The workplace’s Facebook page often has all current events or things to remember.
Another platform with a slightly more free style is Instagram. I also use this in my own work for marketing, but also for getting a feel for everyday things. I have also noticed that I reach more of my own customers through Instagram than, for example, Facebook. I feel that I also get more contacts through Instagram than through Facebook. Maybe it has a lower threshold to contact in some way. It’s much easier to make different compilations and videos of your own work and activities on Instagram.
YouTube
Out of these four digital tools, Youtube is the one I use the least. The thing I use it for is to watch some project videos or product demos. As a search channel for factual information, I use it less. Many longer professional videos have been made for YouTube, so they can be viewed there. This is a channel that I could use more if I had more time.
New digital tools
Social media has entered our everyday life to stay. It takes a lot of time out of the day for many of us, maybe too much. You could call it one of its disadvantages. Another negative thing about social media is also its ”facelessness”, it’s easy to shout nasty things there without your own face. Facelessness is also related to the correctness of the information shared, how true the thing told is. Using social media is starting to be a bit difficult, also because of its scope and different channels. So you have to have the skill to choose the right channel for the content. However, it is still possible to be left out of social media and thus feel lonely. That’s why it would be important for us to know how to maintain good old face-to-face meetings as well.
No bad without good. If we didn’t have social media during the corona, we could be a lot more lonely than now. It was certainly a big help for many that it was possible to keep in touch with their own networks through social media when close contacts were otherwise limited. Otherwise, social media has made communication between people a lot easier.
Doodle
Doodle is a smart tool to support scheduling. I’ve only used doodle a few times, giving my own suitable time to someone else’s question. The various possibilities of using this seem to be quite extensive. At work, we agree schedules with other colleagues using the Outlook calendar. We see each other’s calendars, so it’s easy to see a suitable time from there. You could try using this doodle, for example, so that the customer could choose a time suitable for him, for example, for a visit to the premises made by me. Or if he wants me to call, he could make an appointment there as well. It’s a surprisingly large part of the day and week that goes into various scheduling agreements at my job.
YouTube
I have used YouTube as a viewer. This could also be used in another role, i.e. by creating content there. Youtube would be a good channel to create different videos, for example 10-minute customer references. So the video would work as a marketing video. Of course, videos can also be made for educational purposes. In order for this to be possible in my job description, the making of the video should probably be financed by an external project. In agriculture, as in other fields, there are YouTube users who have adopted YouTube as their channel and create content there from their professional field. Why couldn’t I also produce content for YouTube from the point of view of a cow feeding consultant?
Blogger
At work, a few of our colleagues have written blog posts on a joint blog. I don’t think I’ve written yet, but I could very well. In my opinion, creating my own blog in my job description would be a bit pointless and redundant, because I already have Instagram and Facebook in active use. However, a common blog is a good thing, because it is the responsibility of many people and this way it is a little easier to get content there.
TikTok
TikTok has become wildly popular recently. Many of my colleagues have joined it and know how to use it. I haven’t joined it myself. I would love to know how to use it. But I don’t feel like I have time to make content there. And I could comment the same as before, that I have already chosen my channels and I will stay with them now at least for the time being. Getting new followers on different channels is always its own work and requires time. That’s why it’s easy to stick with the old ones, as long as they stay alive and have enough followers.
Self-assesment
This part of the course reminded me how many different social media channels there are. Even though I got to know some of them more than before, I also got a bit of a shock. I did learn it during this episode, that even though there are many different options in social media, it is really very good to choose the channels to produce content and where the follower knows. However, it would be good to know how to read and use each channel in order to get the most out of social media. All in all, however, it’s worth keeping your wits about you: You can spend your whole day on different channels if you just let it happen. But the biggest lesson is to remember to live your life and focus on the moment, even without social media.
Vastaa