Arkansas Extension Social Media Strategy

This page discusses the social media strategy for the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service Facebook page, LinkedIn page, Instagram page, and Threads page and is written for writers, designers, and other folk wanting to learn more about the content and strategy created and published on this particular social media page. This page was prepared by Melissa Johnson on March 28, 2022. For questions, please email socialmedia@uada.edu.

Last updated: November 8, 2024

 

Overview

Page Name: Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, or Arkansas Extension

Short Name: @arkansas.extension

Description: Research-based lifestyle, food, family, garden, farm, and local community recommendations in Arkansas

Primary Audience: Adult Arkansans with an interest in gardening, self-sufficiency, and/or healthy living

Tone: Credible, personable, wholesome, and approachable 

Goals: Provide users with a stream of interesting, thought-provoking, timely, and relevant content atleast 3x/week (2x/week for LinkedIn), and increase UADA brand awareness while maintaining reputation as a credible and reliable source of information

Content: Extension events, gardening and wildlife info, recipes, Extension stories, lifestyle tips, friendly reminders and PSAs, alerts, Extension education

Strategy: 

1. Schedule monthly Garden Guides, Holiday content, and other hard-dated content.
2. Outsource timely topics with guest writers and other content creators and schedule content.
3. Schedule out 2-3 posts a week, 3-4 weeks in advance, leaving gaps in the calendar.
4. Post content (news stories, in-the-moment opportunities, etc.) as it comes in.

 

Types of Content

We can break the content on this Facebook Page down into a few general buckets:

1. Extension Events
2. The Arkansas Garden Monthly Garden Guides
3. Arkansas Extension Recipes
4. Guest Posts
5. Extension Education
6. Alerts, Reminders, and PSAs
7. Other Content

 

Extension Events

There are a few ways to promote Extension events on Facebook. You can:

• Create a Facebook Event
• Promote the event in a standard post using video, graphic, photos, and/or text
• Promote the event in a Facebook Story
• Create a Facebook campaign designed to pique Facebook users' interest
• Post interesting but relevant content inside the Discussion section of your Facebook Event

To learn more about promoting events on Facebook, check out A Guide to Facebook Events.

What kind of events should be promoted on the @arkansas.extension Facebook Page? While Extension puts on a large number of events, it is important to note that not all Extension events are appropriate for this page. Make sure the event you are promoting follows these general guidelines:

• The event is for the general public in Arkansas, rather than for Extension employees.
• Virtual events will do better than in-person events on Facebook, although in-person events can be promoted on the page.
• If there is a limit to how many people can attend and that number is small (i.e. fewer than 50 people), do not promote it on this page unless you are specifically requested to do so.
• If the event is for a small area, such as a county, tri-county, or other small region event, do not promote it on this page.
• If the event has an extremely small and niche audience, consider not promoting it on this page (you CAN promote it, just use your best judgment).

The best way to promote an event on Facebook is to create a campaign for the event.

 

Monthly Garden Guides (The Arkansas Garden)

On the first day of each month, post the Garden Guide for that month.

The Arkansas Garden with Randy Forst short URL: uaex.uada.edu/thearkansasgarden or uaex.uada.edu/arkansas-garden

Share graphic and in the post, list out all plants listed in the guide for accessibility purposes.

Example: September Garden Guide

 

Arkansas Extension Recipes

There is a section on the website for posting Arkansas Extension Recipes. Before sharing a recipe on the main Facebook Page, make sure it has its own page on the website. 

To create an Arkansas Extension Recipe, we need to a.) have permission to use it, and b.) have nutritional information about it.

Submit appropriate recipes to the FCS Department's Food and Nutrition team for approval and analysis. Once approved, it can be added to the website and shared on social media. 

Example: Earl Grey Tea Cookies

 

Guest Posts

When an agent or specialist has a great topic idea, invite them to write a guest social media post. Avoid asking the samer person over and over to make content. Diversify!

Example: Getting Started with Sourdough Starter by Stone Co. FCS Agent Anna Harlan

 

Extension Education

This content primarily consists of campaigns designed to educate the general public about Extension as an overview. This is basic, beginner's information for Facebook users unfamiliar with our services. This covers topics such as "What is Extension?," "Test Your Soil," "Who is YOUR agent?," etc.

Good Examples of Extension Education posts:

• Who Is YOUR Agent?
• Test Your Soil

UADA Educational Campaigns

• General UADA Education:
  • Where Are We?
  • Soil Test
  • Who Is Your Agent?
  • What Is Extension?
• Departmental/Program Education:
  • FCS Promotion
    • Extension Homemakers Promotion (FCS)
  • ANR Promotion
    • Master Gardeners Promotion
  • 4-H Promotion
  • CPED Promotion
• Seasonal Resources Education:
  • Spring Resources
  • Summer Resources
  • Fall Resources
  • Winter Resources

 

Alerts

Sometimes our specialists make extremely important discoveries that need to be shared with the public as soon as possible—for example, an Avian Flu outbreak. It is the responsibility of the manager of this page to ensure these alerts are shared in an effective and timely manner. For these alerts, make sure that the most important information gets shared and that the graphic or other media used is attention-getting for best distribution. You may need to share the alert multiple times for best effect.

Good Examples of an Alert:

• "Avian Flu Alert" shared on March 2, 2022

 

Other Content

Share other content as it surfaces, such as news stories, behind the scenes, etc.

 

Tips for Writing Arkansas Extension Content for Facebook

• Include a link to our website whenever possible or relevant.
• Use the right-arrow emoji or finger-pointing-right emoji to highlight a link.
• Use at least one appropriate emoji, but no more than five consecutive emojis. Also, keep in mind, there is such a thing as too many emojis. Caveat: If the topic is extremely sensitive, an emoji may not be needed or required. Use your best judgment.
• Geo-tag "Arkansas" or a more appropriate location in every post.
• If making a list in your caption, use emojis as bullet points for easier readability. 
• Format using the return key to break large paragraphs into smaller, more readable chunks.
• Make sure the most attention-getting elements are in the top 2-4 lines of text, as the remaining text will be buried in a "Read More" button.
• If there is text on your graphic, make sure to reiterate it either in the caption for the post or the alt text.
• Tag other pages as appropriate for better community and exposure.

 

General Style Tips for This Page

• Update profile picture and cover photo seasonally or monthly with timely images. Try to reflect the weather and feeling of what is happening in the "real world" on this Facebook Page. For example, during the month of April, it is appropriate for the cover photo to feature springtime images such as tulips or rain.
• Try to use the same font often. It is not necessary to consistently use the same font, and you may not want to. Using varying fonts works well for keeping content dynamic and changing, but there is an amount of consistency that can be appreciated in our content. For example, it may make sense to use the same font for certain types of content, such as using the same font for all news stories. This acts as a cue to our audience for what they can expect from the content.

 

Notable Dates, Content, and Tasks

January

MONTH: National Soup Month

Jan 1: Happy New Year! (Schedule for 12am on New Year's Day)

Jan 1: January Planting Guide (around the 1st of the month)

Jan 5: Birds in the Backyard (National Bird Day)

Jan 10: Houseplants/Houseplant Resources (National Houseplant Appreciation Day)

Jan 12: Beekeeping Resources (sometime in January - this is when many people are ordering honey bees)

Jan 20: Observation of MLK Day (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - 3rd Monday)

 

February

MONTH: Black History Month

WEEK: National Invasive Species Week (begins last Monday in Feb)

Feb 1: February Planting Guide (around the 1st of the month)

Feb 2: Groundhog Day (February 2)

Feb 8: Get Ready to File Taxes (mid-February)

Feb 10: Pruning Resources (a bit before the middle of February)

Feb 11: Super Bowl Sunday (second Sunday in February)

Feb 12: Crape Murder (a bit before the middle of February)

Feb 13: UADA Valentine's Day Cards (the day before Valentine's Day)

Feb 28: Master Gardener Plant Sales (approx. 1 month before 1st MG Sale)

Feb 28: Ruby-Throated Hummingbird Migration (end of February)

 

March

MONTH: Women's History Month

Mar 1: March Planting Guide (around the 1st of the month)

Mar 1: National Employee Appreciation Day (1st Friday in Mar)

Mar 1: Walk Across Arkansas registration (as soon as registration opens) CREATE EVENT

Mar 6: Bradford Pear (as soon as they start blooming)

Mar 8: Women of Extension (Women's Day)

Mar 10: Hummingbird Food Recipe (approx. 1 week before March 15)

Mar 11: Cedar-Apple Rust (around middle of March)

Mar 15: Master Gardener Plant Sales (approx. 2 weeks before 1st MG Sale)

Mar 17: 4-H Foundation SPD Fundraiser (promote from open to close)

Mar 22: Invasive Plants (shortly after 1st day of Spring, on or before Invasive Plant Week)

 

April

MONTH: 

Apr 1: April Planting Guide (around 1st of the month)

Apr 3: Eastern Tent Caterpillars (as soon as they show up)

Apr 4: Taxes Approaching (two weeks before Tax Day)

Apr 8: Master Gardener Plant Sales (approx. 1 week before first Plant Sale)

Apr 18: Ticks in Arkansas (mid-late April)

 

May

MONTH: 

May 1: May Planting Guide (around the 1st of the month)

May 6: Tips for Snakes (beginning of May)

May 8: Happy Birthday, CES! (on May 8, CES Birthday)

May 11: Happy Mother's Day! (2025; 2nd Sunday in May)

May 16: Prepare for Canning Season (early-mid May)

May 23: Box Turtles (May 23; World Turtle Day)

May 26: Memorial Day (varies; 2025 - last Monday in May) (NOTE: Do not use "Happy Memeorial Day")

 

June

Jun 1: June Planting Guide (around the 1st of the month)

Jun 15: Happy Father's Day! (2025; varies; third Sunday of June)

Jun 17: Pollinator Garden Resources (

Jun 23: Canning Resources

Jun 30: Firework Safety

 

July

Jul 1: July Planting Guide

Jul 4: Happy 4th of July!

Jul 10: Poison Ivy, Oak, Sumac

Jul 11: Squash Vine Borer

Jul 13: Watering Bees, Birds, and Other Pollinators

Jul 25: Back-to-School Resources

Jul 26: Tax-Free Weekend

 

August

Aug 1: August Planting Guide

 

September

Sep 1: September Planting Guide

Sep 2: Walk Across Arkansas

Sep 4: Flu and COVID Vaccines

Sep 6: Rice Recipe

Sep 8: Beautyberry

Sep 10: Surprise Lilies

Sep 11: 9/11 Remembrance Day

Sep 14: Goldenrod

Sep 18: Houseplant Tips

Sep 25: Hot Springs Arts & Crafts Fair

 

October

Oct 1: October Planting Guide

Oct 6: County Agent Internship Program Promotion

Oct 10: Janet B. Carson Scholarship Promotion

Oct 31: Happy Halloween!

 

November

Nov 1: November Planting Guide

Nov 10: To Rake, or Not to Rake?

Nov 11: Thank You, Veterans!

Nov 12: Thawing Turkey

Nov 15: Holiday Shopping/Financial Tips

Nov 16: Thanksgiving Food Safety

Nov 17: Fridge Cleaning Tips

Nov 23: We Are Grateful for Our Employees! Happy Thanksgiving!

Nov 25: Tips for Planting Trees

 

December

Dec 1: December Planting Guide

Dec 21: First Day of Winter

Dec 22: Happy Holidays

Dec 26: Healthy Black-Eyed Peas Recipe

Dec 31: Happy New Year!

 

Questions about creating content for the Arkansas Extension Facebook Page? Contact socialmedia@uada.edu.