AGAINST a backdrop of consumers ever more hungry for details on where their food comes from, the enigmatic beast that is social media is proving a brilliant pathway between beef producer and beef eater.
And it seems with the humble ‘man on the land’ moving more into the social media realm, the tables are being turned on those who have long used it as a platform to push extreme views.
Key industry body Meat and Livestock Australia has been at the forefront of ensuring livestock producers are on the social media boat and not missing the very valuable opportunity it presents to talk directly to consumers, specific markets and the ‘thought leaders’ in society.
It’s second season of the YouTube series #GoodMeat was launched on Wednesday night, featuring Bondi Rescue’s Andrew ‘Reidy’ Reid visiting farms in southern Queensland to explain the likes of rotational grazing, biodiversity, animal welfare and environmental sustainability.
In just two days, the entertaining clip had received 4000 YouTube views and 12,500 Facebook views.
Nine more episodes are to come on Wednesday nights, all designed to help farmers tell their stories direct to consumers.
MLA’s general manager communication and stakeholder engagement Clair Cameron said social media was considered a very important component of industry efforts to reach consumers directly.
Australians were some of the largest users of social media in the world, with 68 per cent of internet users here having a social media presence, she said.
It’s about engagement, that is how much people remember and what sort of comments are made, she said.
“How beef is produced, where it comes from, what farmers do for the environment and the communities they live in - these are stories we’re happy to tell,” Ms Cameron said.
Beef producers have strong credentials in the areas of welfare and environment sustainability and social media, which by nature is about sourcing information from a trusted source, is the best vehicle for sharing that, she says.
The first of the #GoodMeat series, which ran last year, attracted 200,000 views on the MLA’s Target 100 channel and the 2016 installment is expected to far surpass that.
The ‘stars’ of the clips are people with strong social media followings - chef Rob Nixon, who has more than one million subscribers to his Nick’s Kitchen YouTube channel, has also been brought in to tackle topics like red meat nutrition and livestock transport.
The series will also include animations.
The interesting aspect that appears to have evolved so far from the red meat industry’s foray into social media is the ‘balancing’ of negative perceptions.
Ms Cameron pointed to commentary surrounding MLA’s Australia Day lamb advert, where strong criticism of how vegans were portrayed was countered equally enthusiastically by other views and perceptions.
“The community often answers the negatives with their own experience and that is the best way we as an industry can balance things,” she said.
For his part, ‘Reidy’ said being involved with #GoodMeat was a ‘fascinating learning experience.’
“Like a growing number of Australians I’m interested in knowing where my meat comes from and how it is produced,” he said.
“We all know farmers are the backbone of Australia but not only do they utilise the land to produce food for everyone else, they give back to it.
“Producing beef is such a complex industry - you don’t just buy a few cows and put them out there in the paddock. There is so much to it that most people don’t realise and I hope I can help others learn about the very advanced techniques used on farms today.
“The bottom line is, what’s going on on farms is all about improving the meat consumers are getting and improving the land for the future.”
