Facebook Page Connects Hay Industry

Anyone who doubts that hay growers have entered a new age of marketing and communication should talk with the Round brothers – Clint and Casey – about their experiences in setting up The Hay Connection Facebook page.

Clint, a 30-year-old insurance adjuster in Glenpool, OK, came up with the idea after hearing how producers and horse owners in the drought-stricken southwestern U.S. were having difficulties locating hay supplies. “My brother and I were raised on a ranch (near Jay, OK), and we still have a lot of connections to agriculture,” says Clint, who has an ag communications degree. “I started thinking that Facebook would be a great way to connect buyers, sellers and haulers.”

He spent a couple of hours setting up the page and had it ready to go by 9 p.m. Over the next 24 hours, more than 350 people, mostly from Oklahoma and Texas, posted on the page. By the end of the next day, the number had mushroomed to more than 1,000.

Clint asked Casey, a rancher and horse trainer from Big Cabin, OK, to help monitor the page. “At first, we’d go to the site and see who was looking for hay,” explains Casey, 34, who has degrees in animal science and ag economics. “Then we’d do an Internet search, looking at sites like Craigslist, and see what was available in the area the poster was looking in. We’d send him a message to let him know what we’d found. It took up every minute of our spare time.

“It’s amazing when you think about it. I can be on my iPhone and track down a supply of hay anywhere in the world in just a few minutes’ time. Basically, what we’re doing is using new technology to address an old problem.”

Over the next several days, the number of postings and the geographic reach of the site continued to increase. “We started seeing posts from Arizona, New Mexico and California,” says Clint. “Then it was Washington, New York, North Carolina, South Dakota. It just kept growing and growing. It was crazy.”

At the end of the week, Clint was interviewed about the page by local television stations, and a CBS affiliate made its segment available to other CBS outlets around the country. “Later in the day, in about a 20-minute time span, we saw the number of posts jump from 2,700 to over 3,500,” notes Casey. “It was pretty incredible.”

By Sept. 4, roughly three weeks after the page was launched, more than 9,000 people had signed up as “fans.” The Round brothers’ workload in running the page has steadily diminished as user numbers have grown. They check the page several times a day to see if users have problems finding what they need. “If so, we’ll try to hunt something up for them,” says Casey. “But for the most part, the users are reacting to each other’s posts. That’s the way Facebook works.”

The brothers plan to stay with the project as long as users post. “It looks like hay supplies will be tight all winter, so there will be a need,” says Casey.

Clint is looking for ways to better organize the posts on the site. “Now the posts just go onto the page in the order they come in. I want to see if there might be a way to categorize things by buyer, seller or hauler.”

A minor shortcoming of Facebook is that it doesn’t show how users can connect with each other. “We do get a post once in awhile hearing from people who have found what they needed,” says Clint. “Overall, we just have to assume that people are hooking up. We just hope that it is doing some good.”

The brothers have no interest in making money off the project. “This is about people helping people in a time of need,” says Clint. “In hard times like these, people don’t need to pay for something like this.”

“It’s worked,” adds Casey, “because people in the agriculture community have stepped forward to help others. It really says a lot about that particular community in general. It’s been absolutely great watching this thing grow.”

Clint Round can be contacted at 918-557-7500 or punchyclint@yahoo.com. To contact Casey Round, call 918-520-5208 or email caseyaround@yahoo.com.

Editor’s Note: Been using Facebook or Twitter as part of your marketing strategy? We’d like to hear about your experiences. Get in touch by emailing rmooney234@gmail.com.

Share and Enjoy

Gabriel Marketing Group Wins Golden Bridge Award for Best Start-Up PR Campaign …

Tech Marketing Firm Takes Home Top Honor for High-Impact Product Launch of Disruptive Social Media Technology

Reston, VA (PRWEB) September 06, 2011

Gabriel Marketing Group, the industry’s leading technology marketing company for disruptive and emerging companies, today announced it was named the winner of the 2011 Golden Bridge Award for Best Start-Up, Small Medium Business PR Campaign. The award was given in recognition of the company’s public relations and marketing work for the launch of Parature for Facebook™ in the fall of 2010.

“We are honored to be recognized for the dedication and work spent on helping our clients succeed in emerging technology markets like social media and mobility,” said Leah Gabriel Nurik, President, Gabriel Marketing Group. “We are passionate about helping emerging and mid-size technology companies get the recognition they deserve for being innovative and changing the way people and businesses communicate with one another.”

Gabriel Marketing Group focuses exclusively on start-up and mid-size technology companies within emerging technology markets, providing integrated strategic marketing services, including public relations, interactive programs, marketing communications, graphic design, search engine optimization, social media and more.

An annual achievements and recognition awards program with active participation from a broad spectrum of industry voices, the coveted annual Golden Bridge Awards program encompasses the world’s best in organizational performance, products and services, executives and management teams, innovations, case studies, product management, public relations and marketing campaigns and customer satisfaction programs from every major industry in the world.

More than 40 judges from a wide range of industries from around the world participated, and their average scores determined the 2011 Golden Bridge Business Awards winners. The winners were announced during the awards dinner and presentation on August 10, 2011 in New York City attended by the finalists, industry leaders, and judges.

About Gabriel Marketing Group

Gabriel Marketing Group (GMG) is an award-winning boutique marketing and integrated communications firm serving emerging and mid-size tech companies. Unlike other marketing and public relations firms, GMG provides end-to-end services that meet all marketing requirements for emerging companies. Clients can contract with GMG for one or all offered services, which include strategic consulting, public relations, interactive programs, marketing communications, and brand development. To find out more about Gabriel Marketing Group, visit www.gabrielmarketing.com.

Twitter: @gabrielmrktg

About the Golden Bridge Awards

Golden Bridge Awards are an annual industry and peers recognition program honoring Best Companies of all types and sizes in North America, Europe, Middle-East, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin-America, Best Products, Innovations, Management and Teams, Women in Business and the Professions, and PR and Marketing Campaigns from all over the world. Learn more about The Golden Bridge Awards at www.goldenbridgeawards.com.

###

For the original version on PRWeb visit: www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2011/9/prweb8764646.htm

Share and Enjoy