After realizing how social media could help promote FFA and be used to advocate for the agriculture industry, Shullsburg FFA Treasurer Taylor Russell developed an award-winning supervised agriculture experience (SAE) in agriscience research that’s changing the way her chapter and the Wisconsin FFA state officer team shares digital content.
“When I was in the eighth grade [in 2020], I was part of a group project that examined how high school students used social media, and I learned a lot from our research,” says Russell, who is now a sophomore at Shullsburg High School in Shullsburg, Wis. “My involvement in that project led me to develop an SAE that could help my chapter recruit new members and spread our pro-ag message.”
Taylor Russell
Russell used the data collected via an electronic survey sent to FFA chapter officers in her area to determine how much time her peers spent on social media, which platforms they preferred and the types of content they wanted to see more of.
“Many of the survey participants said they primarily used Instagram and Snapchat, and they were interested in consuming more ag-related content,” Russell says. “At the time of the survey, the respondents were averaging about five hours a week on social media.”
In her SAE, which earned Russell a gold award at the 94th National FFA Convention & Expo in 2021, she outlined the survey results and used them to make recommendations that are already benefiting the Shullsburg FFA.
“We’re putting more focus on our chapter’s Instagram and posting less to our Facebook page,” Russell says. “Instagram posts with multiple photos that people can swipe through get lots of engagement, so we’re creating more of those as well as posting Instagram Stories that our audience can quickly tap through. Typically, if people like one of your feed posts or Stories, they’ll go to your profile to see more — that’s the goal.”
In addition to helping her chapter, Russell’s SAE inspired the Wisconsin FFA state officers to revamp their social media strategy as they aim to broaden their reach.
“Nearly everyone in our society uses social media and is influenced by what they see, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon,” Russell says. “If we can understand how to connect with people and meet them where they are, we have an opportunity to spread positive messages and show how much fun we have in FFA while serving our communities. Plus, as advocates for the ag industry, it’s our job to dispel harmful myths and spread the truth; that benefits us all.”
