Social Media Spreads Council’s Work Far And Wide

Outside of resources like Global Update and grains.org, the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) and its offices around the world find ways to connect with the public through a variety of social media platforms.

While the Council’s Washington, D.C., headquarters operates the main accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, several of the Council’s international offices operate their own social media accounts to promote the Council’s mission of developing markets, enabling trade and improving lives.

In Mexico, Javier Chavez, USGC marketing specialist, regularly provides updates across several platforms to inform end-users there of relevant market news, infographics and success stories. Chavez uses the joint Mexico-Latin America Twitter account to share updates on programs and reports in the moment. During the recent Corn Harvest Quality Report rollout events that took place in Mexico, Chavez shared photos from the events as they were taking place. Chavez also recently brought Instagram into the mix, and its followers are continuing to grow as posts become more regular. In addition to sharing the Council’s work in those ways, Chavez makes a point to share and describe an agriculture-related painting each Sunday on the Mexico office’s Facebook page.

“The Council has stories to tell our end-users in Mexico and we can use social media to do that,” Chavez said. “As a marketing specialist, I feel the importance of promoting what we do and out of love of what I do.”

Michael Lu, USGC director in Taiwan, also uses Facebook to communicate with those in his market. Lu uses the Facebook Live feature each month to discuss the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report with Jerry Yang, deputy general manager at FoodChina.com. Each talk lasts about 40 minutes, focusing on supply and demand and market outlook.

“The first talk in August 2021 had more than 3,500 views,” Lu said. “Through social media we can efficiently deliver the market information in a timely manner. We will keep this event as a regular program and even invite local experts to join for reinforcement of the Council’s trade servicing, potentially influencing their decision to purchase U.S.-origin commodities.”

The Council’s Japan office also uses Facebook and Twitter to share general updates on its programs and events in addition to ethanol-specific updates. Its favorite platform, though, is Instagram. The Japan team works with nutritionist Erica Angyal to share food sorghum recipes, each accompanied with a photograph of the finished product.

“We share information, especially in the case of Instagram, using photographs,” said Michiyo Hoshizawa, USGC program and administrative manager in Japan. “Instagram can house many appealing photos of foods using sorghum to attract people’s attention.”

View the Council’s social media pages.