No gimmicks, no coupons, no fancy promotions…just a genuine love of beef. That’s why more than 136,000 Facebook users have become “fans” of the checkoff’s Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner Facebook page. The page officially reached the 100,000 milestone marker this week and every day, thousands more “like” the page and come looking for recipes, fun, nutrition information and the chance to be a part of a larger community where their peers and friends are talking about the great food they feed their families.
An online ad campaign was first tested over Labor Day 2011, when content that was posted to the Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner “wall” was turned into an ad and pushed to an identified target audience. The result of that campaign? The number of Facebook fans almost doubled. Similar to that model, from now through the big game, the Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner Facebook page will be generating themed wall content and ads to encourage more people to interact with beef.
“Facebook now has more than 800 million active Facebook users and we know from the Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner website that recipes are the #1 highest-viewed item,” says Joyce Bupp, dairy producer from Seven Valleys, Penn., and chair of the checkoff’s Public Relations Subcommittee. “It’s about food and we need to be where the consumers are. Social media has revolutionized how consumers interact with brands and companies they love and through campaigns such as the big game Facebook ads, we are doing our part to engage with consumers who love our product.”
Recognizing that consumer communications mediums continue to evolve, the checkoff has responded through online engagement to extend the messaging from the traditional radio, print, public relations and newsletters. And as compared to other proteins, the Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner Facebook page has more than double and sometimes triple the fans.
“We also can’t forget about engagement. These people aren’t just ‘liking’ beef, they’re taking our recipes, cooking them at home, posting pictures to our Facebook wall and telling their friends about the fantastic beef-eating experience they just had,” says Bupp. “Social media truly is about building relationships and listening to today’s consumer.”
Find the Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner Facebook page here and for more information, visit MyBeefCheckoff.com.
The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen's Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval.
Source: The Beef Checkoff Program