On March 15, the Agroecology & Livelihoods Collaborative, a community of practice based in the Plant and Soil Sciences Department, took the reigns of the Specialty Coffee Association’s social media channels for a 24-hour social media takeover highlighting the ALC’s two decades of research with smallholder coffee farmers in Mesoamerica.
The effort, led by graduate fellow Janica Anderzen and several members of the ALC, produced a flurry of visual and informative content on the SCA’s Instagram and Twitter feeds that was viewed and shared broadly by SCA’s more than 263K followers, as well as the ALC’s many partners and colleagues. More than 1,500 viewers tuned in to an Instagram live video featuring Anderzen, Ernesto Mendez and their research partners at Lutheran World Relief, Heifer International and Statistics for Sustainable Development. The day also generated significant traffic to the ALC website and new followers to the ALC’s own social media channels.
SCA reached out to Anderzen and Mendez about the possibility of a social media takeover after the two authored an article for it’s magazine that focused on a recent project – “Sate of the Smallholder Coffee Farmer” – an open-access data platform and report that seeks to make information about coffee smallholders more accessible and drive informed decision-making. The morning of the takeover featured a deep dive into the report and the afternoon centered around ALC’s research with coffee farmers more broadly.
The collaboration offers an excellent example of leveraging networks and partnerships to communicate research impact. Any CALS faculty or staff interested in exploring a similar opportunity may contact Janica.
A special shout out to Andrew Gerlicz, Alejandra Guzman Luna, Luis Alexis Rodriguez-Cruz, Sydney Blume, Ayana Curran-Howes, Ernesto Mendez, Martha Caswell and Rachel Leslie for helping to make the day a success!