Social Suppliers

Suppliers have also joined the social networking game, developing communities to engage consumers with educational and entertaining activities centered on product categories.

The American Meat Institute, for example, has developed a YouTube channel called the Meat News Network to educate consumers about a variety of meat topics, such as meat handling and preparation, through a series of videos under the title "Ask the Meat Science Guy."

Well-known meat expert Randy Huffman, Ph.D., president of the AMI Foundation, stars in a nine-part series of short videos providing answers to many of the questions consumers pose about meat and meat safety.

"Social and new media outlets like YouTube are really emerging as influential forces in educating consumers and shaping their opinions and behaviors," says AMI SVP of public affairs Janet Riley. "Consumer research shows there is a knowledge gap in food safety information, and we hope that these YouTube videos will help close that gap."

RELATED STORIES:

Wine importer and Twitter to Hold Online Wine Tasting

Nestlé Recruits Consumers for Package Design
X
This ad will auto-close in 10 seconds