NCBA News & Updates

The Power of Influence

By Colin Woodall, NCBA CEO

Sometimes you recognize it. Sometimes it just makes its way into your daily life. Regardless, you are inundated each day with somebody trying to influence what you buy, what you eat, what you wear, how you vote, and more. Influence is big business in America, which shows just how successful it is as a tool in helping some people make decisions. It is also fueled by some amazing technology.

Influence comes at us through many different media. Television commercials, radio ads and video ads on your phone are all examples of the daily effort to influence your purchasing decision. In our work as a contractor to the national Beef Checkoff, NCBA is trying to influence consumers and get them to buy more beef. One of the biggest sources of influence these days comes through social media. Now, I realize that not everybody reading this column uses Facebook, Instagram, or the various other social media platforms; but a lot of people do, and social media is powerful.

To help put this power in context, think back to the comments that Oprah Winfrey made about beef during one of her shows in the spring of 1996. On that show, her guest was an animal-activist vegetarian talking about the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) outbreak in Great Britain. While we were not using the term “influencer” at the time, that is exactly what Oprah was – and still is. If Oprah said that she was not going to eat any more hamburgers, then many of her viewers were not going to eat any more hamburgers, either. Modern influencers can have the same impact. Elon Musk can move financial markets by simply Tweeting out his comments or thoughts.

The technology that drives influence evolves daily. Television commercials, newspaper ads, radio ads and billboards still have a place in modern influence, but advanced advertising is where we see some amazing opportunities. By now, you are well aware that whatever you search for on the Internet results in ads for those products or services showing up in every subsequent Web page you look at. There is even technology that uses your location to tailor ads for nearby stores that you might be interested in. That same geo-targeting technology can tell when you get close to the meat case or other part of the grocery store and send you ads for items that you would find nearby. My wife and I just purchased our first Google Assistant. I did not really want it, but it came as part of the system to have Wi-Fi in our house. I joked that now the people at Google will know more about us than our own families do. I laughed, my wife laughed, Google Assistant laughed, and Siri laughed on our phones. A bit of an exaggeration, but the point does not miss the mark by much.

One way that we capitalize on the power of influence is by seeking out and partnering with individuals, organizations and companies that consumers listen to. In the social media world, the individuals who drive discussions and trends are, not surprisingly, called “influencers,” and they can make a solid living off simply sharing their ideas or opinions. As part of our Checkofffunded work, we find influencers who are saying great things about beef and promoting our product. Once we identify these influencers, we approach them about becoming partners and sharing even more information about beef. Over the past several years, we have built a network of influencers that range from celebrity chefs to young moms. We take these influencers to cattle operations to expose them to what really goes on in the production of cattle and beef. We bring them to our Denver office to discuss nutrition, food safety, and sustainability; we also give them cutting and cooking demonstrations in the Checkoff-funded NCBA Culinary Center. When they get back home and start posting about beef, we follow up with additional facts and figures to help them be as influential as they can. These social media influencers have helped change the game for our industry and correct a lot of the misinformation that is out there regarding beef. One Instagram post promoting an easy-to-prepare beef dish for supper can help a lot of consumers decide what they are going to go home and cook that night.

The same goes for the Checkoff-funded e-commerce work that we do with retailers such as Sam’s Club and Kroger. Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. banner ads showing a steak on a retailer’s website can spark a craving that is satisfied only by purchasing beef.

Who or what will influence you today?

Total price of $65 includes book, sales tax, postage, shipping and handling.

To order your copy: visit www.georgiacattlemen.org, complete and mail in this form with your payment or call 478-474-6560

Herds and Heritage: The History of Georgia’s Cattle Industry is possibly the most noteworthy project undertaken by this organization and its members to document the history of cattle in our great state. Noted historical writer Jackie Kennedy has spent the past two years extensively researching the project while conducting over 140 interviews with breeders, academics and industry leaders to accurately record the many notable contributions that Georgia cattle and its people have made within the cattle industry on a state, regional and national level. The result is an extraordinary, one-of-a kind book that traces the arrival of the first cattle to enter the state to the present-day, modern beef and dairy industries of the 21st century. It’s a book about the pioneers who centuries ago brought into existence a livelihood and way of life that defines us and our heritage today. It’s a book about cattle and cattle people, chronicled in 304 pages and captured forever by over 300 photos and images. We are confident this history book will be one that you and your family will cherish for generations to come.

Make your check payable and mail to: Georgia Cattlemen’s Foundation | P.O. Box 27990 | Macon, GA 31221