Online – The Digital Now for Natural Resource Professionals: Online in the 21st Century

Online is now firmly front and center for most of our organizations and agencies. If you’ve been battling the ramifications or embracing them, you may still have some questions about how natural resources can compete better with other online content. Things have changed dramatically in design, writing standards and searchability. In addition, smart devices have outsold desktops significantly in the last 10 years.

What does that mean to those in outreach and education? It means we have to continue to grow our expertise in learning how to connect the consumer to the important information we provide. We need to understand how content is found, how conversations and learning networks start, how to be discovered and what constitutes quality outreach. We have to know where to post, when to post and what to build on our websites. We have to learn how to reach our traditional clients as well as new clients. There are many successful models that can be used and applied in natural resource outreach and education that can help us down the road of discoverability.

Registration is $50 for both days.

Day 1: November 11, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Digital Learning Strategies – There’s no faster way to the bottom of the online learning world than to be online without a strategy designed for learners. Many organizations put the test of success at being content to be “just online.” Digging deeper, most of us want to be able to have either impact or influence in our outreach and not just count the number of hits or likes.

This day is dedicated to understanding how natural resource information is (or could be) consumed online using a learner-based approach. What happens when you shift your mindset from marketing to learning? From information to knowledge? From connecting to engaging?

The 21st century isn’t about being online; it’s about being online well. To do that, we will look at learner differences, how online learning can be enhanced, how simple messaging can turn into engagement, and how generational intelligence helps us pick the right tools, tones and messages to reach broad audiences.

Day 2: November 12, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Getting Found with all the Noise – We will look at some of the best platforms for natural resource professionals to form a presence in and some of the biggest platforms to learn how writing changes between them and making the most out of your content. How do you get found with so many competing voices? We’ll go through various exercises to help you build good content. We will look at some additional graphics and analysis tools to help you refine your reach. Learn some quick tricks and tips to get you down the road.

The Texas Watershed Planning Program is managed by the Texas Water Resources Institute and is funded through a Clean Water Act Section 319(h) nonpoint source grant provided by the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The institute is part of Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University    

Learn more and register here!