HOUSTON – The Texas Water Resources Institute’s Texas Watershed Planning Program will present a social media workshop for natural resources professionals Oct. 28-29 at the Houston-Galveston Area Council, 3555 Timmons Lane, Suite 120, in Houston.
“Content, Conversations and Discoverability – Quality Social Media Outreach for Natural Resource Professionals” will be held from 1-4 p.m. Oct. 28 and from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Oct. 29 in the area council’s Conference Room A.
Participants can register for one or both days. Registration is $40 for Oct. 28, $50 for Oct. 29 and $80 for both days. The Oct. 29 training includes lunch.
Amy Hays, program specialist for the Texas A&M Institute of Renewable Natural Resources and workshop trainer, said the first day will be hands-on and cover the basics of the social media platforms Facebook and Twitter, plus how to get more out of them.
“The second day attendees will learn how to make what they do on the web more searchable, shareable and liked — whether it is on their website, blogs, Facebook, Twitter or other places,” Hays said.
She said participants will also learn how to use Twitter, listen better to Twitter conservations and discover more information on how to use it. She will explain how to curate Twitter and Instagram to create better program 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 traditional clients as well as new clients,” she said. “There are many successful models that can be used and applied in natural resource outreach and education.”
Nikki Dictson, Texas Water Resources Institute and AgriLife Extension program specialist, said the watershed planning program is sponsoring this workshop to help natural resources professionals involved in watershed protection planning to better use and understand the role that social media can play in interacting with watershed stakeholders.
“By better understanding how to use the various social media platforms, these professionals will be able to connect with more stakeholders and provide more information quickly,” Dictson said. “Getting a dialogue going through social media will benefit the watershed planning process.”
For more information or to register for the workshop, go to http://watershedplanning.tamu.edu/training/.
The Texas Watershed Planning Program is funded through a Clean Water Act nonpoint grant provided by the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The Texas Water Resources Institute and the Texas A&M Institute of Renewable Natural Resources are part of Texas A&M AgriLife Research, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University.
Information on other training programs coordinated by the Texas Water Resources Institute and the Texas A&M Institute of Renewable Natural Resources can be found at http://naturalresourcestraining.tamu.edu/.
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