Event Promotional Package

Porter, J.*¹,
¹ Extension Educator/Assistant Professor, Nebraska Extension, Omaha, NE, 68124

Seed swaps and shares are a popular activity for gardeners of all skill levels. Given their popularity, they are an excellent venue to engage and educate existing and new clientele and increase awareness of the services offered by extension.  The Douglas-Sarpy County Extension office has hosted a seed share on or around National Seed Swap Day for the last several years and I have been one of the lead organizers for the last three years.  In 2019, educational garden seminars were added to increase the educational impact of the programs.  

A multi-tiered approach including social media (link), posters, and a newspaper article (link) was used this year to promote the seed share.  This approach led to a 30% increase in attendees over previous years, with over 250 people in attendance.  Social media posts were published a few weeks before the event and posters were placed throughout the Extension office and various garden centers at the same time.  Coordination with the garden writier for the Omaha World Herald resulted in the publication of an article about the seed share on the day of the event (Sunday) and many attendees indicated that they learned of the event from the article.  The Sunday edition of the OWH reaches an estimated 660,000 individuals.  Facebook posts had an additional reach of 200 individuals.