In “The Power of Social Media,” Tiffany Meng wrote about Delta’s foray into social media, and asked about similar viral experiences. To complement Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn contributions at John Deere, we most recently launched our Out of the Vault series on YouTube. Interestingly, our only hesitation was that it would go viral. And that would mean we need to feed it!
The online environment is a scary place for those of us who were taught to be armed gatekeepers of our historical assets. But that world is gone. And we were right—we did lose control! An industry publication wrote about our series, and at 4,000 views in 2 weeks for two clips, we know that being in cyberspace is a responsibility we have to our customers and John Deere enthusiasts worldwide.
We’re also excited that this is the tip of the iceberg, and that we have the advantage of a rich archive that demonstrates the importance of listening to our customers and the value of providing them with the information they need to run their operations—whether an 80 year tractor or a brand new one. The challenge is where does a 177 year old company start? Well, now that we are on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and now YouTube, I guess we’ve started!
Neil Dahlstrom is the Manager, Corporate History for John Deere in Moline, IL.
