INDUSTRY
NICH 2020 annual report
Promoting consumer horticulture and your business by Ellen M. Bauske, Chair, National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture has increased. We sent 21 newsletters in 2020 covering topics within the NICH Mission that ranged from the release of infographics promoting consumer horticulture to holiday promotion of goods and services. Topics were carefully chosen to encourage community engagement. Today we have 1,321 recipients and the newsletter statistics are strong. The open rate is an eye-catching 36.9 % and the click rate is 16.4%. The unsubscribe rate is a negligible 0.3%.
As of December 2020, NICH had 2,620 Facebook followers and our Instagram has experienced similar growth. All posts are suitable for sharing on business, extension, or research social media. It is hard to believe 2020 has ended.
UAC MAGAZINE | SPRING 2021
We had an incredible year filled with lasting partnerships, new members and hope for the future. NICH has grown by leaps and bounds as we aggressively and successfully pursued the goals and tactics outlined in our two-year organizational plan.
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To communicate the NICH mission and vision to our stakeholders we launched NICH social media in February 2020. Our Facebook (facebook.com/consumerhort) and Instagram (instagram.com/consumerhort) are populated with graphics, articles, and video encouraging use of plants, consumer horticulture services, and science that support consumer horticulture. As of December 2020, NICH had 2,620 Facebook followers and our Instagram has experienced similar growth. All posts are suitable for sharing on business, extension, or research social media. Future efforts will focus on NICH's Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram presence. The quality and quantity of our e-newsletters (consumerhort.org/category/press-release)
In an effort to build awareness and membership, we have begun to reach out to allied groups and associations via email, phone and at trade shows and conferences. COVID-19 pushed most tradeshows and conferences online, but our virtual efforts continued to yield results, fueling growth of the newsletter and social media. Our website (consumerhort.org) received a much-needed facelift this year. We believe the new site effectively highlights NICH outputs and is easier to navigate. We have built support for the NICH Mission and Vision by creating science-based graphics, infographics and publications that promote consumer horticulture. We began the year with the release of five infographics (consumerhort. org/plantsdothat-3) highlighting what plants do for pollinators, fire, water, soil, and cities and suburbs. The year also saw the launch of the NICH Webinar Series. The series focuses on adding value to current and future NICH members. Two webinars (consumerhort.org/nichhosted-webinars) were hosted this year, "Doing Business Under Difficult Circumstances" and "The Consumer Horticulture Puzzle." Webinars were attended by 85 and 123 people, respectively. The Webinar Committee intends to host four webinars in calendar year 2021, one during each quarter.
