University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s Digital Presence: 2022
Website
University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s website at extension.umaine.edu – a combination of 57 interconnected websites consisting of nearly 12,000 pages – received 3.1 million pageviews from visitors in the 12 months between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022. Visitors searched for and found information on a wide variety of topics, including planting in Maine, small business management, harvest and storage of tree fruits, and tractor safety. Image galleries helped users identify pests, plant diseases, and weeds. A wide variety of interactive web forms allowed users to request assistance, presentations, newsletters, and updates; report volunteer hours; make donations; and respond to surveys. Nearly 54,000 web visits were referred from social media.
Social Media
More than 43,000 followers followed or subscribed to UMaine Extension’s 55 county and program-specific social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok. We hosted or co-hosted 92 Facebook Events that reached 127,731 users. Nearly 700 educational videos were available to visitors on our 14 YouTube playlists; many were also embedded in our web pages. Extension’s YouTube videos were the most watched on the University of Maine Channel, which received 1.2 million views and 66,000+ hours of watch time. Top videos included Lobster Cooking and Eating, How to Seal Windows for Winter and Summer, How to Prune a Blueberry Bush, How Do I Prune Raspberries, and Tick Removal.
Publications
More than 700 research-based publications on a broad range of topics were available for free download on the Cooperative Extension Publications website. Popular fact sheets, such as How to Tap Maple Trees and Make Maple Syrup, Sodium Content of Your Food, and Guide to First-Time Horse Ownership received tens of thousands of pageviews each. New publications in 2022 included Tarping in the Northeast: A Guide for Small Farms, Establishing and Using a Support Network for Individuals with Disabilities, Hawkweed in Maine Lawns, Growing Wild Blueberries in the Home Garden, and Calf and Heifer Management in New England.
Online Registration, Brightspace, and MailChimp
Nearly 2,642 customers registered for workshops, events, webinars, and more through our online registration system.
Over 500 participants took Extension courses online via BrightSpace. Classes included Master Gardener Volunteer training, Maine Gardener Training, Growing Hemp, Soil Health, Boots-2-Bushels, Food Sanitation, Maine Horticulture Apprenticeship, 4-H STEM Ambassador Training, and So, You Want to Farm in Maine.
Extension also collaborated with three partners across the University of Maine System to develop, test, and launch a new e-commerce platform, Discover.maine.edu, that will be used for non-academic course enrollment.
More than 11,032 subscribers received over 75,500 e-notifications via MailChimp.