In part I of this blog, we discussed the importance of understanding your target audience as well as the different outlets in which to communicate your message in marketing your school nutrition program. Both audience and outlets are essential in determining the type of content you want to create.
Content
The moment you’ve all been anxiously awaiting: it’s time for the content! We know our audiences and outlets in which we can deliver our message–now we just need to create our content. Before we dive into specific content ideas that you can use for various outlets, we want to quickly touch on a couple of elements that make up all of the content you see every day. There are two very important elements used to create content; color, and design. Understanding the proper use of color and design will really take your content to the next level to market your school nutrition program
The Psychology of Color
In promoting your child’s nutrition program, before you even start designing anything, you need to ask yourself, “what am I trying to communicate to my audience?” From there, you want to try to use appropriate colors that align with your overall message. Whether you’re aware of it or not, your brain has become accustomed to seeing things a certain way your whole life. Take a look at the image below to learn more about colors and how they can be used to communicate with your audience.
Current design trends 2018
Every year, people will come out with a list of the top design trends for that year based on a number of things. It’s important to try to keep things fresh every couple of years or so. There are plenty of design styles to choose from and they can all make a significant impact. Take a look at the image below showing an example of a popular design style in 2018.
The marketing material you create should be unique and personalized to your school or district. You have the freedom, you have the ability, and now you have the knowledge necessary to create some awesome marketing material. Below you will see a list of content ideas that we came up with to help you improve your marketing as a food service professional and increase participation in your school nutrition program. Enjoy!
Social Media Content Ideas
- Take pictures of delicious school lunches / menu items
- Share recipes that parents can make at home
- Re-share relevant nutrition articles
- Fun facts about school nutrition
- Celebrate National Days (Insert National Food Days Link)
Morning Announcement Content Ideas
- Joke of the day (food related)
- Lunch options of the day
Print Material Content Ideas
- Buttons
- Ribbons
- Bookmarks
- Sticker
- Posters
- Flyers
- Handouts
Email Content Ideas
- Nutrition Tip of the month
- Fun Facts about school lunch
- Educate about school lunch program
School Newsletter Content Ideas
- For Parents: Industry updates, News, Fun Facts
- For Students: Crosswords, Games, Mazes, Trivia
TV Screen/ Monitor Content Ideas
- Menu of the day/week: Check out our Digital Menu Boards
- National Food related holidays: Cheeseburger day, avocado day, fresh veggies day, mac and cheese day, etc.
Assembly Content Ideas
- Ask for a student volunteer to come on stage
- Play a game while educating about nutrition
- Ask questions to the audience and reward with small free prizes
Closing Statements
See? Marketing as a food service professional doesn’t have to be hard; you can market your school nutrition program well. You just need the right tools and some helpful information to get you there. It’s important to remember that marketing requires three major ingredients and it doesn’t work unless you have all three of them. First you need an audience, then you need to establish how you’re going to communicate to that audience with different outlets, and finally you need content to send to your audience via outlets. Now you can put down those flaming swords, get off that unicycle, and start making the best marketing material your school has ever seen!