How to Tell Our Organic Story: Communications & Marketing Training

Nathalie Landry Echo Actions Communications www.echoactions.ca

•  How to respond using key messages to common

questions asked by customers.

•  How to use key messages to tell your farm’s story. •  Some ideas on how to integrate key messages in

promotional tools for your farm.

IN THIS WORKSHOP, YOU WILL LEARN

ECHO ACTIONS COMMUNICATIONS

Echo Actions Communications offers communications capacity building consulting services for small businesses, community leaders and not-for-profit organizations who want to help shape a more just, sustainable and healthy world. Target market: ²  Non profits ²  Community groups and community leaders ²  Small businesses

MY STORY…

MY STORY…

MY STORY…

COMMON COMMUNICATION CHALLENGES YOU MAY FACE…

o  Not enough resources ($$$, manpower, knowledge/training, time)

o  Public bombarded by mass media/advertising

North American culture = Too much emphasis on low prices, not on quality of product. How do you reach consumers?

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO Communications = essential to survive (Get products/services better known) •  Creative messaging

You can use the tools learned in this workshop as well as the national Think Before You Eat campaign to talk more effectively about your product and tell your own farm’s story. #ThinkCanadaOrganic - thinkcanadaorganic.ca

•  Collaborative public relations/promotions Partnerships with other farmers or through ACORN. Use the campaign materials at your disposal. Join other producers or co-ops to create websites and other promo materials.

Part 1 Common questions about organic farming and how

to answer them

WHAT IS ORGANIC? IS THIS ORGANIC?

WHAT IS ORGANIC? / IS THIS ORGANIC?

•  It’s the safest and cleanest food that you and your family can eat.

•  It is certified to meet strict national standards so you know it’s produced without harmful pesticides, antibiotics, hormones or genetically modified organisms.

•  We only use methods that are healthy for our soil, plants and animals.

#THINKCANADAORGANIC

ARE YOU CERTIFIED? WHAT DOES CERTIFIED

ORGANIC MEAN?

ARE YOU CERTIFIED? WHAT DOES CERTIFIED ORGANIC MEAN?

•  Yes, my farm is certified organic. We are inspected each year to make sure we are following strict national standards.

•  We keep detailed records on how we produce our products and manage our farm.

•  This ensures that we are producing foods that are healthy and safe for you and your family and that our farming methods are good for the environment.

WHY CERTIFY ?

WHY CERTIFY? •  You know us and trust us. By certifying, we provide you with

an additional guarantee that we have produced this food with your health and the environment as our priority.

•  “Organic” is a regulated term (nationally and provincially). By

certifying, my farm gets the recognition of using very high quality production standards. I can use the “Organic” logo/label when I promote my farm and my products.

WHY CERTIFY? •  There are farmers like me all across the country

who produce good food according to the same organic standards. By certifying, we stand together for a healthier and more sustainable food system.

•  Certifying gives my farm more credibility and gives my

customers peace of mind. Many producers might say they are organic, but only those who certify are inspected and regulated so that they meet the highest national standards.

What is your reason?

WHY BUY LOCAL ORGANIC?

WHY BUY LOCAL ORGANIC? •  Buying local organic food is the best of both worlds.

You can feel good about where it came from AND how it was produced.

•  Buying from local organic producers supports our local economy, our community, and our environment. Plus it tastes better and is more nutritious because it’s so fresh!

DO YOU SPRAY PESTICIDES?

DO YOU SPRAY PESTICIDES? •  We’re certified organic, so we don’t use any chemicals.

OR •  We’re certified organic, so we only use

natural pest controls when we absolutely have to.

WHAT DO YOU FEED YOUR ANIMALS?

WHAT DO YOU FEED YOUR ANIMALS?

•  Our livestock is fed an organic diet. This means absolutely no hormones, antibiotics, genetically modified organisms and animal by-products.

How do you feed your animals? Explain to your customers. Ex: I feed my cows/chickens…

Part 2 Telling your farm’s story

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR FARM…

•  Incorporate the word “certified organic” into your response if you are certified. Ex: We are a certified small organic farm near Sackville.

•  Tell your customers about your history.

Ex: We’ve been a family-owned business since 1960. •  Tell your customer about what you produce and offer.

Ex: We sell a variety of vegetables year-round at our farm, at the market and through our community supported agriculture food box program.

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR FARM

•  Tell your customer about your values and why you do the work you do. Ex: We’re passionate about growing organic produce. We’re committed to using good environmental practices and we’re proud to feed families in our community delicious, healthy and nutritious food.

•  Use your core values to describe your farm’s story or

to talk about a certain product in particular – using clear and concise sentences. •  What image or message do

you want to portray to the world? It’s important to set your message.

GROUP ACTIVITY: HOW TO DEVELOP KEY MESSAGES ABOUT YOUR FARM

PART 3 TOP 5 RECOMMENDED PROMOTIONAL

TOOLS TO HAVE FOR YOUR FARM

HINT: DON’T FORGET TO USE YOUR KEY MESSAGES ABOUT ORGANIC FARMING IN

THESE TOOLS!

TOP 5 TOOLS •  Integrate the Canada Organic logo in all your signage (at your

farmer’s market kiosk and at your farm). You can also display it on your product labels as well as in any brochure or promotional pamphlet that you give to customers.

TOP 5 TOOLS •  Get a nice business card. •  Have on your business card:

–  Canada Organic logo –  Full contact details; and –  Links to your website and/or Facebook page.

Don’t know where to start? -Staples.ca -Vistaprint.ca -Moo.com

TOP 5 TOOLS •  Have the national Think Before You Eat campaign materials

(postcard, brochures, stickers, etc.) handy at your farmer’s market kiosk as well as at your farm to give out to customers who want more information on organic. You can also ask ACORN for copies of any informative brochures and materials that they may have.

TOP 5 TOOLS •  Set up a simple website for your farm.

Menu items: –  “About Us” (Tell your farm’s story – use the creative key

messaging exercise to write a few short paragraphs about your farm);

–  “Our Products” (List all the products you produce/offer); –  “Contact Us” (Have full contact details, including address and

even a Google Map). Feature the Canada Organic logo right on your homepage. Personalize it with a few nice photographs of the farm, your products as well as you/your family and employees.

TOP 5 TOOLS

•  Don’t know where to start? –  Wix.com –  Yola.ca –  Wordpress.com –  Godaddy.com –  Weebly.com All these sites let you pick gorgeous ready-made website templates which you can personalise to your own taste with texts and photos from your farm. Fees are around $5 to $35 per month and include web hosting.

TOP 5 TOOLS

TOP 5 TOOLS

•  Set-up and start posting photos, videos and interesting articles on a Facebook page for your farm. According to the recent studies, 41% of Internet users trust the information published on Facebook. If the information is posted by a friend the level of trust grows up to 64%.

TOP 5 TOOLS What should I put on my Facebook page?

–  Showcase your fresh produce with photos. –  Remind people about start/end or seasons. –  Remind people about farm visiting hours. –  Post photos of you tending to the animals, working around the

farm and showcasing your organic farming environmental practices.

–  Provide links to interesting eco-living/healthy organic eating tips from websites you trust and use.

–  Provide links to your favourite recipes and ask customers to share their recipes as well.

–  Show your involvement with the community. –  Etc. How else can you use Social Media?

THANK YOU!

Questions?

www.echoactions.ca