Word of Mouth
Within small rural communities, especially Tribal communities, word of mouth can be the best form of communication and advertising. This was no different on the Menominee Reservation, as co-workers would tell relatives, who would then tell friends about upcoming outreach activities. We achieved full capacity at our 2019 Gardening Workshops as a result of word of mouth and community members bringing along their children, grandchildren, and parents. For the Menominee people, it is common to establish relationships and kinship in many conversations. During this informal process of establishing relationships, information is often transferred about events, resources, and who to talk to about getting something accomplished. Once the information is transferred from one person to another, this information is often passed along in a subsequent conversation. This seems to be a cultural connection to the traditional Menominee practice of having “runners.” Runners were people desig nated in the community to pass along information to bands of Menominee that lived in different locations throughout what is now known as Wisconsin. Runners ran from their village band to other bands to share information. This can also be a detriment to your plans or activities, as word of mouth can create more confusion and miscommunication than other forms of communication. It is important to supplement word-of-mouth promotion with other forms of communication and advertisement. It is also critical that people in your organization can answer community members’ questions about your event or project.
The Kehtekaewak Farmers Market uses Facebook to promote the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, Garden Education workshops, and other food sovereignty-related events in the Menominee community. Digital flyers and posters are often posted to the Kehtekaewak Farmers Market Facebook page, which serves as a visually compelling and useful tool for raising awareness. Physical copies of these flyers are posted around the community to reach those who do not use Facebook. The Kehtekaewak Farmers Market Facebook account is continuously managed and updated by our AmeriCorps VISTA workers, who also help manage the farmers market. We face Facebook management challenges when there are gaps in service with our VISTA workers. We are working on a plan to maintain the Facebook account during these gaps. They post fresh content each week, including pictures of the market and event information, and ensure that comments and messages are read and responded to. Facebook provides a great way for existing followers to share events and information with their friends and groups. Other Facebook pages within the community, such as Menominee Tribal News and College of Menominee Nation pages, share posts to their pages and, instantly, information is shared with hundreds of people. As a supplement to your other outreach strategies, Facebook can help reach a wide audience in a brief amount of time.
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