Making the most of local publications

CAPTION: Some of Kidsfirst Maniototo's team, with their kindy cat, Dwayne.

Whether it's a school newsletter, a community newsletter or paper, or a spot on a radio show, there are lots of ways to use local media to get the word out about your kindergarten and the Kidsfirst difference.

Sometimes, it's direct promotion through a story that 'sells' your points-of-difference and showcases the reasons why whānau should choose your kindergarten over the competition. Shorter pieces are a great way to talk about kindergarten activities - the sorts of things you've been up to - and this can give whānau a window into what goes on at kindy and what the experience is like for tamariki and whānau.

There are also great opportunities to provide deeper, more informationally based content covering topics of interest to whānau with young children - the sorts of things they might ask about after session or do a Google search for. This more popular 'parenting content' is what we base the stories in our Whānau Connect section on - we look for story ideas that sit comfortably with the Kidsfirst values and the #betterbecause differences and line those up with the most popular internet search topics.

Many local publications are grateful for this sort of content, and might even give you a regular radio slot or newspaper column if it's relevant enough to their audience.

When Deb McNally, Head Teacher at Kidsfirst Maniototo, got the following email, she knew there might be a bigger opportunity on offer:

We were wondering if you'd like to contribute a brief write up and a photo or two for Positively Maniototo about what's been happening at Kidsfirst lately. We feel like we're lacking a bit on early childhood education in the Maniototo and want to up our game in that department. If you have photos can we please have children's names to identify them for our readers.

"The two local schools contribute to a regular Education column," Deb says, "and they were asking us be part of this section. I feel that it's important for us to contribute content that talks about the values of a kindergarten education rather than just, 'cute things the kids are doing at kindy.'"

After a quick chat with the Kidsfirst marketing team, it was decided that Maniototo would provide the 400-odd words that the publication was looking for, and once they've seen what's on offer, see if they'd be keen for a regular column.

The piece Deb submitted is here, and there's a quick guide to customising existing content to suit local needs here. Good going, Deb!