If you’re investing in a new kitchen, make sure that you’re sharing the news with your community. Here are 6 tips to get you started…

A good quality kitchen can serve a dual purpose for your church. While its main use is often to support the needs of the parish and the church community – supporting events in the church calendar – it’s also a great way to raise funds for the church, and reach out to the wider community, through private hire.

If you have invested in a new kitchen (or are thinking about it) it’s important to share the news with your community, whether you’re promoting your events or your space for hire.

Why not try these six tips to promote your kitchen effectively:

Social media
Social media is a great way to get connected with your community. If you’re in the process of renovating, why not share updates on your Facebook or Twitter profile to garner interest before the kitchen opens?

Once you’re up and running, keep up momentum by regularly promoting the space and the events you host there. If you host regular dinners or a café at your church, you could also publish your menu, share photos of your volunteers in the kitchen preparing the meal and encourage people who attend to leave comments.

If you’re hoping to create awareness of your hall and kitchen as a space to hire, you could send out regular calendar updates with dates still available, and encourage previous users to upload a photograph from their party to your page.

There’s also a rapidly growing church community on Twitter and Facebook, so it’s a great opportunity to connect with the wider faith community.

Flyers
Popping reminders through doors is always a good way to get word out about events, or a hall-for-hire. Flyers are cheap to print, can be designed easily on any computer and only require a few dedicated volunteers to brave the elements and post them through doors.

Email
There are now some very easy-to-use websites, such as MailChimp, which let you create a visually appealing newsletter and send it to everyone on your mailing list. This is a quick, easy and often free way to tell people about what’s going on at your church. Again, you can start this activity during renovations to spark interest (everyone loves a grand design).

Go out and tell people
If you want people to come to you, go out and invite them. Often people don’t know that the church is open to everyone. Hold an open morning to show the kind of things you’re cooking in your kitchen, or host a stall at a local fair and take along some samples of your food. Nothing entices people more than free food, so it’s a fantastic opportunity to start a conversation.

To ensure your church kitchen can keep up with events at your church, you need a long-lasting kitchen. A Steelplan Kitchens design expert can help you create the kitchen that is right for your church and your events. Call us on 0844 809 9186.