Breaking down barriers: Consumer education

I returned from Madrid this week and my heart is full from working with some amazing coffee pros! I serve as a volunteer on SCA’s ED&I Task Force. We met in Madrid for the annual in-person meeting to discuss all sorts of great projects. I stayed a little longer to enjoy Madrid (I can’t wait to go back, because wow, the food was delicious!). Next week, I’ll be traveling to Taiwan for two weeks to celebrate the new year & for my grandmother’s 88th birthday year.

I often liken consumer education to language translation. Sure, you may be using English in both your industry and for your consumers, but the words you use certainly aren’t the same. Your lexicon of industry words like “cupping,” “direct trade,” and “effervescent mouthfeel” probably aren’t all crammed into one consumer-oriented post without some explanatory sentences. 

In a way, it takes skill to “translate” the words you use daily with a coworker to words that a consumer or layperson would understand. We’re sometimes so locked in our bubble in marketing (especially if you don’t have daily consumer interactions) that you forget to step back and look at your words.

There are many ways to break down the barriers of language through consumer education. Some of the easiest ways is truly the same as you would use for a 4th grade reading level: write simply, concisely, and deliberately. 

Click through to read the full blog post with three examples of coffee organizations who are doing some good work in the realm of consumer education.

Instagram released the feature to post to multiple accounts at once. You can now reshare your favorite Netflix title into Instagram Stories (works like the Spotify connection).

Facebook added more cross-posting options, where you can share one post to both your Page’s Story & your IG’s Story. It launched a petition feature called “Community Action.” It will be adding new ways for advertisers to control where ads appear (e.g. you don’t want your ad to be placed with any mature content).

Twitter will be getting an even darker mode for the purists out there.

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