How do we educate campus on best practices for e-communications

When it comes to marketing one of my favorite lines is when someone says “lets get an email blast out!” How do we as web professionals educate, collaborate, and assist the rest of the institution with best practices in e-communications?

Over the last four years I have found this to be a difficult question because there are so many components to an e-communication:

• delivery system
• body content
• subject line
• photo or banner
• call to action
• unsubscribe

Each of these of course has their own intricacies as well, which professional marketers spend time perfecting. In tough economic times not only is there not an opportunity to expand staff but in most cases web offices are being asked to cut or at least hold the line on resources. But web offices are not the only opportunity for institutional savings and we are seeing an increased interest in utilizing web based technologies including e-communications to communicate across our campus which results in an increased “email blast” effect.

I think there are a number of things you can do to help your community understand that you need to integrate e-communications into an overall strategy and plan in advance.

System
You need a good email system. We have used in-house systems, quasi in house systems, and now a vendor supported solution. Without a doubt the vendor solution has been a savior and allowed us to focus on best practices more instead of making sure the right lists load quickly.

Partner
Find your largest users and partner with them. In higher ed chances are good that your highest volume users are in development/alumni relations or admissions. Spend some time understanding their sequence and their needs. Having a partner early on helps when you want to work with other segments of campus.

Resources
Chances are resources at your institution are tight and you might not be able to get money to help you outsource your e-communications efforts. Set up a meeting with your IT staff who are in charge of institutional email. Share with them some of the best practices that you are trying to communicate with campus and see if they have anything additional to add. These members of your community spend a lot of time trying to block spam and you can probably use this free in-house resource to help you “beat” the spam filters.

Collaborate
Bring the major players together once a semester and host an e-communications summit. Share best practices and have your users talk about what works and what they are struggling with. This will help you set priorities and allow for free knowledge transfer across departmental lines.

 

Gettysburg College launches iphone app

At Gettysburg College today we were pleased to announce the launch of a free iPhone application for the  iPhone or iPod Touch. The app can be downloaded at www.gettysburg.edu/app and is part of a broader mobile strategy for the college

The project started in May and was coordinated by web communications. We worked collaboratively with admissions, public relations, and IT and used a vendor GeoNova Publishing, they are historically a mapping company but are branching out into mobile devices.

We targeted the iphone/itouch for a number of reasons. We saw it as an opportunity to start working in the mobile world and thought that there was a good base of apps already for the iphone. In the future we may have to develop across several devices but we will wait and see if one emerges as most popular.

The app was designed specifically for the external audiences of the College including prospective students and their families, alumni and parents. It provides mobile access to an interactive campus map, information, photos, videos, and campus directories

Social media icons on the homepage part II

Wow has it been an incredibly busy start to the school year. It seems like we never let our foot off the gas from commencement to convocation and we are speeding right through the first semester.

My last post on adding social media icons to the homepage received a number of comments asking me to elaborate on the negative comments I heard.  So I thought I would provide the community with some insight.

I think at lots of places there is probably  a reluctant acceptance of social media. What is this reluctant acceptance? The understanding that it is important to some audience but it can’t really be here to stay and it can’t really be worth the time that web guy puts into it. Of course maybe they said the same thing about that world wide web thing in the 90’s.

I think Nick was correct in his comment that the  introduction of new colors called attention to the icons instead of other elements on the page. Most of the comments had to do with the “look and feel” and I think people reacted to the blunt promotion of these sites. Every once in a while I still have to answer the question on campus – why are we spending time in facebook?

I did get some links showing me how other schools handle social media icons and a few people wanted us to move them to the bottom. But I think Travis makes a really good point in his comment that if we are going to put time, effort, money, and resources into social media we better be ready to promote them. But that promotion doesn’t just happen on the web. If you have a collaborative integrated marketing team cross promotion in the alumni magazine and other venues are equally important.

Social media icons on the homepage

A few weeks ago we moved 5 social media icons onto the homepage and the site tools on the website.

This was part of a broad effort to increase the visabilty of our social media efforts on campus. Why put effort into projects if you don’t promote them right?

I was surprised by the reaction that we got across campus in a couple of ways

• I didn’t get much of a response just a couple of emails or verbal comments as I crossed campus
• The emails that I did get were very negative

Adding social media to the homepage is a growing trend in higher ed. If you check out Brad Ward’s blog @bluefuego you can find a post he did in august comparing the use of social media on a homepage over the course of 6 months. Well worth your read.

Good luck as we continue to fight the good fight with social media in higher ed.

Interested in working at Princeton?

Princeton has a pretty unique job opening if anyone is interested

Social Media Coordinator, Office of Communications

Responsibilities

The Office of Communications seeks a talented and versatile professional to edit, create, organize and update content for the University’s core website, social media sites and for other priority Web projects. The Social Media Coordinator will focus on written content, primarily from a journalistic perspective, and must be able to convey intended messages accurately and succinctly both through editorial and visual mechanisms. The successful candidate will have expertise in research and strategy implementation and will possess skills and interests in Web technology, including social media strategy, information architecture, design and other content. The coordinator must understand the role of the Web team as a support team for Communications and University priorities. He or she must be an organized communicator who can set priorities, multitask, problem solve, project track, meet deadlines, collaborate and contribute to overall team objectives. Prior experience working with news and media issues in a public relations capacity is required.

This position reports to the Director of Web Communications and the coordinator must exhibit a strong desire to serve the specific needs of a fast-paced communications office within a higher-education setting. He or she will have experience understanding the needs of and working comfortably with communications experts. He or she must have experience working comfortably with technology experts and must be able to contribute to a successful Web partnership between Communications and the Office of Information Technology.

Requirements

Requirements are: a minimum of 7 years experience in a high-pressure, professional Web and/or Communications environment in a capacity that assists and supports senior team members; a minimum of 7 years of editing and writing experience, preferably in a professional capacity, and a minimum of 3 years of Web experience in a coordination role; familiarity with Web technology, and ability to work in both Macintosh and PC environments; demonstrated ability to work well, both independently and on teams; and excellent organizational skills, must be able to multitask, must be able to work with creative teams and must be able to work well with diverse colleagues and audiences.

Candidates also should be able to demonstrate: understanding of how Web strategy, particularly social media, can improve communications efforts; good trouble-shooting capability; the ability to react well to crisis; and good organization skills, including the ability to prioritize and set standards.

Education

A master’s degree or higher or equivalent professional experience is required.

https://jobs.princeton.edu/applicants/jsp/shared/frameset/Frameset.jsp?time=1251308301827 – search open positions for application online…