Brand Updates

Social Media Kit: Spring 2018 #BearGrads

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Missouri State University’s spring 2018 commencement ceremonies will take place at 10 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. Friday, May 18, 2018 at JQH Arena.

Share your story

Help us celebrate #BearGrads by sharing your experience on social media. If you are graduating or attending graduation to celebrate with someone, we want to hear about it. You may even see yourself featured on Missouri State’s social media channels.

We encourage you to join the conversation before and during commencement by posting about it on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and tagging your posts with the official hashtag: #BearGrads.

Make your posts social media savvy

  • Tag your posts with the official commencement hashtag: #BearGrads
  • Share your experience with us by tagging Missouri State University or @missouristate
  • Tag your posts with the Springfield, Missouri hashtag: #SGF
  • When you post to Facebook, boost your status update by sharing with a photo or video.
  • Nothing beats a first-hand perspective. If you attend commencement, share photos from or quotes about your experience.
  • Follow the #BearGrads conversation on Tagboard

Visual assets

Video

We’ll live stream each ceremony on YouTube.

Snapchat

Look for our #BearGrads geofilter on Snapchat May 18 in Hammons Student Center and JQH Arena.

Snapchat geolfilter example with a student celebrating

Facebook timeline photos

Enhance your Facebook profile with these cover images. Tap or click on an image to open the file and save it to your device.

Facebook cover: Two graduates holding up their degree covers Facebook cover: Hundreds of graduates at JQH Arena Facebook cover: Graduates taking a selfie Facebook cover: Two graduates celebrating outside JQH Arena Facebook cover: A female graduate smiles at her family

Twitter timeline photos

Enhance your Twitter profile with these cover images. Tap or click on an image to open the file and save it to your device.

Twitter header: A female graduate smiles at her family Twitter header: Two graduates holding up their degree covers Twitter header: Hundreds of graduates at JQH Arena Twitter header: Graduates taking a selfie Twitter header: Two graduates celebrating outside JQH Arena

Instagram photos

Enhance your Instagram account with these cover images. Tap or click on an image to open the file and save it to your device.

Instagram image: Two graduates holding up their degree covers Instagram image: Hundreds of graduates at JQH Arena Instagram image: Graduates taking a selfie Instagram image: Two graduates celebrating outside JQH Arena Instagram image: A female graduate smiles at her family

GIFs

Download and share GIFs from Missouri State’s GIPHY channel.

Digital wallpapers

Add #BearGrads digital wallpaper to your desktop or phone screen.

Sample social media posts

  • Congratulations to our #BearGrads! We’re proud of you!
  • Can’t make it to commencement? Watch the ceremonies live online at YouTube #BearGrads
  • #BearGrads has a new member, and it’s my (son, daughter, friend, etc.) (@TagThePerson).
  • What’s your favorite college memory? Share using #BearGrads.
  • Graduating on Friday? Share your photos from the day using #BearGrads.
  • Explore what our #BearGrads have to say about commencement day: http://bit.ly/1Hlgn1C. Join the conversation with #BearGrads

Associated Press updates style guide

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Missouri State University follows the Associated Press Stylebook for guidance on writing for print or electronic publication. AP Style recently added several new entries and updated some sections.

Missouri State has a limited membership to the online AP Stylebook. More information on each of these entries is available in the online guide. If you create content for the university, contact Andrea Mostyn to request access.

A local style guide with exceptions and entries specific to the university is available on the Brand website.

Updates and additions

 

Lists, bulleted lists

Introduce lists with a short phrase or sentence, followed by a colon.

Capitalize the first word in each bullet.

Use periods at the end of each line, whether or not it’s a full sentence.

Use parallel construction for each item in a list:

  • Start with the same part of speech.
  • Use the same voice (active or passive).
  • Use the same verb tense.
  • Use the same sentence type (statement, question or exclamation).

Numerals

In most cases, a sentence cannot start with a number. The main exception is that a sentence can start with a year (2018).

A new exception was added. Sentences may start with a number-and-letter combination such as 3D.

Survivor, victim

AP recommends using these terms with care because they can be imprecise and politically and legally charged

Survivor is usually used for someone who has lived through injury or disease or for someone who escaped potential injury. It is also sometimes used to refer to someone who lived through trauma.

Victim can mean someone who is killed, injured or mistreated. Using the word “victim” can be confusing because it could mean the person died or suffered injury.

Be precise when using these terms.

Celebrate the naming of the Bill and Lucille Magers Family Health and Wellness Center

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The campus community welcomed the opening and dedication of the Bill and Lucille Magers Family Health and Wellness Center this spring. We’re proud of the new facility and the great services and opportunities it brings to campus.

How to reference

To ensure consistency through the many communications about the center, please reference its name accordingly.

Print

  • Upon first reference: Bill and Lucille Magers Family Health and Wellness Center
  • Upon second reference: Magers Health and Wellness Center

Digital

  • On websites or social media accounts: Magers Health and Wellness Center

Indexes

  • On items like the campus map: Magers Health and Wellness Center, Bill, Lucille and Family

Additional resources

Check out the Editorial Style Guide for additional text resources.

Lessons learned from the Alumni Association and Bear Bulletin redesigns

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We recently, by that I mean a year ago, decided it was time to redesign the Alumni Association’s digital communications. Before embarking on this glorious journey we first needed to figure out what we wanted to do and why were doing it.

Make a game plan

We developed a set of goals to help us keep our audience in mind.

  1. User access to information on mobile devices
  2. Clear calls to act for alumni to engage with the unviersity
  3. Streamline university news with alumni centered stories from the printed magazine
  4. Implement our sub-brand across all communication platforms

Then laid out the three phases we planned to execute.

Phase 1 – Missouri State Magazine online

During this phase we found alumni want to get their printed magazine in an easy to read online format. So, we tore down the old magazine site and built a new blog. Through the use of syndication we are able to pull real-time stories from the university communications department. We can now feature stories from the news, highlight faculty work, showcase student awards and give a home to all the alumni stories. The Bear Bulletin blog is mobile friendly and ties directly to our website.

From old to new – blog




Phase 2 – New mobile friendly website

Next step, updating our website to streamline information about events, programs and ways alumni can volunteer. Warning, don’t go into a website redesign before a major event. I planned to finish the redesign before Homecoming, but didn’t take into account all the updates to the Homecoming website.

Again, we went back to our goals and consulted the Alumni Association Board and Council. Since mobile stacks information into one column, we created a hierarchy for the content and used clear calls to act buttons on our Missouri State University Alumni Association website.

A mobile friendly site

old alumni site
new alumni site
old not mobile friendly alumni site
new mobile friendly alumni site

Phase 3 – New e-news letter

Again, the data showed us nearly 50% of the audience accesses our email from a mobile device.  We stuck with one column, used more full-width photos, added calls to act buttons and reduced the text.

An email you want to open




What we learned

  • Timeline for completion
    • Keep in mind vacations
    • Summer was great for us
  • Website
    • Plan ahead for any major content editing on your site
      • Ex: Homecoming is our biggest event and we were in redesign – not so good
    • Build site map
      • Before you start rearranging look at site navigation first
      • Then layout your pages
    • Review links on your site and pointing at you
  • Check mobile

You can download the full presentation for reference Alumni digital redesign-MarCom.

University advancement sub-brand finds its voice

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With the launch of the university advancement sub-brand, special focus is given to messaging to ensure maximum readability when writing for alumni, donor and friends of Missouri State.

Below are some of the best practices being executed in the development of sub-brand text to boost comprehension, retention and action.

Contributed by Michelle Rose

Shorter is better

  • Shorter paragraphs
    • One to three sentences. Three is max. 25 words max for lead, i.e., first paragraph.
  • Shorter sentences
    • Eight words is perfect sentence length; occasionally longer is OK; 21 words should be max
  • Shorter words
    • Goal is five characters; one syllable or two is ideal

Be visual

  • Use large images
  • Break up text with infographics/numbers/timelines

Ellis Hall

More entry points

  • In text longer than 250 words, ensure there is at least one overall headline, and a minimum of two subheads
  • Create infographics
    • If something is a number, date, fact, timeline, etc., pop it out in a large box rather than keep it in paragraph or narrative-style text
  • Use more “chunks” of information
    • For fact-based stories that don’t have a natural story arc (nonprofiles, nonnarratives), break out each “thought” or thesis into its own chunk, complete with a mini headline or subhead
  • Break out all calls to action

Flex voice to connect with readers

  • Ask more questions (How will you inspire others? Etc.)
  • Be personal by using more us/you/we language (i.e., not “The university will endeavor to accomplish the goals” but “we will reach our goals.”)
  • Don’t use passive sentences
  • Focus on MSU pride and more use of the words from the overall university branding campaign