Web and New Media Blog

Social Media Kit: Homecoming 2017 – Welcome Home

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Missouri State University alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends are invited to celebrate MSU and all things maroon and white at Homecoming 2017. We’ve created a social media kit to help you share the event with your family and friends.

Key details

  • What: Homecoming 2017 – Welcome Home
  • When: Oct. 27-28, 2017
  • Where: Across campus and in downtown Springfield
  • Who: Missouri State University alumni, students, faculty, staff and community members
  • Sponsors: The Alumni Association and Student Homecoming Committee

Main events:

Share your story

Help us spread the word about Homecoming to the Missouri State and local communities by sharing it on social media.

We encourage you to join the online conversation by posting on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and tagging your posts with the official hashtag: #BearsHomecoming

Homecoming related social media content posted with #BearsHomecoming will be aggregated and featured through Tagboard. To be featured, users need to:

  • Post to a public account on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, or Flickr
  • Include the hashtag #BearsHomecoming

Make your post social media savvy

Tagging tips

Other tips:

  • When you post to Facebook, boost your status update by sharing it with a photo. Nothing beats a first-hand perspective!
  • If you attend a Homecoming event, consider sharing a photo from or quote about your experience.
  • You can update your profile and cover photos with the Homecoming logo.

Visual assets

Facebook timeline photos

Twitter timeline photos

Instagram

Twitter profile photos

Facebook profile/cover photos

 

Sample social media posts

Sample tweets

  • Join @MarooNation and @MoStateHC2017 in this year’s theme: Every Bear, Everywhere #BearsHomecoming #SGF
  • The Welcome Home Party is THE place to start your maroon and white weekend with fellow alumni: http://bit.ly/BearsParty
  • Celebrate #BearsHomecoming and enjoy specials at participating #downtownsgf businesses with Bears on the Square: http://bit.ly/BearsOTS  #SGF
  • Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes… http://bit.ly/BearsRent #BearsHomecoming  Oct. 27-28 at @HammonsHall.
  • Join us for breakfast w/ @MSU_Boomer and take home a picture with the best mascot in the MVC #BearsHomecoming: http://bit.ly/BfastBoomer
  • Let’s cover JQH Parkway in maroon and white during #BearsHomecoming Parade Oct. 28 at 9 a.m. #SGF: http://bit.ly/BHPArade
  • Tailgate w/ #MSUBears fans and prepare to cheer on @MOStateFootball in @BearfestVillage at 11 a.m. #BearsHomecoming: http://bit.ly/BFV1llage
  • Bring the kids to @BearfestVillage and check out the Family Zone north of McDonald Arena #BearsHomecoming: http://bit.ly/BFV1llage
  • Cheer @MOStateFootball on against the Sycamores Oct. 28 at 2 p.m. in Plaster Stadium. Tix: http://bit.ly/BHFootball #BearsHomecoming #MSUBears

Review our steps for turning a link into a tweet.

Facebook event

Homecoming 2017 has an associated Facebook event; please link to the Facebook event page when appropriate. And don’t forget to join and share on your pages.

Sample Facebook posts

Sharing about Homecoming on Facebook allows for some additional customization. The sample posts provide content recommendations based on our best practice tips for optimizing link sharing on Facebook.

Example 1
Example 2
  • Headline: Enjoy a family-fun morning including breakfast, a meet and greet with Boomer and get your own family portrait with him on Oct. 28 ‪#‎BearsHomecoming
  • URL: http://bit.ly/1Pa3XfP
Example 3
Example 4

Culture wins: Five mistakes that made us successful

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About a year ago, Missouri State announced that its Chorale would perform at the 58th presidential inauguration.

Today, we’re sharing a behind-the-scenes look at how the marketing and communications division promoted the group’s trip and performance to Washington, D.C.

Sara Clark, director of web and new media; and Kevin Agee, new media specialist, presented on the topic Oct. 10, 2017 at the HighEdWeb annual conference in Hartford, Connecticut.

Review the presentation slides

Read the HighEdWeb LINK article

Watch video from the presentation

Shoutouts

We’d like to thank these people who helped us promote the experience.

  • The entire web and new media staff
  • Joelle Cannon, district office director, Sen. Roy Blunt
  • Laura Condeluci, communication director, JCCIC
  • Stacey Funderburk, director of publications
  • Dr. Gloria Galanes, former dean of the College of Arts and Letters
  • Robert Gibson, Chorale member
  • Dr. Cameron LaBarr, director of choral studies
  • Giovanni Hernandez, Chorale member
  • Bob Linder, director of photographic services
  • Andrea Mostyn, director of university communications
  • Blake Richter, videographer
  • Michelle Rose, writer-editor, publications
  • Suzanne Shaw, vice president for marketing and communications
  • Clif Smart, Missouri State University president
  • Paige Waltz, digital media assistant, JCCIC
  • Kevin White, photographer and assistant director of photographic services

Recap: Making Your Statement in a Digital World – Sept. 29, 2017

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We recently presented Making Your Statement in a Digital World, a comprehensive training session for Missouri State website, blog and social media managers.

Still have questions or need help?

We’re hosting two post-training open labs, to answer your questions and provide support. Please join us. No preregistration is required.

Key details

  • Dates: Friday, Oct. 27 and Friday, Nov. 10
  • Time: 2-4 p.m., both dates
  • Location: Meyer Library, room 106
  • About: Both sessions will be held in conjunction with the Web Help Desk open lab.

Access the presentations

The Sept. 29 training session was presented in four parts.

wideshot of people walking on campus

Key takeaways

Readability

  • Use concise text and a scannable layout to make your content more readable. Put the most important information at the top.
  • Always ask, “how does this look on mobile?” Current and future students are researching your department/program on their phones.
  • Write less, people will read more. People will read more of a 300-word article than they will a 600-word article.
  • No one wants to put extra effort into reading. Seventy percent of people read at an intermediate (middle school) level. Newspapers aim for a 7th grade reading level.
  • Headings, bulleted lists and visual elements. Use them.
  • The YoastSEO plugin for WordPress is a great tool for improving your writing.
  • Improving your content readability has many benefits, including audience reach and audience action.

Blogging

  • Does your blog tell a story? Who is speaking in your story and how are you conveying that meaning? It’s important to start in the action and develop some sort of conflict that is resolved.
  • Be sure you are defining your audience; alumni, faculty, staff, and/or students?
  • Utilize the formatting strategies from readability while adding photography and pull quotes.
  • Update your blog with engaging stories at least once a month, if not more.

Students taking photo with Boomer

Accessibility

  • Accessibility means people with disabilities can use and navigate your website.
  • There are federal guidelines for accessibility. MSU, which receives federal funding, falls under WCAG 2.0 Level AA.
  • Think of your website as a public space (i.e. a courthouse or city hall). Make accommodations for all.
  • Accessibility overlaps with readability and best practices for websites. Having an accessible website means your website is better overall.
  • Alt text, headings and descriptive links are crucial for accessibility. Our Accessibility blog series also covers these topics, and more.

Social media and visual platforms

  • Share human – don’t be afraid to act like a human and interact with your audience one-on-one.
  • Set up a Facebook business account where people can find your contact information. Be prepared to respond to their questions.
  • Think visual – when on location for an event share raw photos, but when promoting the event utilize photo services to help boost your presence.
  • Video is king across all platforms. Be sure to add captioning for accessibility and to increase views.
  • Measure your success based off the goals your team sets: more followers, increased engagement, more views, etc. Keep a log of your analytics so you can compare data from previous years.

Students in computer lab

Improve your digital marking strategy at this free training

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Join us for a free half-day session about best practices for websites, blogs and social media. We’ll offer tips and tricks for online marketing and communications.

Making your statement in a digital world

You’ll learn practical strategies for managing websites, blogs and social media. We’ll answer questions like:

  • How do we repurpose our website and blog content and distribute it on social media?
  • What do users want my website, blog or social media to provide?
  • How do we become better strategic storytellers?
  • How can we utilize the newest features of the upgraded blog themes?
  • What are some tips and tricks we can use to make sure our site is accessible for all users?
  • How do we manage messaging on multiple social media channels?
  • What are some advanced strategies to increase our effectiveness on Facebook, Twitter
    and Instagram?
  • How can we best leverage photo and video content?
  • What can we do immediately to make our digital communications more strategic?

Key details

  • What: Making Your Statement in a Digital World, a free training session on websites and social media presented by Erika Brame and Kai Raymer
  • When: 1-5 p.m., Friday, Sept. 29.
  • Where: Karls Hall, room 102
  • Who: Open to faculty, staff and students who manage content for Missouri State University websites, blogs and social media platforms.
  • How: This event is free; registration though My Learning Connection is requested. Please feel free to bring your own laptop or tablet.