Web Strategy and Development Blog

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 106 Cheek Hall 100
  • 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

Recap: Making Your Statement in a Digital World – April 12, 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.

The session was presented in two parts.

  • Part 1 focused on writing for blogs.
  • Part 2 dove deep into the social media universe and discussed strategies for storytelling and audience engagement across a variety of platforms.

Missouri State students

Key takeaways

Blogs

  • A blog is a great place to build a relationship with your audience.
  • Use headers, images and quotes to flesh out your blog and make it easier for your audience to read.
  • Use classic storytelling tools, like perspective, conflict and tension, to create blog posts that resonate with your audience.
  • A blog makes a great content repository. Consider using blog posts for the most in-depth version of your news and events and distributing shorter variations of the post across your social media channels.

Social media

  • Good social media is interactive and unpretentious and should look effortless — even though good social media management requires a lot of effort.
  • Don’t dive into every social media channel at once. Pick ones that help meet your strategic communication goals.
  • When deciding whether to take on a new social media channel, analyze whether it’s a good fit for your goals, target audience and current resources.
  • Identify the ideal audience member for your social media. Get specific with the details; even consider giving that person a name. This will make it easier to create conversational, personal social posts.

Access the presentation

Brand banners

Facebook

  • Use Facebook Pages to share your organization’s story and connect with your fans.
  • Facebook Pages help you become
    • Discoverable
    • Connected
    • Timely
    • Insightful
  • That it’s social media’s biggest platform is a benefit for reach, but a challenge for organizations to acquire attention.
  • Promote transparency. Allow anyone to publish to your page or tag you in photos.
  • Post videos directly to Facebook to boost your posts’ reach.

Twitter

  • Act like your own biggest fan.
  • Always respond to questions and concerns from your audience.
  • Focus on linking to mobile-friendly content.
  • Think about your voice. An institution does not have to sound institutional.
  • Use precise university-branded hashtags.
    • #MSUBears (athletics)
    • #GoMaroon (student engagement, traditions, etc.)
    • #BearGrads (commencement)
    • #CitizenBear (public affairs)
    • #BearsHomecoming (homecoming)

Visual Platforms

  • Visual content captures our attention more quickly than text.
  • Use Instagram if your organization lends itself to visual storytelling, but note the platform focuses on consumption, not interactivity.
  • YouTube reaches more 18-49-year-olds than any cable network in the United States.
  • However, there’s no formula for making a video go viral.
  • Use aggregators to combine cross-platform posts around a theme or hashtag.

A student walks to class

Access the presentation

You are my inspiration: ideas to support your blogging

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In this series we inspire you to create fun, insightful blog posts, which help convey an inviting, communicative atmosphere to current and prospective students.

Production photos of Ballad Hunter taken Friday, September 23, 2016. Jesse Scheve/Missouri State University
Photo by Jesse Scheve

A post we loved

Haven’t posted for a while? Don’t worry. We found inspiration in the Department of Theatre and Dance, which recently posted a gallery featuring images from the September 2016 production of Ballad Hunter. The pictures illustrate the characters’ emotions as captured on camera. You can add images or even create a gallery.

This post works because it showcases a recent event. It also provides an inside glimpse of the production to a broad audience — including those who live far outside Springfield.

A new take on a classic post

Need a fresh idea? Here one idea: interview a faculty or staff member. Think of fun questions such as:

  • What would you tell yourself at 20?
  • What’s the worst advice you’ve ever received?
  • What’s your favorite album?
  • What would you do if you weren’t teaching?
  • What day would you repeat if you could?

Have fun and showcase the personality of your colleagues, whether they’ve just arrived or have been here for a while.

Ask four or five questions and write responses in either a traditional journalistic style or as a series of questions and answers. Try asking several people the same questions and posting the responses each month. Call the segment something lighthearted like “Five Awesome Questions.” Snap a photo and add it to the post. Remember to mention it on social media.

Reach out with blogging questions

Need help getting started? Drop us a line.

Maximize the potential of websites, blogs and social media

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Writing for the Web

If you’re in charge of a website, blog, social media platform — or all three — you’ve likely asked the following questions:

  • What do users want my website, blog or social media to provide?
  • How do I organize content on my website so that users can find the information they want?
  • What should I be communicating on a website vs. a blog? How do the two relate?
  • How do I repurpose my website and blog content and distribute it on social media?
  • What can I do immediately to make my digital communications more strategic?

The office of Web and new media is offering a free, interactive training session that will address each of these questions. The workshop will also provide tips and techniques that can be implemented right away in order to make your digital communications more efficient and effective.

A session of Short and Snappy: Writing for the Digital World will be held on Oct. 28Workshop details

Who should attend

This session is open to University faculty, staff and student employees who are responsible for University websites, blogs or social media accounts.

Free registration

Registration is requested via My Learning Connection (on the Profile tab of My Missouri State).

 

Training will provide tips on unlocking the power of academic blogs

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BBlogger with Missouri State coffee muglogging for recruitment and retention

Academic blogs are one of the simplest tools for nurturing relationships with prospective students and faculty; sharing important information among current students, faculty and staff; and promoting a program’s accomplishments and offerings.

A well-maintained blog is a huge boost to both communication and search engine optimization strategies, but getting started can feel challenging.

The office of Web and new media and the faculty center for teaching and learning are co-sponsoring a Q-and-A panel discussion and training on some of the most persistent blogging questions, such as:

  • Why should I be blogging?
  • How do I get started?
  • How do I know it’s worth the effort?
  • How do I integrate this type of communication into a schedule that’s already packed?
  • Who’s reading our departmental blog?
  • What do I talk about on the blog?
  • How do I solicit content?
  • What does a successful blog post look like?
  • What do I do with blog content once it’s been created? Where else can I use it?

The training will feature a panel of expert faculty bloggers, who are willing to share their tips and tricks for maximizing a blog’s potential, along with key analytics data and useful blogging resources.

Key Details

  • What: Blogging: Connect with Your Target Audience
  • When: 12:15 – 1:15 p.m., Nov. 19
  • Where: Plaster Student Union, Room 313
  • Panelists: Natalie Allen, Mark Biggs, George Connor, Kristin Tivener
  • Facilitator: Lucie Amberg
  • Free registration is available through My Learning Connection