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    Recap: Making Your Statement in a Digital World

    February 25, 2019 by Kai Raymer

    Missouri State students in maroon T-shirts taking photos with their smartphones.

    Web strategy and development staff members Kai Raymer and Erika Brame delivered a half-day training session Feb. 8 on digital marketing.

    Whether you attended or couldn’t make it this time, here’s a recap and a chance to download slides and view video from Making Your Statement in a Digital World.

    Key takeaways

    Readability

    Readability: The ease with witch a person can understand written content.

    • Two keys for readability: Concise text and scannable layout.
      • Use simple words and short sentences. Use headings so people and software can scan your content.
    • Write inverted pyramid style, not chronologically. Put the most important information near the top of your story, content and/or website.
    • Tools like Hemingway App and Yoast SEO can gauge and test the readability of your content.
    • Aim for a 6th-to-8th grade reading level for your content. Most people read at that level.
    • Prioritize what goes on your website. Don’t clutter. The more content and links you have, the less important everything becomes.
    • Know that readable content can help you:
      • Reach more people
      • Increase what they understand
      • Get them to act
      • Save money
    • No one wants to put extra effort into reading. Even smart people (deans, department heads, graduate students etc.).

    Download readability slides (PDF)

    You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print these documents.

    Social media

    • 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.
    • Facebook ads can be helpful but use with a strategy for want you want to accomplish.
    • Third party platforms can help teams collaborate and offer insightful analytics.
    • Keep it simple. Not everything goes viral and that’s ok. Keep interacting with the audience.

    Download social media slides (PDF)

    You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print these documents.

    Accessibility

    Accessibility helps people with disabilities or limited abilities better use the web.

    • Think of your website as a public space. Make accommodations for all users.
    • Not following accessibility standards could lead to lawsuits or legal trouble. Higher education websites are often targeted for accessibility issues.
      • Following accessibility standards will make your website better. You’ll improve SEO and reach more people.
    • Three staples of accessibility: alt text, headings and descriptive links.
      • Alt text is the text equivalent of a photo. Imagine you were describing the image to someone via text message or phone call.
      • Headings are vital for screen readers and give all visitors an easy outline of your website.
      • Descriptive links explain what the link offers. You shouldn’t have to read surrounding content for context. Don’t write “click here” for your links.
    • Use tools like WAVE and the Web Press accessibility checker. They’ll find accessibility issues on your website.
    • Follow our ongoing Accessibility blog series for the latest tips and strategies.

    Download accessibility slides (PDF)

    You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print these documents.

    Video

    • 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 on 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.
    • Start thinking of ways you can add video to your workflow. Start slow and make goals for yourself for when and how often you want to post videos.
    • Don’t backlight your subject. Let the natural light work for you, not against you.

    Download video slides (PDF)

    You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print these documents.

    Watch on Zoom

    For the first time, we live streamed the training through Zoom.

    Watch the replay

    Filed Under: Accessibility, brand, News, Redesign, Social media, Training Tagged With: content, marketing, Social Media, Training

    Improve your digital content strategies

    January 14, 2019 by Kai Raymer

    Missouri State students taking a group selfie.

    You’re invited to Making Your Statement in a Digital World on Feb. 8.  Join us as we cover best practices for websites, blogs and social media.

    Please register on My Learning Connection via My Missouri State. You’re welcome to bring a laptop and/or mobile device.

    This is a terrific opportunity for MSU faculty, staff and students who haven’t previously attended this training session.

    Key details

    • Who: Missouri State bloggers, website editors, social media managers and content creators
    • What: Making Your Statement in a Digital World
    • When: 1-5 p.m., Feb. 8
    • Where: Meyer Library, 10-B

    Attend on Zoom

    Can’t attend in person? Join a live stream of the training session via Zoom.

    About the session

    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?
    • What are some tips and tricks we can use to make sure our site accessible and readable 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?

    Meet the trainers

    Erika Brame, web strategy and development

    Kai Raymer, web strategy and development

    Filed Under: brand, News, Social media, Training Tagged With: content, Social Media, Training

    3 simple tips for improving your headlines

    September 18, 2018 by Kai Raymer

    Strong headlines are vital. They’re the billboards for your content.

    Consider the classic 80-20 rule. For every 10 people who find your headline, eight will read the headline but only two will read the content.

    Strong headlines entice your audience to keep reading.

    You write headlines for many things: websites, articles and blogs, emails, social media and more.

    Here are three basic tips for headline writing.

    Know your audience, purpose and platform

    Who are you writing for? What’s important to them? Why would your content interest them? Nick Usborne asks these questions, and others, as a starting basis in his Udemy course for headline writing.

    If you know these answers, it’s easier to connect your audience with your content.

    Audience/purpose: Your audience wants to know what’s in it for them. What will they get from reading your content?

    Quality headlines suggest a benefit or gain.

    Take the title of this blog post, for example. A very small time commitment (reading three simple tips) for a valuable outcome (improving your headlines).

    Platform: Adjust your tone and style for the platform. Writing for alumni on Facebook is different than writing for current students on Twitter or Instagram.

    Give direction or request action, but be brief

    Guide your audience.

    When we write headlines for the university homepage, we’re trying to get you to do something. We aren’t just making announcements or posting news releases.

    Homepage of missouristate.edu showing featurette examples

    These headlines typically begin with a verb or one of the five Ws: who, what, when, where and why, along with how. We want to give you an action to take, or help you learn about something.

    Favor brevity and know your platform. Verbs are your friend. Long headlines with complex words are not.

    Practice, practice, practice

    Your first version of a headline won’t be your best headline. Try again. And again. And then maybe a few more times.

    Upworthy writes 25 versions of a headline for each article. Try it.

    Short on time? Even if you only write a dozen potential options, you’ll come up with a more effective headline than that first version.

    In summary

    There are many more tips for good headline writing not mentioned here.

    Google “Tips for better headline writing” and you’ll have an endless amount of insight.

    But these three tips should give you a start for improving your headlines.

    Filed Under: Social media, Technical, web strategy and development, WordPress blogs Tagged With: content, headlines, writing

    Social Media Kit: Spring 2018 Public Affairs Conference

    March 27, 2018 by Kevin Agee

    Students at the public affairs conference

    The Spring 2018 Public Affairs Conference theme is Sustainability in Practice: Consensus and Consequences. The conference will help all of us explore best practices for a sustainable future.

    Key details

    • What: Public Affairs Conference
    • When: April 10-12, 2018
    • Where: Plaster Student Union and Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts at Missouri State
    • Who: Plenary speakers, guest artists and presenters
    • No tickets required
    • All events are free and open to the public

    Share your story

    Help us discuss the Public Affairs Conference by sharing it on social media. Posts with the #CitizenBear hashtag will be pulled to the #CitizenBear Tagboard.

    Make your post social media savvy

    • Tag your posts with the official Public Affairs Conference hashtag, #CitizenBear
    • Follow Missouri State University on Facebook or @missouristate on Twitter
    • Tag your posts with the Springfield, Missouri hashtag: #SGF
    • When you post to Facebook and Twitter, boost your status update by sharing it with a photo or video
    • Nothing beats a first-hand perspective. Share a photo from or quote about your experience

    Visual Assets

    Video

    Live video

    The university will live stream four conference events on YouTube.

    Watch Ron Ireland plenary

    Watch Brady Deaton plenary

    Watch Majora Carter plenary

    Watch Vivian Carter plenary

    Facebook images

    These images are cropped and ready to be your Facebook cover photo.

    Students at a conference event for Facebook Students at a voter registration table for Facebook Students walking by colorful international flags for Facebook The Bronze Bear statue with international flags for Facebook

    Twitter images

    These images are cropped and ready to be your Twitter cover photo.

    Students at a conference event for Twitter Students at a voter registration table for Twitter Students walking by colorful international flags for Twitter The Bronze Bear statue with international flags for Twitter

    Instagram

    Share these images on your Instagram account to share the Public Affairs Conference.

    Students at a voter registration table for Instagram Students at a conference event for Instagram The Bronze Bear statue with international flags for Instagram Students walking by colorful international flags for Instagram

    Sample social media posts

    Sample tweets

    • Join the @MissouriState community for its Public Affairs Conference April 10-12. http://bit.ly/1HFHLnl #CitizenBear #SGF
    • What does it mean to live in a sustainable world? http://bit.ly/2mOlgNe #CitizenBear #SGF
    • These events at @MissouriState will help you become a more informed citizen. http://bit.ly/1BM0PvB #CitizenBear #SGF

    Sample Facebook posts

    Pair either of these suggestions with a photo from the Facebook section.

    • I’m a #CitizenBear at the Missouri State University Public Affairs Conference April 10-12. It’s free, and all are welcome. Check out the lineup of speakers: http://bit.ly/1HFHLnl #CitizenBear
    • Explore how to be an ethical citizen at the Missouri State University Public Affairs Conference. Discover this list of great presenters at the conference: http://bit.ly/1HFHLnl #CitizenBear

    Filed Under: Social media, Social media kit, web strategy and development Tagged With: content, facebook, new media, Public Affairs, Social Media, Social Media Kit, Twitter, Web, web and new media, YouTube

    3 tools to improve your writing

    March 2, 2018 by Kai Raymer

    Open laptop and person's hand writing on notepad with pencil

    How do you give your writing power and meaning?

    With readability.

    Your writing carries more impact if more people can understand it.

    Using Microsoft Word’s spelling and grammar checker isn’t enough.

    These online tools can improve the readability of your writing.

    Hemingway App

    Screen shot of HemingwayApp.com website
    Hemingway App shows you words and sentences to fix for better writing.

    This app was a hit at our recent digital training session. Count me as a fan, too.

    I love Hemingway App’s simplicity. Visit the website, copy/paste your text and have your writing evaluated. Boom.

    No downloads, sign-ups or registration. Only action. Perfect.

    Hemingway App catches complicated sentences and words, adverbs and passive voice. You receive a readability grade (aim for the 5th-8th grade range). Gauge your progress as you go.

    Hemingway App’s full desktop version ($19.99) goes more in-depth. You’ll have options like publishing, exporting and offline use.

    But for most, the no-frills free version offers plenty.

    Yoast SEO

    Screenshot of Yoast SEO readability analysis.
    Yoast SEO evaluates your content’s readability and SEO. Select the “Keyword” tab for SEO.

    If you have a Missouri State blog, you use WordPress.com. This handy plug-in gives you the SEO benefits that Hemingway App does not.

    Yoast SEO previews your content on a Google search result. It helps you strengthen a targeted keyword.

    An analysis spots SEO issues to improve or address. Yoast SEO is a great way to improve your blog’s Google search rankings.

    Yoast SEO improves readability as well. Use the “eye” icon to identify which specific areas are strong or need improvement.

    You’ll find some readability measures that aren’t available in Hemingway App:

    • Lack of headings
    • Lack of external and internal links
    • Flesch Reading Ease scale
    • Lack of transition words

    Like Hemingway App, Yoast SEO offers a premium version. We recommend trying the free version, first.

    Story Toolz: Readability

    Screen shot of Story Toolz: Readability results.
    Check the structure and formatting of your writing with Story Toolz: Readability analysis.

    Crunch your numbers, err, writing with this tool.

    Copy and paste your content into Story Toolz’ text box. Select the “Check Readability” button and look through the results.

    It rates your content in four areas: reading levels, sentence information, word usage and sentence beginnings.

    Story Toolz: Readability isn’t as interactive as Hemingway App or Yoast SEO. But it’s helpful if you want to get into the specifics of your writing.

    By the way, Hemingway App rated this blog post at a 6th grade reading level. That’s your sweet spot for readability.

    Filed Under: Training, web strategy and development, WordPress blogs Tagged With: content, readability, Training, writing

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