Web and New Media 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, 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

Social Media Kit: Welcome Weekend 2017

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Welcome Weekend 2017 introduces new Bears to campus life and welcomes returning students back to campus. Highlights of the weekend include Playfair on Friday, Bear Bash on Saturday, and New Student Convocation, Bear Path and the Belong-B-Q on Sunday.

Key details

  • What: Welcome Weekend 2017
  • When: Thursday, Aug. 17 – Sunday, Aug. 20
  • Where: All over campus

Share your story

The best Welcome Weekend stories come from those who live it. When you attend any of the weekend events, we want to hear about your experience. We encourage you to join the online conversation throughout by posting about it on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and tagging your posts with the official hashtag: #GoMaroon

Make your post social media savvy

  • Tag posts with the official Welcome Weekend hashtag: #GoMaroon
  • Whenever possible, tag Missouri State University or @missouristate
  • To provide a link for more information on the event, please link to http://www.missouristate.edu/welcome/
  • When you post to Facebook, boost your update by including a photo or video.
  • Nothing beats a first-hand perspective. When you attend a Welcome Weekend event, consider sharing a photo from or quote about your experience. Images below are pre-cropped for optimal use on Facebook and Twitter.

Visual assets

Facebook cover photos

Brand your departmental and personal social media accounts with these cover photo options.

Welcome Weekend Facebook cover Welcome Weekend Facebook cover

Twitter cover photos

Brand your departmental and personal social media accounts with these cover photo options.

Welcome Weekend Twitter header Welcome Weekend Twitter header

Instagram

Welcome Weekend Instagram image

Snapchat

Look for our geofilter on Snapchat — sponsored by Traditions Council — while you’re on campus.

Snapchat Geofilter

Video

GIFs

We have almost 100 Missouri State GIFs available on GIPHY. Discover how to utilize them on Twitter and other social media platforms.

Sample social media posts

  • Move-in is almost here. Learn more about making the move to MSU. http://bit.ly/1APw9g8 #GoMaroon
  • #GoMaroon at MSU during Welcome Weekend. Check out the lineup of great events: http://bit.ly/1pNX0Dt
  • Kick off the new school year at Bear Bash Aug. 19. Join the Fan Fest pre-party too: http://bit.ly/1APxvHR #GoMaroon
  • Welcome new students to campus during New Student Convocation Aug. 20: http://bit.ly/1B8P19U #GoMaroon #CitizenBear
  • What Welcome Weekend event are you looking forward to the most? Check out the lineup: http://bit.ly/1pNX0Dt #GoMaroon
  • Making the move to MSU? Review our packing recommendations and move-in tips: http://bit.ly/1APw9g8

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

Highlights from Social Media Boot Camp

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Social MediaMissouri State University staff, faculty and student employees brushed up on their social media marketing skills and learned the latest tips and trends for key platforms at Social Media Boot Camp on April 12.

The training, which was hosted by the office of Web and new media, included sections on social media best practices, Facebook, Twitter and key visual platforms.

Social media best practices

Kevin Agee presented on this topic.

Key takeaways

  • Own your content and focus on telling stories that create emotional connections.
  • Write like a person, not an organization. Tag other accounts to spark conversation.
  • Use hashtags effectively and strategically to pull your posts into larger conversations. Official University hashtags include:
    • #GoMaroon (student engagement)
    • #BearGrads (commencement)
    • #MSUBears (athletics)
    • #CitizenBear (public affairs)
    • #BearsHomecoming (homecoming)
  • Consider how images can help tell your story and boost your posts by including multimedia.
  • Understand that customer service is an important part of social media. People will often turn to social media before going to a website or making a phone call, so it’s important to be there to respond to questions.

Download the presentation slides.

Facebook

Courtney Wendel-Stevenson presented on this topic.

Key takeaways

  • While competition has increased over the years, Facebook is still the powerhouse platform in the social media landscape offering the largest and most diverse user base. Americans also spend more time on Facebook per day than any other platform.
  • It’s important for page managers to understand the fundamentals of how Facebook’s news feed algorithm works. To play the game well you need to understand the rules. However at the end of the day, quality content reigns supreme.
  • Event promotion is an area where Facebook shines. Maximize effectiveness with Facebook events by utilizing their full functionality:
    • Invite related pages to co-host events when applicable
    • Provide clear calls to action and links to more information
    • Build conversation about the event over the time by providing updates in the discussion tab

Download the presentation slides.

Twitter

Kevin Agee presented on this topic.

Key takeaways

  • Tips for generating compelling content:
    • Share effective messages consistently
    • Build authority in your area of expertise
    • Partner with other profiles for sharing
    • Show your message (don’t tell your message) with images
  • Focus on connecting with your audiences and telling your story rather than advertising. Have conversations with followers, but try not to be the loudest one in the room.
  • Measuring success is important. Track your progress toward your goals through Twitter Analytics.
  • Experiment with newer Twitter features such as the GIF button, direct video embeds and quoted tweets.

Download the presentation slides.

Visual platforms

Courtney Wendel-Stevenson presented on this topic.

Key takeaways

  • Visual content comes in a variety of forms including photos, infographics, gifs, videos and more. In a world where people are constantly inundated with information, visual content is successful because it attracts users’ attention and helps them more quickly digest information.
  • Instagram is a great platform for visually telling your unit’s story. New trends with Instagram include an upcoming shift to an algorithm-based feed, the debut of 60-second videos and the ability to share landscape and portrait oriented photos.
  • While many platforms are increasing video functionality, YouTube remains the video leader. Videos are a powerful and engaging way to tell your unit’s story. General best practices for videos include focusing on telling a story, keeping videos short and including calls to action early.
  • Social media aggregators and a great tools for highlighting user-generated content and archiving social interaction. Two of our favorites are Storify and Tagboard.

Download the presentation slides.

Learn strategies to maximize your effectiveness on social media at Social Media Boot Camp

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Social MediaSocial media platforms are ever evolving, and keeping up with best practices for each network can be challenging.

Brush up on your social media knowledge and learn strategies to help you make the most of your communication efforts at Social Media Boot Camp.

During Social Media Boot Camp, we will answer questions such as:

  • How can I create meaningful content on my networks?
  • How should I be tailoring content to fit different social media platforms?
  • What are some advanced strategies to increase my effectiveness on Facebook and Twitter?
  • How can I best utilize photo and video content?

Details

Audience

This workshop is open to University faculty, staff and students who currently manage a website, blog or social media account on behalf of their University unit.

Registration

Registration for this workshop is free. Please register online through My Learning Connection.

To access My Learning Learning Connection, log into My Missouri State, navigate to the profile tab, scroll down to the Professional Development section and select My Learning Connection.