Social media is an ever-evolving landscape. New platforms, apps and communities appear all the time. Best practices are established, demolished and reshaped. And Facebook is bound to change everything it does at any moment. At best, we are all social media students — paying attention, comparing notes with colleagues and realizing this field requires non-stop learning.

Wow. Seriously. A few of you readers may have heard me rant about this very thing, but Tim hits the nail on the head in a much more eloquent way.

And so, in the interest of fostering the non-stop learning that Tim recommends, I am sharing with you a few of my favorite higher ed web and social media resources. There are so many out there. Here are a just a few you can count on for consistent, amazing content. Check out these websites, and look for their curators on Twitter. I can speak from personal experience to tell you that they’re all great and helpful people.

Whether you’re working in web or social media, content is a huge part of your job. Meet Content provides tips for generating content and using it in the most effective way. You can also find the founders of Meet Content on Twitter, Georgy Cohen (@radiofreegeorgy) and Rick Allen (@epublishmedia). They are good resources in and of themselves.

I can’t say enough about what Higher Ed Live puts out there for higher ed web professionals. Weekly web episodes dive into web, social media, technology, marketing, and more as they relate to the work we do on college campuses. Look for Seth Odell (@sethodell) on Higher Ed Live Sunday nights at 7pm EST. You can also find Eric Stoller (@EricStoller) and Student Affairs Live on Wednesdays at 4pm EST.

Talk about a powerhouse. The contributors to .eduGuru are many, and each is a wealth of information. Visit .eduGuru and you’ll find a huge range of topics related to internet marketing in higher education. What’s more, if you connect with the contributors individually, you’ll find them to be awesome. In fact, they’re worth listing even though you can find them on the .eduGuru website: Kyle James (@kylejames), Karlyn Morissette (@karlynm), Michael Fienen (@fienen), Nick DeNardis (@nickdenardis), Nikki Massaro Kauffman, Mike Petroff (@mikepetroff), and Jessica Krywosa (@jesskry).

Alaina Wiens
New Media Communications Specialist

My first reaction was, “What the heck does that even mean?”

I have never been a proponent of business jargon.  I don’t advocate for synergy, I detest the notion of thinking outside the box, and I shudder at the thought of touchpoints.

You get what I mean.  I find business jargon pretentious, and at the end of the day, I think it keeps people from getting to the heart of the matter.  Business jargon is like a cubicle for your brain.

Nonetheless, the phrase “thought leadership” has been in my head, and I think it’s because I am preparing to do my second stint on a panel for the Foundations of Supervision training here at UM-Flint.  This is the training that is for all the current and future supervisors at the university.  I think they ask me because they mistakenly believe I have words of wisdom to share from all my years of managerial experience.  Or, I get asked because 86 other people turn them down and I can’t resist the idea of an audience.

I have been thinking about which words of wisdom I can impart to these leaders.  And all I can think about is movies.

I love the scenes in movies where people/creatures band together to achieve greatness.  Like when the dwarfs and the animals push the wicked queen over the cliff in “Snow White.”  Or when Elliott and his friends get on their bikes and outrun the feds to get E.T. to his spaceship.  That kind of  ”nerds against the world” imagery has always appealed to me and I’m not ashamed to say even inspires me.

The metaphor I have been using lately to describe the University Relations creative team is the film “Little Miss Sunshine.”  And the image that most vividly comes to mind is the old Volkswagon van.

Lets face it:  most university departments are akin to that VW.  There is no budget to invest in something really new, so you have to keep your department going by whatever means you have.  And that means you have to get out and push.

As a leader, someone has to drive towards the goal.  But you are going to go no where fast if you don’t work with people who are willing to push, run along beside and then jump on.  And every now and then you need to let someone drive, and you should get out and push.

The thing I have found with creative people (or really with anyone else for that matter) is that they want to be heard, and they want to make a valuable contribution.  No one is trying to do something stupid.  The issue comes when it’s time to disagree.  For creative types, you accept a certain vulnerability with your work.  What pleases people creatively is, to a large degree, subjective.  So you put yourself out there for critique and even ridicule.  It is a pride-swallowing experience that can leave even the most seasoned veteran anguished and depressed.  Creative types know all too well the harshness of brutal honesty.

However, brutal honesty is necessary to get to the really good stuff.  Let’s face it–even with the best of intentions, our ideas can suck.  When we accept the stuff that doesn’t work and go back to the drawing board, that’s how we get to the better stuff.  That’s the pushing part.

I also think it is critically important to let people have ideas, and let them run with it.  I think every manager should allow their team to lead while they follow every now and then.  Even if you think their idea is crazy, reserve your judgement and let them do it. When they prove you wrong, be the first to tell them and congratulate them.  Remember, you hired adults, not children.  They are capable of greatness well beyond you, no matter what your job title.

The thing that really fits about the “Little Miss Sunshine” analogy is the notion of family.  We often spend more of our waking hours during the work week with our work family than with our actual family.  There is dysfunction.  There is drama. We are not a perfect department, but there is no other group of people I would rather work with anywhere.  And just as it’s true with our real-life families, when it comes time to really pull together, to really get the collective VW to the place we need to go, I know the UR family is ready to push.

Where do we get our inspiration from in University Relations?

It turns out we all have different resources that help us to think creatively, strategically, or just make us laugh out loud.  Here’s our list of things we find useful, and they are categorized for your convenience.  Happy clicking!

Social Networks

Mashable www.mashable.com

Inside Facebook www.insidefacebook.com

Tweetdeck www.tweetdeck.com. This is where we monitor conversations about UM-Flint on Twitter, respond to feedback when possible, engage with other social media professionals for advice, and get up-to-date news about our community.

The “higher ed” hashtag on Twitter always has relevant and insightful nuggets: http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23highered

This site has lots of simple video tutorials for things like Twitter hashtags: http://www.commoncraft.com/twitter-search

Web

All Things Digital www.allthingsd.com

Forrst http://forrst.com, invite-only design and development community that allows you to share inspiration, code chunks, and your work.

Dribbble http://dribbble.com/, invite-only design community that collects some of the best and influential designers around the world to share what they are working on and get feedback on it.  See stuff that Chad Hietala is working on at http://dribbble.com/players/chadhietala.

Todo App – iPad http://appigo.com/todo: an awesome to-do application for motivation and to keep track of things.

Alfred App – Mac http://www.alfredapp.com/, a favorite app of Chad’s for the desktop.  Great for anyone that owns a Mac.  Makes opening applications, searching online, and search folders pleasurable… if thats even possible.

TextMate – Mac http://macromates.com/, a light-weight text editor.  Best Text editor ever.

CloudApp – Mac http://getcloudapp.com, great for snapping and sharing screenshots.

Dropbox http://dropbox.com, allows users to synchronize files across desktops, phone and iPad.  Have your files wherever there is internet.

ZenCoding http://code.google.com/p/zen-coding/, allows users to write a short string of characters to build a whole layout instead of doing it all by hand.

Photo Archive:

http://mediabin.umflint.edu

Brand Toolkits:

www.umflint.edu/urel/overview.php

www.logos.umich.edu

Inspiration/Research:

www.istockphoto.com

www.sxc.hu (website that has some free stock images)

http://abduzeedo.com

www.commarts.com/home

www.dexigner.com/

www.behance.com/

www.trendhunter.com

www.etsy.com

www.flickr.com

www.pantone.com

www.edustyle.net

References:

http://dictionary.reference.com/

http://thesaurus.com/

www.apastyle.org/

http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org

Writing

http://heathbrothers.com/

http://www.rhymezone.com/

The tone of any written communication to any audience is key to its effectiveness. Finding the right tone means understanding the sensibilities of that audience. Perhaps the best clue to such ever-shifting preferences, especially for younger people, is knowing what that audience finds funny. Here some popular entertainment and humor websites created by and for “young adults” :

http://www.adultswim.com/

http://www.youtube.com/show/autotunethenews?s=1 (Auto-Tune the News)

http://www.channel101.com/

http://www.collegehumor.com/

http://www.cracked.com/

http://www.funnyordie.com/

I already knew that UM-Flint’s search engine results would increase  with an elevated reach of our content. For example, if the content on our News Site, our departments’ blogs, and our forthcoming e-magazine (you’ll hear more about our e-magazine in the coming months) could become points of reference or interest, our ranking on Google and other search engines would rise.

But how do we get there? How can the University of Michigan-Flint generate and disseminate content in such a way that our articles are linked to and shared? How can we leverage social media and other new avenues to lead traffic to our website?

Cofounders of HubSpot, Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah have published “Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs.” I literally walked out of that aforementioned SEO webinar, sat down at my desk, and ordered this book. What better way to learn how to achieve inbound marketing than to go to the source, right?

Here, what I took away from this book and, more importantly, how we can use it at UM-Flint.

Why Inbound Marketing?

• Traditional marketing methods like direct mail, telemarketing, radio ads, emails blasts, and other “outbound” techniques are considered interruptions by today’s consumers. Interruptions are never appreciated and are easily ignored. To effectively communicate with our audience, we must lead people to our message. After all, no one is relying on those old-school “interruptions” to provide the information they seek. Instead, search engines, social media, and blogs are serving as sources of referral.
• Websites can no longer be a one-way conversation, with a message spewed at a user with the hope that it will be received. Our web presence should be interactive. Our content and message should reach far beyond our website and drive traffic back to us. In fact, by using avenues like social media and blogs, we can create connections with our audience and be a part of their conversations about us. Our website should be a collaborative “hub,” not an online version of a brochure.
• To increase our chances of being found by our audience, we must be “remarkable.” Halligan and Shah explain that a product or service must be worth talking about (or “remark”-ing about), and has to be the best in its arena. A notable bit of advice: “Watch your competitors, but don’t follow them.” Remarkable content will get linked by other sites, which will create traffic and increase our search engine results. Remarkable content is more likely to be spread via social media, achieving a broader reach.

How to “Get Found”

• We must create content. Lots of it. Preferably, a variety of quickly-generated content that can be spread. The more places our content can be found, the larger our potential audience will be. Blog articles (which can include the articles on the UM-Flint News Site), short videos, photos, and webcasts are perfect content for us to create and share.
• The majority of all searches are conducted on search engines, such as Google. Halligan and Shah provide very useful tips for Search Engine Optimization that are worth reading if you are interested in the topic. For the sake of brevity, I will not outline these here. Put simply, to ensure that we are ranked highly in search results (as high in the list of results as possible), we need to: 1) Increase the relevance of our pages by accurately titling pages and writing appropriate content. To do this, we must identify and utilize the best keywords for our pages, blog posts, and news articles. 2) Increase the authority of our pages by increasing the number of links to them. The more sites reference us in relation to a keyword, the greater our Google-assigned authority will be for that keyword.
• Social media sites provide a reach that your website alone cannot. With so many people spending their time on social media websites, we simply must be present there.  An in-depth overview of applications like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and more can be found in “Inbound Marketing,” including advice for getting started with each. A common theme across platforms, however, is the need for generating that “remarkable” content that will be shared. Shared content equals a greater reach.

Measuring Results

• To find out how remarkable our content is, we should track the number of web sites that link to our content, how many social bookmarks we’ve achieved, and how many of our site’s pages are indexed by Google. One resource offered by Halligan and Shah is website.grader.com.
• Tracking the results of SEO is crucial. Which keywords are getting people to our website? What percentage of our visitors come to you from a search engine? Which of our website’s pages get the most traffic, and why? The answers to these questions should shape our SEO strategies.
• Halligan and Shah suggest tracking progress in social media by looking at the number of Facebook “fans,” followers on Twitter, or views on YouTube. More in-depth analytics are available by way of Facebook Insights or websites like Twitter Grader. I also recommend tracking your Twitter progress with Klout.

Digging Deeper

Halligan and Shah do more than explain the concept of inbound marketing and provide suggestions for getting started. They also provide great information about converting website visitors into valuable leads and eventually customers. There are tips for creating a power-packed inbound marketing staff or working with a PR agency. I am personally excited about the resources and “tips from the trenches” included in the back of the book. If you are at all interested in learning more about inbound marketing, the basics of SEO, or how to use your website, blog, or social networks to your advantage, I recommend reading this book in its entirety.

Alaina Wiens

New Media Communications Specialist

At the age of four, my daughter has a mantra.  It is “Try Not Shy.”

My husband and I decided early on that there were some things that were absolutely essential that had to be drilled into her small head, but we knew we couldn’t fit in everything that we think is important.  So we settled on the simple but timeless statement of “Try Not Shy.”  What this means is that you cannot be afraid to try, and you must try everything to find out what you can do.

I think these three words are powerful, and I think they apply to something that many adults are afraid to do.  That thing is writing.

For some, this word is scarier than the Brides of Frankenstien, Dracula and Chucky combined.  Sheer terror grips many reasonable humans when they find out, “I have to write something?!?!?!”

Then, they go for the cop out: “I’m just not a writer.”

To that, I say Bullpucky.

I believe that everyone is capable of writing, but that many are afraid of failure or being judged.  I can understand that fear.  As someone who has had her writing criticized and mocked over the years, I can attest–it sucks. You feel terrible, like you are practically illiterate.  But, like anything else, you can’t just stop.  You have to keeping trying and try harder.

So, I want to help all those people who are afraid.  Here are some ways I overcame my fear of writing.

1) Write something – When you have 30 minutes, just write something.  Anything.  It can be whatever is on your mind.  Don’t worry about punctuation, grammar or all those other things that inhibit you.  Just put down a total stream of consciousness.  Then, don’t show it to anyone, just yourself.

2) Write for a forgiving audience – Write something special to someone who is going to love it for what it is.  That could be a love letter to your significant other, a message to your parents to tell them you love them, or a note to your best friend that recounts a favorite memory.  This is the best kind of writing because it is instantly gratifying to you and your audience.  Everyone is happy and you get a boost of self-esteem.  Do it!

3) Read – Maybe you already love books–great!  Start noticing what you like about the writing.  Okay, you don’t have time to read a whole book because you’re swamped.  Start reading major newspapers like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post. Read columnists. Read strong articles online at websites like Salon, Slate, The Daily Beast and others.  Read the work of people who’s opinions you agree with, and then read people who are at the polar opposite of your belief system–those folks are good writers too.  Read your favorite magazines, and take note of style and tone.  The bottom line is, become aware of what you read, and why you like or dislike it.

4) Read the great writers of UM-Flint - We are so lucky to have so many incredible writers right here on campus.  I love reading anything by Jan Worth, Mary Jo Finney, Teddy Robertson, Bob Mabbitt, Bob Barnett, DJ Trela, Tom Foster, and so many other faculty and staff members. Some of what I love reading from these folks are simple emails, and some longer form.  Read the works created by these people and ask them about how they approach writing.

5) Put Yourself Out There – Force yourself to write something that will go public.  Maybe it’s a business letter or email.  Maybe it’s a report or summary.  No matter what it is, force yourself to do it, and then give it to someone who’s advice you trust to proof it. And force them to tell you the truth–the good, the bad and the ugly.  Once you make the corrections and changes, send it to your audience and ask for feedback. You may be pleasantly surprised.

I always admire anyone who puts themselves out there creatively.  You open yourself up for the potential of ridicule, but you also open yourself up to the opportunity of learning.  Whenever I send something out to be critiqued, the best feedback I get is from the people who add more information, more insight to what I have done.  Ultimately, it’s the critical stuff that makes the stuff better.  Embrace the brutal truth for what it is–the truth.  Go on, be fearless. No one is perfect, but don’t let the useless pursuit of  perfection stand in the way of trying.

Jen Hogan

First, How Is Performance Measured and What Is Already Being Done To The UM-Flint Website?

Performance is measured broadly using several tools, Web Inspector (or Firebug) and YSlow. These tools run in the browser and analyze the DOM (Document Object Model).  They look at all the scripts, images, videos, markup, and data that are loaded into the page.  As soon as an HTTP request is made, these tools begin to analyze what the browser is doing to get and load that page so it can be viewed.  So naturally, the more things you are trying to load into a page at once the longer it’s going to take for the page to fully load.  This is also true for file sizes; the larger the file the longer it takes to get loaded into the page.  It’s important to note that once assets are loaded they are cached in the browser, meaning they are temporarily held in the browser so that they do not need to be requested from the server every time.  Instead, the local copy is used, which makes load times after the initial load of those assets much faster.

Caching

So what is being done from a technical standpoint to make pages load as fast as possible?  Additional caching will be done on the server side. What this means is that images and scripts will be held temporary for a period of time so that they are not physically being pulled from the server but from a temporary asset layer.  This means that images are cached twice, making pages load faster.

Image Optimization

All images to make the initial layout are being optimized by a service through Yahoo! called Smush.it.  This service analyzes photos and removes any unnecessary bits from the photo file without destroying the quality of the image.  This normally cuts the file size in half, leading to faster load times.  We are also using CSS sprites, which is a technique borrowed from the early video game development.  So now you know how Super Mario Brothers was made and how we are making sites faster =).

CSS Element & Selector Performance

There are currently performance issues in the way elements are selected and styled in CSS.  Generally speaking, the performance effect is minimal. But if it adds to faster performance, why not? This gets pretty technical, so you can skip to the next section, but if you care to know the general rules that are being followed:

1. Avoid universal selectors
2. Don’t qualify ID selectors
3. Make rules as specific as possible
4. Avoid descendant selectors
5. Avoid tag-child selectors
6. Be wary of child selectors
7. Rely on inheritance

Minify

Basically, what we are doing is removing any white space from any of the script or CSS files.  Surprisingly, unneeded spaces and line breaks add to file sizes of any document you create.  Prior to production, all files that can be minified are in order to shed approximately 20-50% of the file size.

Sounds Great. What Can I Do Though?

So with the notion of more stuff loading into a page making it slower, there are some questions you need to ask yourself when building a page.

“Is this image, video, or widget necessary or crucial to the experience and information of the page? Does this image need to be this big or does it need to be full-quality? Do I need this many images?”

If the answer is yes to any one of these questions, here are some steps you can follow to make the page load faster.

1. Resize and crop the image smaller with a free service called Picnik.
2. Use Youtube or video component to serve your video.
3. Don’t use widgets without consulting UR.  They may be adding bloated scripts into the page that may make performance go down.  A good rule of thumb is: if it does something interactive, it’s using a script.
4. Use Smush.it to optimize the images.
5. Don’t resize images with html width and height properties.

Remember text is the lightest piece of content that can be rendered out on the page.  Images, videos, and third-party widgets only add to page load times, so use them responsibly.  If you have questions you can always ask.

This space of web development is always evolving and it is my personal goal to make the university’s site as quick as possible with the resources we have.

Chad Hietala

Ever wonder what goes into designing a brochure, laying out a billboard, or creating a website? Believe it or not, there’s no “Easy Button” when it comes to effective and strategic design. The process is often long and always well thought-out. Here are the steps to producing a successful design project:

1. Information Gathering
Collecting information is the first step to designing anything.
What is the purpose of the project? Who is the target audience? What is the brand? What is the goal of the piece? What are the specifications and requirements for the project? What are the deadlines? Is there a budget and, if so, what is it? These things and more should be collected and clearly defined prior to starting any project.

2. Research
Research is another step of information gathering but it allows the copywriter and designer to answer a lot of questions they may have, and gives a direction to the project.
What are the demographics for the target audience? Who is the competition and what are their solutions to the same design project? What should be the key messages? What types of media are best for the target audience: print, web, social media, email, texting, billboards, etc.? How will you determine if the project is successful/How will you test the outcomes? What format or layout works best? What is the tone and overall feeling you want people to get out of the project based on the brand? What kinds of words, images, and colors reflect the tone that you want to convey to the target audience? This will help determine your mood board for the project. This will guide the designer along and really help if there are additional sister-projects that need to be completed down the road.

3. Writing Content
Contrary to popular belief, the message (meaning the content or words of the project) always needs to be completed before the design process can begin. The content is what helps create the tone to the piece and the design generally follows the lead of the writer. Based on the size of the piece, how much text will be required? Usually, less is more unless you’re explaining something very technical that requires a lot of words. Make sure the text fits in line with all of the research completed previously.

4. Brainstorming, Sketching, and Inspiration
This is where a project starts getting visual. Sketching is a very important part of the design process. This is where the designer can quickly and efficiently jot down ideas in order to keep the brainstorming process flowing freely. The internet is a great source of inspiration, but something as simple as taking a walk, visiting a new place, or revisiting a favorite place and looking at it in a new way can be equally inspiring. Inspiration is all around us, we just have to open our eyes to it!

5. Concepts
Up until now, the only reason the designer needed to use the computer was for research and information gathering. Now the designer can finally open up the graphics software and start creating concepts based on the research, content, sketches, and inspiration of the project. Usually, several “quick and dirty” concepts are developed to see how the audience may respond. During this stage, testing is important to see how the various concepts go over with the target audience.

6. Revisions and Layout
Now that you’ve tested your concepts, it’s time to revise one or several in order to develop the final design. This is also where the designer finally lays out all of the text, determines if any text needs to be cut, or reevaluates the layout in order to make all of the text fit.

7. Proofing and Editing
Don’t underestimate the power of proofing. Even though you’re sure the copywriter did a great job making sure there were no misspellings or grammatical errors, proofing or editing is a crucial step to the design process and one that should be taken very seriously. Two of UR’s favorite sources include The APA Style Guide and the Chicago Manual of Style. Make sure you’re using the most up-to-date version, as these publications are updated every three years.

8. Production
Finally! You’re ready to produce the piece. Whether it’s a print project going to the printer or a website launching, this is a very rewarding place to be in the process. Your hard work and diligence has paid off. Just remember a few tips if you’re dealing with an outside vendor:
If the project is being mailed, do you have the mailing list completed and ready to go? What types of files does the vendor accept and are your files vendor-ready? These questions and more should be answered while you’re working with a vendor.

Congratulations! You’ve completed your project… almost! Though the project is produced, don’t forget you should monitor the produced piece to determine its usability and success rates. This will help you in all future projects to determine what works best for your target audiences.

Andrea Yinger

In 2010, it’s easy to convince ourselves that our modern media and business savvy enables us to differentiate help from hype. Nobody wants to self-identify as a “dupe,” and salespeople know this. Which is why many of today’s salespeople often cloak their underlying goal (making sales) under a thick veneer they dub “expertise,” “coaching,” “consulting,” and the like. Buyer beware.

This is particularly true of what are for many nebulous notions like branding, social media, or customer service. All of which are real concerns in need of real attention and action. All of which really are difficult for individuals and organizations to wrap their heads around–much less their arms–in a manner that enables them to take effective control and implement effective strategies. Add to this the fact that many organizations simply do not, or feel they do not, have the time and personnel to devote to such areas. Despite the fact that they know these are important considerations for the advancement of their overall operation, other, more urgent priorities take precedence. So when, for instance, a “higher education marketing expert” walks through the door, many are less likely to question his or her motivation and more likely to see the salesperson as even more than the expert they claim to be, but as something of a savior as well.

What are the potential consequences?

• Buying a product or service that undermines other efforts by other units within an organization

Are you sure the web-based product you were sold is compatible with the organization’s existing hardware and software? Is the content you had an outside firm create inline with previously defined brand and messaging points? Will the product or service require your staff, or maybe the IT department, to devote additional time and effort to its proper function and maintenance? How much time and effort? Is your department equipped to handle that? Is the IT department?

• While “best practices” are important to be aware of, they  do not always factor in an organization’s specific characteristics, goals, needs, etc.

What works best for international corporations may not work at all for state universities. What works best for San Diego State University may not work at all at the University of Michigan-Flint. Cramming such “universal” pegs into “specific” holes just may not fit at all. Moreover, outside firms that create products and services based on best practices are frequently unable, or unwilling, to customize a product or service to fit an organization’s specific needs. They’ll argue that you can’t best a best practice. If they are successful in convincing enough organizations within a given sector to go with their solution, the result can mean customers cannot differentiate you from your competitors. Meaning, nobody is “best.”

• Locking yourself into a contract and/or product that doesn’t live up to the pitch

Many of the products and services sold by “experts” come with long-term commitments. Given the speed of change, especially in business and communication technology, today’s best practice can be tomorrow’s worst. You would think an “expert” would know this, and build flexibility, customization, and upgradability into whatever they sell – or at least acknowledge it in their pitch. If a contract is involved and the purchase does end up being obsolete or ineffective, you haven’t just wasted money this budget cycle, but have potentially wasted a large chunk of future budgets as well. This sidelines resources that could go to a solutions that work, and often leads an organization to simply “live with” the bad decision. Unfortunately, their customers must live with it too – but aren’t contractually obligated to.

What can you do to avoid such negative consequences?

• Discuss the problem you are seeking to resolve with others within the organization first

Another unit may have already faced the same problem. Perhaps a solution already exists. Maybe a customized solution is being developed and your needs could be factored in as well. The IT department might be able to tell you right away that what a salesperson is selling is incompatible with existing infrastructure and know-how. The marketing department might be able to tell you right away that the campaign an outside agency is pitching to you is the same one that agency just sold your competitor. Staying abreast of the initiatives and solutions other departments are enacting may help your department avoid needless redundancy. When in doubt, ask around.

• Challenge the salesperson/consultant to tailor their product or service to your specific needs

I don’t want to give the impression that all consultants and all salespeople are out to swindle or torpedo your organization. Independent insights can be invaluable. Many products and services are enormously effective. Yet probably the best gauge of whether or not a purchase will be positive is by asking tough questions. Those questions should endeavor to discover the level of personalized, serious, and honest examination that will be given to identifying your specific needs. What will be their methodology? How, exactly, will your unique needs be addressed? With unique solutions? Or with stock ones?

• Remember how their bread is buttered

This brings us back to the original point. While there are very smart, very talented consultants, consulting firms, higher education marketing specialists, etc., there are also plenty who will always care more about making the deal than what the deal means for you. If the conversation reminds you of the old line, “What do I have to tell you to get you in this car?”, red flags should fly. Clearly, this is not advice. It’s pandering. So be discriminating. Be suspicious. Don’t let your knowledge, skills, and expertise be intimidated into subservience just because a salesperson’s business card says “expert” or “guru” and yours doesn’t.

Bob Mabbitt

Anytime you see the posting that there will be a fire drill or tornado drill in the building in which you work, you try to figure out how to be out of the building during the drill.

Yeah, yeah….I know: you’re too busy to have to get up and leave, why do they schedule these things during peak work times, you know what to do in an emergency.

But really…do you?

I can’t help but think about September 11 as the ninth anniversary approaches.  All those people on planes, in cities were going about their daily lives, and then out of no where IT happened.  Imagine the worst thing you can think of actually coming true.  Anyone who was lucky enough to escape the burning Twin Towers or the Pentagon probably has a different view of crisis preparation than they did before that fateful day.

There are many of us on campus who spend a great deal of time and energy preparing for something that may never happen:  a large-scale crisis that would significantly impact our campus.  It is hard at times to feel the pressure of accomplishing tasks related to something that is both not a priority and one of the biggest priorities.  And yet, it is essential that we plan and prepare for something that will hopefully never occur.

The Office of University Relations is responsible for is communicating accurate, pertinent information in the event of a crisis.  During the last few years, there has been a considerable amount of effort put into accurately planning for a crisis on this campus.  We’ve had some dry runs to help us prepare (H1N1 and Bird Flu come to mind), and even a few close calls where the campus was alerted of a crime using the emergency alert system.

In UR, we have a crisis communication plan that details specific jobs for every member of the team during a crisis.  We are working hard to establish a crisis call center for people seeking information immediately following an incident.  We routinely test the emergency alert notification system, and look for ways to improve.  We carry our cell phones so we can be reached at any time.  Heck, we even have an emergency box in our office that contains stuff like flashlights and other items in case something big happens.  Most importantly, in our office it is known that when a crisis hits, we will not run, we will respond.

How will you respond when the unthinkable happens?  What is your role?

Business continuity plans are in place on this campus, but do you know what is expected of you if the power goes out, the campus closes due to a flood, or if there is an act of violence?  For instance, last year we had an evacuation in our building due to a gas leak.  I was surprised to see many co-workers from other departments leave, when it was only 2:00 p.m. in the afternoon, and nothing official on the incident had come out.  In my personal opinion, I don’t think the first option is to simply leave.  The first option should be, “how can I help?”

If there is a large-scale disaster on campus, it will need to be an “all hands on deck” situation.  There will be much to do.  How can we ensure that standard processes like registration, grades, payroll, accounts receivable, webmail access, etc. will be protected, recovered and/or maintained?  As much as there would be a desire to get out of Dodge, as employees we must first ask how we can mitigate further damage and disruption to our normal operations.

All of this comes back to the issue of communication.  We must be clear, concise, and interactive in a crisis situation.  We can be most effective when people are available to help get answers to our various constituencies.  Every department needs to talk through scenarios, and figure out the communication plan for their department in an emergency. The UR team is available to meet with any department who would like to work through these issues and develop a communication plan.

Jen Hogan

Before my days of social networking, web writing, editing, and all things marketing in University Relations, I lived in the world of special events. As event professionals often do, I learned many a valuable lesson by way of trial and error. Let’s pretend that you’ve asked me to share these pearls of wisdom. After all, why learn the hard way when you can benefit from my mistakes? Specifically, the writer in me would love to share some tips for wording event invitations. And so I will.

1. Be sure that the date listed on an invitation matches the day of the week listed. Inviting guests to an event to be held on Wednesday, August 26 will confuse them if the 26th falls on a Thursday. Trust me. I speak from experience.

2. Check that all necessary attendees are available before scheduling your event. If it’s important that the Chancellor attends, for example, contact her office early in the planning process.

3. Be clear about what guests should expect. Will there be a long program? A short program? A full meal? Only hors d’ouevres? Cash bar? If there is any sort of dress code, need for cash, or a reason your guests should eat before they come to your event, make sure they know.

4. Provide information that will make it easy to find your event–either a map, directions, or an address your guests can search online.

5. Make it easy for guests to RSVP for your event. The easier the process, the more likely you are to hear from them. (Additional note: If you’ll need to provide your caterer with a count of specific meals, make sure to get that information from your guests when they RSVP. It is always helpful to know in advance how many vegetarian/vegan meals you will need.)

6. When your invitation is pulled together, take the information and add it all to the campus event calendar–with a good description!

7. First-time events that are held with the intention of becoming annual should be called “Inaugural.” An event is not officially annual until it has happened the second time a year later, at which point it can be called the “Second Annual.” There is no such thing as a First Annual Event.

8. That fancy word for appetizers should be spelled this way: hors d’oeuvres.

9. Proofread.

10. Proofread again.

This list is far from exhaustive. In fact, I encourage you all to add to it. Jot down your own lessons learned and keep them on hand. Share them by commenting here. Shout them from a rooftop! If enough of us share what we’ve learned, someone else will be saved from making an unnecessary mistake.

Alaina Wiens

New Media Communications Specialist