COMMUNICATIONS PLAN 2016
TABLE OF CONTENTS I. IDENTIFICATION OF AUDIENCE SEGMENTS
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II. COMMUNICATION OBJECTIVES
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III. ANALYSIS OF CURRENT COMMUNICATION PLATFORMS & PRACTICES
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IV. RECOMMENDED COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES
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V. ADDENDA
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Plan drafted by Kathleen Brady Stimpert, August 2016. Revised September 2016.
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COMMUNICATIONS PLAN The purpose of this document is to provide an analysis of current UTSOA communication platforms and practices, and to offer recommendations aimed at creating a cohesive voice for the school, reflective of its mission, brand, and stature as a leading school of architecture. This is a living document, and may be revised as needed. _______________________________________________________________________ I. IDENTIFICATION OF AUDIENCE SEGMENTS Communications from the School of Architecture are targeted at the following groups: Students (current and prospective) Faculty (current and prospective) Alumni and Friends University of Texas community Peer institutions Colleagues in the field Media Greater Austin community II. COMMUNICATION OBJECTIVES §
To broaden local, national, and international awareness of the school, its programs, and faculty and students through strategic communications and earned media
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To position UTSOA as a one of the country’s leading schools of architecture, with specific areas of expertise
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To bolster recruitment and fundraising efforts through effective communication strategies
III. ANALYSIS OF CURRENT COMMUNICATION PLATFORMS AND PRACTICES The School of Architecture currently communicates with its constituents via the following outlets: UTSOA Website eNews Social media channels Collateral and Publications Press releases and media outreach
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WEBSITE The UTSOA website is a content-heavy, magazine-style site that caters primarily to current and prospective students, faculty, and alumni. There are approximately 30,0000 visitors to the site each month, ranging, primarily, between the ages of 18-34. Content includes information about the school’s programs, faculty, events, application process, and key initiatives. Please see Addendum A.
eNEWS The UTSOA eNews is a monthly digital newsletter sent to over 5,000 subscribers including faculty, students, alumni, donors, colleagues at peer institutions, and other stakeholders. The eNews provides our constituents with timely updates on faculty, students, and alumni; information on events and exhibitions; and features brief articles on a variety of topics pertinent to the school and the field. In March 2016, eNews was migrated to Mailchimp, a user-friendly platform for creating digital content, that also has the ability to capture analytics. Since that time, we have tracked the performance of each issue, and seen that our engagement rate consistently exceeds the industry average. Please see Addendum B.
SOCIAL MEDIA UTSOA’s primary social media channels are Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; the school also maintains a presence on Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Google+. These outlets have a combined following of approximately 10,000, and are used to communicate information about the school, its faculty, students, and events, and noteworthy news relevant to the architectural community. Other UTSOA programs and centers, including the VRC, Technology Desk, Materials Lab, and CSD maintain a separate presence on social media. Please see Addendum C.
UTSOA COLLATERAL AND PUBLICATIONS The school produces a variety of collateral each year, including: a poster and postcard each fall and spring in support of the Lectures and Exhibitions series; a guest-edited, annual scholarly magazine, Platform, with a different theme each issue; and a school profile sheet, detailing UTSOA’s annual rankings. Each year, students produce Issue, a
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publication highlighting their work. Select programs and centers produce flyers and brochures highlighting events and initiatives of their respective areas, and the CAAD, CSD, and other programs produce substantial publications in support of their symposia and other initiatives. Please see Addendum D.
PRESS RELEASES AND MEDIA OUTREACH Press releases are drafted by the Chief Communications Officer with the goal of securing press that bolsters the school’s reputation and highlights faculty and student work. A list of over 600 local, national, and international media contacts (including those at major trade publications) is maintained by the communications office. Releases are distributed to the entire media list and dedicated “pitches” are sent to select journalists whose interests align with the subject being presented. Releases cover a variety of key school initiatives, including, but not limited to: faculty and staff appointments; faculty and student awards; faculty scholarship and publications; and programs including the Lectures and Exhibitions series. While all faculty and student work is important, not all warrants media outreach. Some news is better suited for and can best be leveraged via social media, eNews, or the UTSOA website. SUMMARY Via its combined communication platforms, the school is reaching approximately 50,000 people each month. A thorough assessment of these outlets makes plain that UTSOA faculty and staff are conscientious and strive to provide information in the most professional and engaging way possible. Despite much success, there remains room for improvement. Communications lack an overall cohesiveness—in tone, in look, and messaging—and currently do not adhere to recognized best practices in some areas.
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IV. RECOMMENDED COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES In the following section, recommendations are put forth with the goal of achieving a stronger, more unified, and more dynamic voice for the School of Architecture. Recommendations for UTSOA Website Homepage (Based on analytics and faculty/staff feedback) Stylistic Recommendations The Headers and “Frieze”— top portion of the homepage • Keep a tile dedicated to Lectures & Exhibitions series • Create a dedicated tile for eNews • Keep other tiles flexible to accommodate timely news stories and to highlight key initiatives
The “Triptych”— middle section of the homepage • Separate out Faculty Work and Student Work (Faculty has expressed concern over lumping all work together) • Dedicate the third tile to Alumni Work
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The “24 Tiles” — bottom section of the homepage • • •
Remove/retool headers (They are confusing and not intuitive) Remove an entire row (6) of them to relieve visual clutter Create permanent tiles for the following programs and resources: CRP Interior Design Architecture Historic Preservation Technology Lab CAAD CSD
Landscape Architecture Urban Design VRC Materials Lab Sustainable Design Architectural History
*Program and Resource directors are asked to identify graduate students in their respective areas to oversee regular content contributions.
Miscellaneous • Add a link to sign up for eNews • Relocate the #UTSOA hashtag
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Content Recommendations for Website Guidelines for homepage • Content must be no older than 6 months (or 3 months for the frieze) unless it is evergreen— i.e. lectures series) • Content must be illustrated by high-quality, high-resolution images • Content must serve one of our identified audience segments • Content must provide a mix of scholarly AND topical/more casual information to cater to multiple audiences (Preference given to content that addresses most viewed segments of site) • With regard to architectural projects to be featured— reps from each program are asked to submit projects to be highlighted (and may upload content directly) or must rely on the Chief Communications Officer to determine the “homepage worthiness” of a project • Site-wide Recommendations • Greater contribution from faculty and staff: 28% have never logged in to the site; over 60% of profiles are missing information; 35% of course descriptions are missing and 76% are missing syllabi. (Eric Hepburn to work with faculty on this.) • Have social media more fully integrated: i.e. have Twitter feed running live on the site • Develop more multimedia content for site Recommendations for eNews General § Maintain monthly schedule § Build subscriber base by including sign-up link on UTSOA website, appropriate collateral, and periodically on social media § Continue to utilize analytics to guide content, delivery strategies, etc. § Continue to link lengthier sections to the UTSOA website to drive traffic and to keep the eNews manageable Content § Better acquaint readers with UTSOA faculty and staff and initiatives through profiles & interviews, and special features § Integrate more multimedia into each issue § Adhering to best practices, consider folding miscellaneous eNewsletters from across the school into the “official” UTSOA eNews. Create dedicated section (i.e. Programs & Resource Update) with 1-2 highlights from each area and links back to website
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Recommendations Social Media § § § § § § §
Develop recurring mini-campaigns Create content that directly engages followers by asking them questions to respond to or vote on Integrate more multimedia into our posts Create more posts that acknowledge the work of our peer institutions, in hopes that they will reciprocate by acknowledging ours Link posts back to UTSOA website whenever possible Routinely update social media cover photos to reflect different school events or initiatives (exhibitions, living wall, etc.) Ideally, the separate social media accounts maintained across the school’s programs and centers would be integrated into official UTSOA channels. However, recognizing the uniqueness of our institution and the need of programs/centers to communicate quickly and casually to constituents, I believe our current strategy is successful. Unlike the eNews, which is a more formal and official outlet, separate social media accounts can be maintained in a way that does not splinter our audience.
Recommendations for UTSOA Collateral and Publications §
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Dyal to create templates in several sizes (11 x 17 in., 8 ½ x 11 in., 4 x 9 in.) for use across the school. This will allow programs and centers to develop collateral that reflects their unique sensibility but also communicates the larger, cohesive graphic identity of the school Design an annual rack card that highlights our ranking, programs and centers, etc. Design UTSOA presentation folders with new logo Per UT’s official style guide, it is recommended that all email signatures follow this format: John Doe, AIA | Associate Professor | The School of Architecture | The University of Texas at Austin | 512.555-1234 (all on one line, if possible, with no logo included)
Recommendations Press Releases and Media Outreach § § § § § §
Submit information on exhibitions and lectures to community calendars across Austin Develop communications calendar at the start of each semester Work with faculty and staff to ensure that releases meet long-lead deadlines Identify (potentially overlooked) school initiatives that may be of interest to media Work to secure coverage of UTSOA and its faculty in trade publications, specifically, and in national and international media outlets Identify appropriate community organizations to partner with to better engage Austinites and enhance their awareness of the school and its programs
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ADDENDA
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Addendum A. UTSOA WEBSITE (Data culled from Google analytics, March –June 2016) Who is visiting the site, how are they finding us, and what are they looking for? New vs Returning Visitors
Age
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Gender
Breakdown of visitors by country
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Breakdown of visitors by city
Device
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Traffic Sources
Most viewed or visited pages
Based on a four-month sampling of data, we know that visitors to the website are: ยง Fairly evenly split between new and returning users (skewing slightly towards new) ยง Primarily from the U.S. ยง Mostly between the ages of 18-34 ยง Comprised of more female visitors than male, but that data fluctuates ยง Mostly engaging with site through a desktop computer (unusual given age stats) ยง Finding us primarily through google (via organic search) The top five pages/sections visited are consistent. While some variation in order occurs, visitors are looking at our: ยง Programs ยง How to apply ยง Whoโ s on faculty/staff ยง Homepage ยง Resources Return to next section
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Addendum B. eNEWS ANALYTICS Via Mailchimp’s analytics, the school can now track the number of constituents engaging with eNews and what types of articles are of interest to them. Our readership routinely exceeds the industry average by several percentage points. Content featuring faculty work, awards won by faculty members, and information on competitions is popular. Articles on miscellaneous school initiatives- i.e. the Living Wall project – are also well received. Since April, the most popular link in eNews has been to Kevin Alter’s Cuernavaca Residence (from August issue), followed by the Kuka robotics video. eNEWS ANALYTICS (MAY – JULY 2016)
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Return to next section
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ADDENDUM C. UTSOA Social Media Strategy An extension of the school’s larger communications strategy, UTSOA social media channels serve to build community around the School of Architecture through likeable, share-worthy, and engaging content. Goals Promote and inspire action (increase awareness of the school, catalyze involvement and support) Serve as a resource for information Assessment Methods Tracking and monitoring our influence and reach via social media allows us to better understand our audiences and engage with them in meaningful ways. The Hootsuite analytic tool, for example, which has recently been implemented, captures age and gender breakdowns, location-based details, total reach, click-through rates, retweets, “likes,” and “unlikes” of our Twitter and Facebook fans and followers. Facebook Insights Hootsuite reports Facebook Current: 3,994 likes (as of 9/19/16) The UTSOA Facebook page is a vehicle for communicating news about UTSOA faculty, students, and events. Posts are made to Facebook approximately 5 times per week. Twitter Current: 1,900 followers (as of 9/19/16) Tweets by the school expose followers to national and international architecture and related content, and cultivate connections with people, organizations, and businesses. Content is fast-paced and has a more worldly scope, with reminders about events and news through short links, often redirecting traffic back to the UTSOA web site. Approximately 5-12 tweets are sent per day. UTSOA-specific hashtags include #UTSOA, #UTSOAcareers, and #UTSOAvoices. Instagram Current: 3,089 followers (as of 9/19/16) Posts to Instagram are designed to visually showcase campus, national, and international architecture, as well as to promote student work, events, news, and ephemera from the school in an aesthetically pleasing way. On average, 2-5 posts are shared per week. UTSOA-specific hashtags include #UTSOA, #GoldsmithLight, #AskUTSOA, #UTSOAtravels.
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Secondary channels Pinterest - a series of inspirational “boards� showcasing work by UTSOA students and faculty, noteworthy architectural projects from around the globe, and content connected to the school Google+ - similar to Facebook, but with more search engine optimization integration LinkedIn - serves as a resource for students and alumni, with shared coordination from the Career Services Office. Vimeo - showcases videos of UTSOA lectures (run by the IT team) Flickr - collection of photographs from various UTSOA events (run by the Visual Resources Collection) *Adoption of new social media channels will be considered on a case-by-case basis after evaluating cost, time, and staff resources Return to next section
ADDENDUM D. UTSOA Collateral The school produces a variety of collateral, from magazines to posters, to flyers and beyond. While the majority are professional-looking, collectively, they lack a sense of cohesiveness. Many pieces do not include the school logo or use it incorrectly; most utilize typography other than those fonts officially recognized by the school (DIN, Garamond, or GT Sectra); and there are no unifying design elements. The graphic on the following page demonstrates the eclectic mix of styles, fonts, and messaging reflected in current UTSOA collateral. While it is understandable that our centers and programs desire collateral that is reflective of their unique personalities, all should first and foremost be in service of the School of Architecture. Return to next section
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Sample collateral: Spring 2016 Platform Printed flyer for CAAD lecture Digital flyer for a CRP City Forum lecture Poster for Spring 2016 Lectures and Exhibition Series Front and back of postcard for a VRC exhibition
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For questions regarding any of the information within this report, please contact Kathleen Brady Stimpert, UTSOA Chief Communications Officer, at Kathleenstimpert@utexas.edu.
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