Communication at LUSEM
COMMUNICATION STRATEGY | LUND UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT |
Empowering LUSEM in a changing world
Why a strategy?
In the fast-paced world of higher education, a communication strategy serves as a compass for navigating the complexities within a dynamic academic organisation like LUSEM. It aligns our conversations with faculty goals, acting as a strategic map rather than a rigid plan. This adaptability allows us to evolve with the changing communication landscape, making good communication our backbone – guiding our work and anticipating what’s next.
By articulating clear objectives and methods, the strategy ensures consistency, resilience, and impactful communication across diverse channels and audiences. It serves as our guiding framework that can help us steering our communication efforts. Since communication is always changing, the strategy emphasises being flexible and responsive.
In the dynamic environment of LUSEM, a communication strategy is a reliable navigation system, guiding us, the communications officers at LUSEM, through the rapid pace of our work.
January 2024
The Communication divison at LUSEM
PHOTOS iStock
PRINT MediaTryck, Lund University
EDITOR Anna Löthman
Acting Head of the Communication divison, LUSEM
A roadmap in six key sections
In summary, the communication strategy is structured into five main sections.
The first section provides an overarching view of communication efforts at LUSEM.
The second section delves into the levels or types of communication, target audiences, and channels, with visual aids provided through tables. This part includes a special emphasis on the key channels: websites and social media
The third section focuses on strategic goals, encompassing those consistently present in daily operations and those particularly emphasised over the next two years. This section clarifies goals through explanations of WHAT and HOW.
The fourth section handles the evaluation process for communication efforts. This crucial aspect, often overlooked, is explicitly incorporated into the strategy to ensure its inclusion in strategic communication planning.
The fifth and last section addresses crisis communication, highlighting its unique nature, as it operates independently and requires distinct communication efforts on select occasions.
Strategic communication at LUSEM
The Communication division at LUSEM strives to create favorable conditions for the School to achieve its operational goals in research, education, and collaboration. This includes enhancing the visibility of the School both internally and externally, offering crucial support to the faculty’s leadership and operational aspects of communication. The main focus is to demonstrate how LUSEM, through research, education, and collaboration, makes a difference in a constantly changing world.
The Communication division engages in strategic communication efforts on multiple levels. This includes nurturing and strengthening the faculty’s brand both internally and externally, as well as disseminating new research findings. The strategy is also about making important information accessible to prospective students and contribute to maintain and develop collaboration with business and industry, alumni, and the surrounding community. Societal relevance is crucial; communication efforts should be linked to current social issues and trends to increase relevance for the target audiences.
Internally, news and information should enhance the leadership’s presence in the organisation. It should also contribute to clarity between leadership and employees while building a sense of unity. The communication strategy not only acts as a guiding framework for communication efforts at the Dean’s office but is also recommended as a valuable set of guidelines at the department level. The strategy is reviewed and updated annually.
Consistently, the communication approach at LUSEM should prioritize the needs of the target audience, adapting content and channels accordingly. In close collaboration with Lund University’s communication department, the Communication division takes charge of ensuring the faculty adheres to shared graphic profile guidelines; an integral component of the communication strategy at LUSEM.
This document elucidates the present operational approach guiding our communication efforts, delves into the challenges and requisites of the organisation, and outlines the communication division’s strategy and planning for the period 2024 – 2025. The subsequent pages provide a comprehensive description and illustration of these aspects.
Communication levels, target groups, channels
This part of the communication strategy explores the diverse levels of communication, how these types of communication are done and their associated target groups. This approach is not just a matter of curiosity but a strategic prerequisite. By looking at these levels, we gain valuable insights into how information flows within the organisation, allowing the communication officers to tailor their messages effectively. This understanding forms the backbone of the communication strategy, ensuring that LUSEM connects meaningfully with each distinct audience. Below, these levels that are not just a choice but a strategic imperative for effective communication, are outlined.
Internal communication
By sharing important updates, policies, news about colleagues, interesting initiatives, research news and news about our teachers as well as our students, mainly spread with the help of newsletters, faculty meetings, and emails. With the aim of fostering a sense of community, internal news and information can strengthen the presence and relevance of the management in the organisation. Internal communication can be used as a binding agent between management and employees and to continuously build a sense of social cohesion.
Target group: Staff at LUSEM.
Student communication
By communicating with prospective students, sharing news and information about our education, study environment, success stories, impressive ranking results, study related opportunities. Leading and producing marketing campaigns to attract prospective students. Communicating with current students about events, career opportunities, study guidance, academic skills services, international opportunities, trainee work, case competitions, business contacts and the alumni network.
Target groups: Prospective students, current students.
Research communication
By communicating ongoing research projects, news, fundings, new thesis and other publications, department wide and interdisciplinary research collaboration. The research communication is done through channels like the website, news and press releases, popular science events and social media. Research results can also be promoted and communicated through conferences, seminars, and academic presentations either on site at LUSEM or through live streamed webinars.
Target groups: General public, researchers, corporate connections, journalists, current students, staff at LUSEM.
Outreach: External relations and engagement
By communicating our programme portfolio, partnerships, news, events through newsletters, invitations to relevant events, guest lectures and research- and student collaboration. Raise awareness and engagement on a global level through communicating and foster international relations, like with partner universities and companies. Story telling about exchange studies and international programmes.
Target groups: Corporate connections, external partners, corporate connections, the public, journalists, international students and faculty.
Alumni relations
Maintain communication with alumni by newsletters, invitations to events both in Sweden and abroad and offer collaboration with employers and networks. Foster ongoing relationships and support and try to create life-long ambassadorship for the faculty and the University.
Target groups: Alumni, corporate connections.
Online learning platform
By utilising the online learning platform Canvas for communicating with students and course staff. Target groups: Teaching staff, current students.
Communication levels and their target groups, target groups, goals, and keywords/features for each level.
Communication level Channels Target groups Goals
Internal communication
Student communication, prospective students
Newsletters, faculty meetings, emails, website*; LUSEM Staff pages
Website and social media*, marketing campaigns, video, podcast
Staff at LUSEM
Prospective students
Student communication, current students
Research communication
Video, podcast, newsletters, events, website and social media*
Website and social media*, news, press releases, video, podcasts
Outreach: External relations and engagement
Alumni relations
Website and social media*, newsletters, event invitations, collaborations, video, podcasts
Newsletters, event invitations, collaborations, video, podcasts, social media*
Online learning platform
Current students
Foster community, Management communication support, build cohesion
Attract talented students, provide admission information, nurture belonging, show differentiation
Provide information about support, opportunities and future career, celebrate achievements
General public, researchers, corporate connections, media, students, staff at LUSEM
Corporate connections, external partners, the public, journalists
Alumni, corporate connections
Canvas platform for communication Teaching staff, current students
Showcase research, promote collaboration, communicate achievements, highlight impact
Highlight outreach, showcase partnerships, nurture engagement, build networks
Maintain relationships, create ambassadorship, foster support
Keywords/ features
• Community
• Management
• Presence
• Social cohesion
• Admission
• Future career
• High quality
• Status
• Student life
• Inclusive
• Sustainability
• Opportunities
• Support
• Career
• Success
• Research
• Collaboration
• Achievements
• Social impact
• Contemporary
• Outreach
• Partnerships
• Engagement
• Network
• Resources
• Career
• Alumni
• Ambassadorship
• Network
• Career
• Lifelong learning
• Legacy
Facilitate communication, enhance engagement
• Canvas
• Education
• Engagement
*Website and social media: A deeper look into these channels on the following page.
Websites and social media are of paramount importance as communication channels; therefore, these channels are meticulously described, with specific target audiences delineated below.
Websites
LUSEM hosts three websites; the external site in Swedish, the external site in English, and LUSEM Staff Pages in English.
Social media
LUSEM runs accounts at Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and X. The used language is mainly English in social media. Swedish can be used in a few specific cases, if an event is given only in Swedish, for example.
The main target groups of the websites and social media are outlined in the table below.
Website
ehl.lu.se (external site in Swedish)
lusem.lu.se (external site in English)
LUSEM staff pages (internal site in English)
Social media
YouTube
X
Target group/s
Prospective Swedish students
Current Swedish students
Alumni
Recruiters and employers
Corporate connections
Authorities and agencies overseeing education and accreditations
General public
Prospective international students
Current international students
Alumni
Recruiters and employers
Corporate connections
Authorities and agencies overseeing education and accreditations
LUSEM staff
Target group/s
Prospective students
Current students
Potential employees and students
Corporate connections
Researchers/research organisations
Alumni
General public
Staff/former staff
Prospective students
Current students
Interested general public
Staff
Media/journalists
Researchers
Interested general public
Individuals with a connection to LUSEM
Residents of Lund (regarding local events)
The research community
Other universities and research centres
General research enthusiasts
Policy makers
Corporate connections
Strategic goals
To achieve alignment with LUSEM’s commitment to impactful communication across diverse stakeholders, our strategic objectives aim to elevate LUSEM as a dynamic hub for studies, research, and external engagement within Lund University. While certain components remain consistently vital in our communication strategy, periodic reviews every year ensure the formulation of strategic focus areas. These areas guide the implementation of targeted communication efforts, reinforcing our dedication to impactful and resonant communication practices.
Included as consistently crucial objectives in LUSEM’s communication strategy are:
• Student-centric communication; current and prospective students
• Brand building
• Internal communication processes
• Alumni and external relations
• Research impact
The key strategic communication goals of significant importance prioritised by LUSEM for the next two years include:
• Drive social impact
• Empower community engagement
• Global presence, local influence: Elevate LUSEM’s international image and workplace appeal
• Innovate communication with AI
Below, these bullet points are further elaborated.
Student-centric communication; current and prospective students
WHAT
Tailor communication channels for both current and prospective students. Provide timely and relevant information about programmes, events, and support services.
HOW
Keep the communication channels updated and easy accessible. Disseminate timely announcements through for example social media. Foster interactive communication by encouraging feedback, inquiries, and participation. Promote academic and extracurricular events. Support services information. Stay adaptive to emerging communication technologies and preferences among students.
Brand building
WHAT
Strengthen LUSEM’s brand identity.
HOW
Consistent messaging, visual elements, and storytelling, fostering a positive perception among stakeholders. Involve faculty and students in brand-building efforts, like for example portraying them as ambassadors, embodying the values and excellence associated with LUSEM. Stay adaptable to changing trends and innovations in communication and branding, ensuring that LUSEM’s brand remains contemporary. Look into strategies for monitoring and analysing brand perception. Always keep to a unified visual identity, including logos, color schemes, and design elements, to create a recognisable and cohesive brand image.
Internal communication processes
WHAT
Streamline and optimise internal communication processes within LUSEM.
HOW
Ensuring quick and accessible information through staff newsletter and staff website. Facilitate regular updates and announcements through channels like newsletters. Promote collaboration between different departments and units regarding for example joint website work and development. Encourage and facilitate leadership engagement in internal communication. Provide information and workshops on effective communication practices through for example a communication guide.
Alumni and external relations
WHAT
Strengthen and cultivate relationships with alumni and external partners, fostering a vibrant and engaged community.
HOW
Maintain regular communication channels like newsletters and social media (above all LinkedIn). Market networking events, both physical and virtual. Encourage collaborative projects and initiatives between the business school and external partners. Showcase alumni success stories.
Research impact WHAT
Communicate research successes to enhance LUSEM’s overall brand reputation, emphasizing a culture of innovation and academic excellence.
HOW
Highlight the significance and impact of research achievements, showcasing LUSEM’s commitment to excellence. Utilise diverse communication channels, including press releases, social media, and LUSEM’s websites, to disseminate information about research with the potential to engage the general public. Create visually appealing materials, through for example videos and podcasts, to present research findings in an engaging and accessible manner. Build and maintain relationships with media. Emphasize the collaborative and interdisciplinary nature of LUSEM’s research activities. Tell engaging stories about successful research.
(continuation) Strategic goals
Drive social impact
WHAT
Develop and implement communication strategies that highlights LUSEM’s contributions to societal progress through research, education, and external collaborations.
HOW
Launch storytelling campaigns that showcase real-life examples of how LUSEM’s academic and research initiatives have impact. Foster collaborations between academia, industry, and governmental bodies. Through news and story telling support LUSEM to stay relevant. Through impact-driven decision making prioritise communication channels and formats based on their proven impact.
Empower community engagement
WHAT
Promote community engagement with LUSEM since prospective students are likely to be attracted to a sense of community in their academic journey, and current students want to feel connected.
HOW
Organise our own public activities as well as take part in community arrangements, like Kulturnatten. Communicating through our own student ambassadors representing LUSEM, sharing their experiences and insights with prospective students. Conduct campus tours and open houses, allowing prospective students to experience the LUSEM community. Establish mentorship programmes that pair current students with prospective ones. Involve alumni in community engagement activities
Global presence, local influence: Elevate LUSEM’s international image and workplace appeal
WHAT
Through communication stratregies help LUSEM to be recognised internationally for its academic excellence, diverse perspectives, high-quality education and contributions to the global discourse in business and economics.
HOW
Facilitate effective communication with a diverse international audience. Spread the word about LUSEM’s placement on prominent global ranking lists and showcase LUSEM’s standing among the world’s top business schools being triple-crowned. Share cross-cultural events and conferences the reseachers participate in. Highlight collaborative research and educational networks, like Winter school (with Hanken). Show LUSEM’s commitment to providing a world-class education with a global perspective. Communicate that LUSEM attracts international students and staff and thereby enhance LUSEM’s image as an international institution and workplace.
Innovate
communication with AI
WHAT
Learn more about and try out artificial intelligence regarding communication strategies to enhance efficiency. Stay up-to-date with technological advancements in the field. Learn more about technological advancements in the dynamic field of communication.
HOW
Look into AI algorithms regarding analysing user behavior, preferences, and interactions. Integrate AI tools to automate content creation for various communication channels. Integrate AI technologies for innovative ways of communication. Deploy AI tools for social media management. Employ AI to conduct automated surveys and gather feedback from stakeholders. Integrate AI-driven language translation services. Further enhance AI automation in the creation of newsletters.
Performance evaluation
The Communication division conducts weekly documented meetings to ensure the strategic development and conformity. Additionally, comprehensive full-day sessions, occurring three times per semester, are dedicated to reviewing the overarching strategy. Each semester, a detailed half-year report is meticulously compiled, presenting an overview of communication activities and performance metrics. The objective of this report is to provide a thorough examination of undertaken initiatives, assessing their effectiveness and outcomes in a tangible and concrete manner.
As the communication division oversees websites and provide advice to departments to achieve consistent and effective communication, the communication strategy adopts a faculty-wide perspective. Examples of occasions when this perspective takes shape are faculty-wide meetings and workshops with all web publishers, initiated and given by the communication division. The collaboration with Lund University’s communication department is close and in matters relating to for example a joint graphic profile and branding approach, the communications division is responsible for the faculty’s compliance with these.
Evaluation of the communication and its impact on the strategic goals is done regularly. Evaluations should be an ongoing process, and the methods used may vary depending on the specific goals and communication channels. Regular assessment and adaptation are key to continuously improving the communication strategies of LUSEM and one way is, as mentioned above, to regularly review the work that has been done. The evaluation work also involves employing analytics tools to gauge for example website traffic, exemplifying a more refined method of assessment. This kind of measurements have so far been done through Key Performance Indicators, Google analytics, benchmarking, monitoring statistics, such as click rate, in the tool for newsletters, forms and invitations; Ungapped. An alternative approach involves engaging a professional media agency to comprehensively assess the impact of media channels, providing an overarching and systematic analysis of their influence over a specified timeframe, including effects on application pressure and other annual outcomes. This strategy, often implemented for major marketing campaigns, offers a more holistic evaluation.
A forthcoming assessment, scheduled for spring 2024, will focus on the ongoing web transition at LUSEM from one Content Management System (CMS), Pimcore, to Drupal. The adoption of Drupal aligns seamlessly with the central communication department’s existing use of the tool, facilitating closer collaboration within Lund University.
In conclusion, all communications efforts at LUSEM should align with the management’s objectives and strategy, particularly in the context of strategies and performance evaluation.
Crisis communication
Outlined below is a crisis communication plan tailored for managing challenging situations at LUSEM.
Before a crisis
The spokesperson/s are decided and communicated within the management and the Communication division. Media training are done to ensure that the spokesperson/s effectively can convey key messages and handle challenging questions. A comprehensive step-by-step crisis plan shall be developed and eventually overlooked, updated if needed and communicated to new staff.
During a crisis
The initial imperative involves the establishment of a crisis management team, delineating specific roles and responsibilities within its purview. This information is to be disseminated among the management and potentially across the entirety of the organization, contingent upon the nature and scope of the crisis at hand.
Fundamental to establishing this team is:
• Identify key members of the crisis communications team; spokespersons, media relations, social media managers, relevant department heads.
• Clearly define roles and responsibilities for each team member.
• Ensure team members have a comprehensive understanding of crisis communication principles and are well-acquainted with the current plan.
Contact information
A list of contact information for key stakeholders, including employees, students, media, government agencies, and relevant partners must be accessible.
Risk assessment
Collaborate with the management to identify potential risks associated with the current situation. Evaluate the potential impact and likelihood of each crisis scenario, and determine the appropriate communication strategy for each.
Communication protocols
Only suitable communication channels and protocols for internal and external communication are used during the crisis, as few as possible. Define how information will be disseminated to important target groups such as students, faculty, staff, parents, alumni, and the media.
Key messages
Only pre-approved key messages that align with the School’s values and strategic goals should be used. Tailor key messages for different audiences, including internal and external stakeholders.
Monitoring and detection
Monitoring social media, news outlets, and other relevant channels for early detection of potential crises is crucial. Online posts about LUSEM are read and pondered regularly at short intervals.
Media relations
Only the media contact list should be used. Draft press releases developed for the event of a crisis are used.
Social media strategy
A social media policy that includes guidelines for posting during a crisis is used. Pre-decided individuals are responsible for managing social media accounts and responding to online conversations.
Post-crisis evaluation
A thorough review of the crisis communication response after the incident has been resolved shall always be done. Identify areas for improvement and update the crisis communications plan accordingly.
In summary
In summary, this communication strategy has delved extensively into communication strategies at LUSEM. For a quick recap the invariably present and overarching key elements are listed by the following bullet points on what the communication divison aims to:
• Create uniform, effective and target group-adapted communication
• Create communicative conditions for a present and visible management team
• Create comfort for the employees through strategic internal communication
• Nurture and build on external relations through targeted communication efforts
• Provide students with accessible and relevant information
• Spread society relevant research
• Protect the LUSEM brand.
These goals serve as our compass, steering us towards a communication approach that is impactful, transparent, and aligned with LUSEM’s mission.
