KU Talking Points - February 2013
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At our next KU Communicators meeting we will hear from Marlon Marshall, deputy national field director for Obama for America and former KU student body vice president.
The meeting will take place at 11:45 a.m. on Monday, February 25 in the Big 12 Room of the Kansas Union. Meal cards will be provided and an RSVP e-mail will go out closer to the event.
Chancellor Gray-Little updated the university community, policymakers, alumni, donors and friends with her 2013 State of the University video.
We encourage you to share this video with your audiences as part of the overall effort to raise the profile and stature of the university, which will enhance KU’s ability to recruit talented students, faculty and staff as we pursue our shared aspirations.
This video is the companion to the 2013 Chancellor’s Report. The video, printed report and report website were created by KU Marketing Communications and the Office of Public Affairs.
From now through February 16, we're focusing on the ways KU benefits the Kansas and national economies. This includes educating graduates to meet workforce needs, fostering entrepreneurship and turning discoveries into jobs and companies.
Starting February 17 and running through March 9, we'll emphasize the reasons students should choose KU. This is in conjunction with the March 1 FAFSA priority date and is part of our yield campaign.
And from March 10 through 30, we'll highlight the research, scholarship and creative endeavors that set KU apart as a research university.
These message themes will be promoted in KU Today, on the KU Home Page, through paid advertising and in other venues. If you have news stories prepared for any of these topics, please contact Jill Jess so we can include them in our plans.
Marketing Communications will hold free, walk-in faculty portrait sessions on February 13 and 14 in Murphy Hall. The sessions will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Crafton-Preyer Theater.
Communicators are asked to encourage faculty to attend. It is helpful to have current, high resolution photographs when promoting faculty accomplishments and discoveries.
It will only take a few minutes out of each faculty member’s day and they will receive three to four photographs for their review and approval. They are encouraged to dress in business attire with neutral or muted colors. Prints and patterns distract, while black and white fabrics are hard to reproduce pleasingly.
Click here for other portrait opportunities and for more information, contact Doug Koch.
A recent mStoner webinar highlighted three reports on best practices for maximizing engagement on social media.
The first report from Buddy Media focuses on Facebook and also includes a helpful cheat sheet. Their research indicates that shorter posts get more engagement, as do photographs. And including a relevant call to action, such as asking a question or asking fans to share a post, dramatically increases engagement.
A second report from the company analyzes Twitter, including optimal times to tweet, the advantage of short tweets and a warning about using more than two hashtags.
Finally, link shortening site bit.ly has conducted research on the optimal times to share content on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. Afternoons on Twitter and Facebook are best, but don’t wait too long, as traffic fades after 4 p.m. Meanwhile, Tumblr users are night owls, with peak traffic between 7 and 10 p.m.
For more information on how to maximize the return on your social media investment, contact Justin Henning.
- Kathy Damron provides regular updates on issues in the Kansas Legislature of interest to KU at publicaffairs.ku.edu/stateupdates.
- The transition of university websites to the CMS continues, including moving the Chancellor's website to the new template. For assistance in transitioning your site, please visit cms.ku.edu.
- Commencement.ku.edu has been updated with information on the ceremony this May, including important deadlines and ceremony information for scheduled, individual school ceremonies. For more information, contact Charlie Persinger.
Parent-Family Day will be held September 21 in conjunction with the KU football game versus Louisiana Tech.
Please welcome the following individuals to KU Communicators:
- Todd Kober, Associate Athletics Director - Creative Services, Kansas Athletics
- Toni Cardarella, Communications Manager, School of Nursing
- Katherine Pryor, Managing Director, University Theatre
Changes to the roster of communicators should be e-mailed to Tommie Cassen, who maintains the communicators directory.
