Although the value of a consistent digital communications strategy is well known, many institutions have yet to put one into place. This is usually due to the fact that the resources required to develop such a strategy seems daunting – how will we organize the appropriate committees, who should be involved, where do we focus our initial efforts? Like a capital campaign for a new building or other long-term projects, a communications strategy should be designed based on long-term goals, with a detailed plan that will be relevant for two to five years. Building such a plan, especially for the first time, is a lengthy endeavor that requires dedication and continual oversight, and your institution will need a focused advocate willing to go the extra mile in driving the process.  The process itself, however, is not rocket science. In this post I will tell you how to go about designing and implementing a strategy that will heighten impact while limiting cost.

The first step is to assemble a communications committee made up of staff members from the department that own the communications process as well as other engaged participants from within the institution and without. Communication committees are a key component of both driving content and building thought leadership from within.  Universities contain a wealth of expertise and subject matter that needs to be harnessed.  Drawing on the experience and perspective of constituents from both inside and outside of the institution will allow you to identify your institution’s full range of needs and capabilities.

Let’s imagine that fictional X State University (XSU) seeks a more integrated communications process, hiring an experienced consulting team to assist the communications committee to evaluate existing systems and accomplish this goal. XSU’s information technology group has been utilizing less-than-ideal systems for website content management and email as well as a global Microsoft agreement to provide desktop, server and productivity applications to the institution.  The school’s institutional advancement team has purchased software from Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge and NetCommunity to manage their constituents and alumni communications.  The finance group was using SunGard HigherEd’s Banner solution with the Luminis Portal Module to provide employee self-service and serve as a central location for departmental portals. 

There are many alternatives to these vendors and systems but most universities have invested in similar systems over the years.  These systems can be divided into the following types based on function:

• Productivity Tools – No large university can get by without some Microsoft software.  Most consolidate their purchasing through the IT group.  Linux and Apple have competing solutions but the premise of the solutions remain the same.
• Constituent Management System – Competition is fierce amongst universities for talent, resources and students.  Blackbaud, Intelliworks and others have produced robust software systems for streamlining communications with donors, alumni, faculty, staff and other constituents.  Their tools allow for a central point of event management, campaign tracking and digital communications.
• Portal Programs – Universities are looking for systems that will provide them with a single point of access to institutional information. Many providers offer constituent information management, with the best solutions unifying multiple systems in one.

Now that the stage is set, let’s look at how these separate systems, utilized by different internal groups, can be stitched together to provide a cohesive experience to varying audiences. 

It was quickly apparent to the consulting team that the school’s various systems included significant overlaps. The communications committee worked closely with the consultants to clearly define the needs for each functional area and divided them into these sections: email marketing, website (external), website (internal), event calendar, alumni, and news.  Each of the existing systems in place could be used for overall management of these needs but each had its own strengths and weaknesses.  These were also identified and each of the institutions required capabilities were matched with the optimal tools to fulfill them:

• Content management system (web external) – Sitefinity was chosen as a robust yet easy to manage system for handling content.
• Content management system (web internal) – SunGard’s Luminis portal provided the most integrated self-service system for faculty/staff/students.
• Alumni communications – NetCommunity provided the needed communication tools and tracking systems.
• Calendar – NetCommunity’s robust event management and registration system suited the overall needs best.
• News management – a custom combination of SharePoint, NetCommunity and integration with Luminis and Sitefinty provided a comprehensive solution.

Although the systems available to universities differ by organizational need, budget and other factors, the important point is that by using the right process you can optimize the use of the tools available to you. For XSU, the key to successful strategy development and implementation was the effective use of internal and external stakeholders to identify needs, capabilities and match the two in an overall strategy.  XSU realized cost savings and process improvements by bringing the best people together to be a part of the process.

This example demonstrates how different tools can be used to provide a comprehensive solution once the advocates in the institution are brought in as part of the process.  Too often in the sprawling departments of  a university, duplicate and even competing initiatives waste resources and actually limit the effectiveness of the robust systems available to the university.  It is critical to bring together the right participants to ensure the best tools are being used for a given digital communications need.

In future blog posts, I will explore how mobile applications and location-based tools can be used by a university to extend existing digital communications systems to a larger audience.