Marketing Work Requests Best Practices

Cumberland University

MARKETING WORK REQUESTS BEST PRACTICES

A GUIDE TO SUBMITTING STORIES, PHOTOS AND MORE OFFICE OF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS

Making a work request To request a service, please submit the appropriate form for your project located on our Marketing Request webpage.

This is the best way to ensure your project is received and added to our list of priorities.

Be Proactive

Having advanced notice is always best. More notice means more time to plan, more time for production and more time for promotion. We want your project to look amazing, be ready on time and achieve your desired results. Being proactive helps prevent unwanted delays and confusion.

Note Lead Times

Our Marketing Work Requests webpage also includes specific lead times for marketing projects. Please make note of these before submitting your requests.

"Work as one team."

You're also a brand manager You help us stay on brand. We have brand standards that we ask everyone to know and follow. Remember, a strong brand is a focused brand. Keep an eye out for inconsistencies. If you're ever unsure if your piece is on brand, just ask.

We are here to help!

Written Media There are so many stories to be told and we love to help CU tell them! There are a variety of platforms that we use to share the CU brand. Because not all content is suitable for every platform, we will regularly make recommendations and decisions for how and where these stories are shared. Here are some guidelines to determine the best way to write and share your story:

Press Release Tips Newsworthy

News has to be new & unique. Keeping a press release newsworthy helps our brand stay fresh and exciting to our target audiences and increases our chances of news media running our stories. Ideas for a press release include: a new program launch, reaching a monumental milestone, breaking ground on a new building, cutting the ribbon on a new residence hall, students winning awards, setting new records, fully funding a campaign, etc.

Timely

It's highly unlikely that we will have something newsworthy to share every day.

But when there is something urgent or considered "breaking" news, it's vital for our office to receive your PR request as quickly as possible. "After the fact" announcements can become stale quickly in today's 24/7 news cycle. It's best to get the press release out as the news happens.

Audience

Knowing your audience is extremely important. If you have a newsworthy release, we want to make sure it reaches your target audience. In today's digital world, there are several effective platforms news can be shared to that will reach your audience. While print media is still relevant to some, digital media is preferred by most. If you're not sure the best channel to reach your audience, we can help you determine the best fit.

Press Release Tips Photos are preferred

Visuals enhance your story. According to a study by Neilson Norman Group, readers pay close attention to information-carrying images. In fact, when the images are relevant, readers spend more time looking at the image than they do reading the text. In addition, images help with content retention, helping readers remember what they read days later. Knowing this, it's best to have a high-quality, relevant image to accompany your press release or any content you wish to share.

No guarantee

There's no guarantee your press release will be published by the news media when submitted. All press have the freedom to choose the angle of a story. Your press release submissions are a pitch to the press and may not be published verbatim. We can and will publish press releases to the webpage as long as it's newsworthy, timely and relevant to Cumberland's audience.

Advanced notice for events

There is a lot happening around CU's campus. To help announce and promote an event in the press, it is best to provide our office with as much notice as possible, preferably one month.

Need to know

All the stories we share help capture the personality and essence of the CU brand.

In order to build brand awareness and share great stories, we have to know about them. You play an important role in building our brand!

Rules when writing for cumberland Follow the most current edition of the Associated Press Stylebook. Visit apstylebook.com.

When referring to the university for the first time, use the full name Cumberland University. When using on second and subsequent reference use only CU.

Do not capitalize university unless using the complete proper name I.e. Cumberland University.

When describing a degree, the term bachelor's and master's will always include an apostrophe. When naming a specific degree, no pluralization or apostrophe is necessary.

Associate should never be plural or possessive.

Examples: "I have a bachelor's degree and a master's degree."

"I have a Bachelor of Arts degree."

"I am studying for my associate degree."

When attributing a statement or quote, proper AP Style requires the last name (or full name if referenced for the first time) followed by "said."

The following is an example of proper attribution: "The university is proud to announce record enrollment," Dr. Stumb said. "We look forward to continued growth."

Writing a Blog Student focused

Blogging gives CU an opportunity to share content that touches issues, interests and concerns of our prospects and is the perfect place to share stories about our students' passions and interests. Blogging helps drive traffic to our website, builds brand awareness and positions us as a trusted and valuable resource. Our content strategy for our blog will primarily focus on the student perspective.

Lighter tone

Our blog helps us humanize our brand. By using a lighter tone of voice, we personalize our brand and become more relatable.

Great content

Student spotlights, campus life and topics that interest our students work great for blog content.

Submit your stories

Our office is eager to hear your stories! Remember, we can't share what we don't know. Keep in mind that students are our audience, so consider how your story will relate to them.

Social Media

Our university's social media pages are where we focus on student life and the student experience.

By using Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube, we capture and share what it's like for a student at CU. We tailor our content to our followers and work to share stories and visuals that reflect a clear brand identity.

See Social Media Guide for more info

Always take a photo.

Images and Infographics All social media posts perform better when there's a supporting visual. According to BuzzSumo and Buffer, Facebook posts with images see 2.3 times more engagement than those without images, and tweets with images see 150% more retweets than those without images.

Infographics continue to increase in popularity and are an impactful way to share information. Our office is happy to discuss creative options if you are unsure of what you'd like to do.

Quality Over Quantity It is better to have one great post than 10 posts that are just okay. As we work to increase audience engagement on social media, quality posts will allow CU to rise above the digital noise.

Can't find what you're looking for on our webpage?

Our office is always happy to meet with you!

Email us at communications@cumberland.edu.