Posts Tagged: communication
October 18, 2015
Getting Off on the Right Foot
Shannon Vaccaro
Assistant Director of Sport Clubs & Youth Activities
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Creating a solid foundation for parent communication is a priority task that should be accomplished prior to your program starting date. Relationships built with parents can set the tone for your entire summer camp experience, making any advance work done in this area well worth the time.
The first communication aimed at parents is the initial marketing piece designed to attract participants (in reality – parents!) to your program. Examples of those first messages might be an ad in the local paper, a poster or flyer at a local business, an ad placed in a school newspaper, any type of publication your program distributes such as a brochure, or your website with your camp information (to be found after a quick Google search). This initial piece of information is what will grab the parents’ attention and a decision will be made on your program in a matter of a few seconds. It is therefore important to have all the basic information included in this media including: dates, times, location, cost and how to sign up. A brief description is also a must so that parents get to know the overall theme of your program. Read more
April 17, 2013
Alison Epperson, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Health Ed.
Murray State University
As the popularity and widespread use of Facebook skyrocketed, resulting in quite literally everyone and their mother and even grandmothers creating an account, younger generations have sought out and embraced different methods of social networking. For many college students, Facebook has already fallen by the wayside after just recently celebrating its seventh birthday.
If you have yet to tap into the latest social media Twitter, you could be missing out. You may be feeling overwhelmed with ‘too many social media outlets’ however, staying current on trends and technologies has become more critical than ever as far as way in which to disseminate information. Here are just a few of the major utilizers of Twitter — ESPN, AP, The Weather Channel, and all the major news networks.
What is Twitter exactly?
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April 17, 2013
Gayle Mitcham
Marsh Canada
Social media has emerged as a prominent stage for interaction. More and more,
organizations are transforming their online presence to engage stakeholders. Many
educational institutions also leverage social media platforms to connect with the public
and students. Potential students can engage with an institution and its current students
through interactive websites, virtual tours, and online communities, such as Facebook,
Twitter, and YouTube. The downside is that institutions may underestimate the potential
negative consequences associated with these initiatives; giving rise to poor
management of the related risks. As social media continues to evolve, these threats are
becoming more common and far reaching.
Identifying risks and inherent issues of social media are the critical first steps.
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April 17, 2013
The Fast Track to Success
Mike Dominguez
Sonoma State University
Intramural/Sport Club/Marketing/ Kids Camp Coordinator
Paper is dying. Smartphones are more popular than your favorite television show. If you’re not reaching your audience through at least 5 different media sites, you’re not reaching them! Social Media is the most heavily talked about subject in the world, with Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube being the most often used resource by professionals and students. If you attended this year’s NIRSA National Marketing Institute, you would have learned more than one human brain can handle. Here is some information you can utilize for your students and customers.
Keynote presenter Luke Wyckoff of Social Media Energy spoke about keeping things in groups of 3. The human brain remembers information more clearly when things are grouped in threes. Date, Time, and Location is a good group to keep together. This can be used for flyers, posters, and your website. How well you know your clients is the key to where they get their information, who they share their information with, and how likely they are to return to your program. How well do you know your clients? Are your students finding your website or Facebook page?
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April 16, 2013
What are you doing about it?
Alison Epperson, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Health Ed.
Murray State University
Communication today is an extremely broad topic that can cover a vast array of information dissemination. A majority of our communication today takes the form of person-to-person, email, phone conversations, and texting. While technological advances have certainly created significant benefits via quicker routes of information dissemination, they have certainly not gone without their share of notable shortcomings.
Facebook, Twitter, texting, email. Instant, spontaneous, and silent, these forms of communication are effective in reaching the target audience quickly, but run the risk of unintentionally offending the receiver. All forms of communication implies a certain “tone.” As a result, we’ve resorted to adding smiley faces 🙂 to represent positive communication, and ALL CAPS and bold, to underscore a point, while Italics may be used for sarcasm.
Likewise, responding with a simple “K” often implies anger, disappointment or an end to the conversation. Furthermore, electronic methods of communication can often lead to carelessness, and as a result, we may find ourselves saying things that we would not normally say in person, lends itself to dishonesty, increases spelling and grammar errors.
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April 12, 2011
Mary Chappell, Director
Jason Krone, Associate Director, Programs, Sport Club Director
Jill Urkoski; Associate Director, Fitness and Staff Development
University of Kansas Recreation Services
The fast pace world in which we live in most definitely leaves us vulnerable to all types of risk. For those who work on today’s college campuses, it is a 24/7 duty cycle that transitions from Fall to Winter, Spring to Summer, Semesters to Quarters, and Event to Event.
When a campus incident rocks your world and that of your staff and participants, have you asked yourself “Are you ready to respond?”. Can you truthfully say that you have a plan in place for everything from evacuations, to sheltering in place? Can you say that your staff is ready to respond should they be called on to do so? If not, you are strongly recommended to start the planning process as soon as you finish reading this response guideline. The time is now. Call a staff meeting, and begin the process to develop an Emergency Response Plan that works for your Campus Recreation core mission: a plan that becomes embedded in the framework of your department, unit, reporting structure and campus environment. Quoting Frank De Salvo, Associate Vice Provost at the University of Kansas: “Emergency response preparation is not only valuable in the case of unforeseen circumstances. Such processes also contribute to team building, role clarification and accountability among staff members at all levels of the organization. It is clearly a prudent and profitable investment of time and energy.”
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