Integrated Communications and the Bates Web

Integrated Communications and the Bates Web

GETTING STARTED

For Bates CollegeJay Collier, Communications and Media Relations (CMR)

January 26, 2007

WHERE WE ARE NOW

What We’ll Cover

Ten questions ... support a strategic perspective that will align Web vision with communications planning

• Where we are now

• Where we could go

• How we’ll get there

• Your suggestions

WHERE WE ARE NOW

1. Why does the Web matter?

• The Web has become a powerful global force in collaboration and knowledge-sharing

• For the on-campus community at Bates, the Web is becoming an important tool for teaching, learning, and business processing

• Above all, for off-campus constituents, the Web is becoming the primary point of contact and engagement with the College

WHERE WE ARE NOW

2. What is Bates’ “identity” on the Web?

• Bates’ Web identity is the total experience that people have of Bates based on Web impressions

• That experience is produced by Bates faculty, staff, and students — as well as external contributors, both commercial and non-commercial

WHERE WE ARE NOW

2. What is Bates’ “identity” on the Web?

• Text searches: “Bates College” (over 700,000 references)

WHERE WE ARE NOW

2. What is Bates’ “identity” on the Web?

• Blog searches: “Bates College” (over 1,700 entries)

WHERE WE ARE NOW

2. What is Bates’ “identity” on the Web?

• News searches: “Bates College” (about 90 recent stories)

WHERE WE ARE NOW

2. What is Bates’ “identity” on the Web?

• Public articles: Wikipedia (main article)

WHERE WE ARE NOW

2. What is Bates’ “identity” on the Web?

• Public articles: Wikipedia (75+ related Bates articles)

WHERE WE ARE NOW

2. What is Bates’ “identity” on the Web?

• Commercial content: College Prowler (partial online content)

WHERE WE ARE NOW

2. What is Bates’ “identity” on the Web?

• Social networks: Facebook (over 500 Bates members)

WHERE WE ARE NOW

2. What is Bates’ “identity” on the Web?

• Social networks: Live Journal (in-depth discussions covering student life at Bates)

WHERE WE ARE NOW

2. What is Bates’ “identity” on the Web?

• Social networks: Linked In (professional connections)

WHERE WE ARE NOW

2. What is Bates’ “identity” on the Web?

• Social networks: MySpace (nearly 900 members from Bates)

WHERE WE ARE NOW

2. What is Bates’ “identity” on the Web?

• Media sharing: Flickr (hundreds of images of Bates)

WHERE WE ARE NOW

2. What is Bates’ “identity” on the Web?

• Media sharing: YouTube (20+ videos about Bates)

WHERE WE ARE NOW

2. What is Bates’ “identity” on the Web?

• Web services: GoogleEarth (Aerial imagery)

WHERE WE ARE NOW

2. What is Bates’ “identity” on the Web?

• Web services: GoogleEarth (Aerial imagery)

WHERE WE ARE NOW

2. What is Bates’ “identity” on the Web?

• Web services: GoogleEarth (Aerial imagery)

WHERE WE ARE NOW

2. What is Bates’ “identity” on the Web?

• Web services: GoogleEarth (Aerial imagery)

— Jay’s desk

WHERE WE ARE NOW

2. What is Bates’ “identity” on the Web?

• Now, not only is the amount of externally-produced content about Bates growing quickly, so too is the amount of Bates-produced content

• Many systems and services are used to publish content into bates.edu

• So, let’s look more closely at the Bates Web “domain”...

WHERE WE ARE NOW

3. What’s inside the Bates Web “domain”?

• The Bates Web domain consists of all online content and services that have bates.edu in their address. This includes ...

• The core Web site at: www.bates.edu

• Dozens of other official and personal Web sites that have evolved within the Bates domain over the past 15 years

Here are some examples ...

WHERE WE ARE NOW

3. What’s inside the Bates Web “domain”?

• The core Web site at www.bates.edu (17,000 pages)

WHERE WE ARE NOW

3. What’s inside the Bates Web “domain”?

• Official content from academic departments, administrative offices, committees, and ad hoc groups at abacus.bates.edu (41,000 pages)

WHERE WE ARE NOW

3. What’s inside the Bates Web “domain”?

• Curricular content for dozens of courses at webct.bates.edu and leeds.bates.edu

WHERE WE ARE NOW

3. What’s inside the Bates Web “domain”?

• Personal content from faculty, staff, and students at abacus.bates.edu (over 7,800 pages)

4th highest global Google result for “roman gladiator”:

abacus.bates.edu/~mimber/Rciv/gladiator.htm

4th highest global Google result for “centrifugation”:

abacus.bates.edu/~ganderso/biology/resources/

centrifugation.html

WHERE WE ARE NOW

3. What’s inside the Bates Web “domain”?

• Services (library, curricular, and adminstrative) at: webmail.bates.edu, ladd.bates.edu, illiad.bates.edu banner.bates.edu, kent.bates.edu

WHERE WE ARE NOW

3. What’s inside the Bates Web “domain”?

• Alumni content at community.bates.edu

WHERE WE ARE NOW

4. Who uses the Bates Web?

• Prospective students and their families — who may want to learn why Bates is a good choice for them

• Current students and families — who may want to learn about living, studying, and working here

• Prospective faculty and staff — who may want to learn why Bates is a good place to work

• Current faculty and staff — who may want to use services that support teaching and working

WHERE WE ARE NOW

4. Who uses the Bates Web?

• Alumni and friends — who may want to learn how to stay connected with other Bates alumni

• Community & neighbors — who may want to learn why Bates is an important civic partner

• News reporters — who may want to know what's new and newsworthy at Bates

• Professional colleagues — who may want to learn how Bates is leading the way

• Interested friends — who may want to know all of the above

WHERE WE ARE NOW

4. Who uses the Bates Web?

Why do we use the Bates Web?

• To help students learn

• To support social connections

• To persuade our constituencies

• To recruit students, faculty, and staff

• To process business transactions

And many other reasons

WHERE WE ARE NOW

5. Who contributes to the core Web?

• Look and feel – CMR

• News & marketing content – CMR

• Other content – from over 100 campus Web authors

• Web servers, systems, and training support – ILS

• Oversight – a collaboration of CMR and ILS leaders and managers

WHERE WE ARE NOW

6. What are our strengths & weaknesses?

Strengths of the core Web

• We have an excellent source of news, feature, and marketing content

• We have a single system for publishing the entire core site

• We have a talented staff that works in close collaboration

WHERE WE ARE NOW

6. What are our strengths & weaknesses?

Weaknesses of the core Web

• We lack a strategic process for communications

• We have limited staff and budgetary resources

• We have no content development workflow to assure accuracy, timeliness, or quality

• A great deal of effort will be needed to migrate our legacy content from 2001 to 2007 standards

WHERE WE ARE NOW

7. Why should we focus on the Web now?

• The role of Bates’ core Web site has become more significant as alternative content about Bates proliferates

• The Web, itself, has matured into a powerful tool for achieving successful integrated communications results

• An in-depth communications office audit is underway

• We have a directive from the president to improve Bates Web content

• We have a new VP-level Web oversight team

• The last strategic evaluation of the Bates Web was in 2000

HOW WE’LL GET THERE

8. How will we find the right path?

As we move forward, we need to:

• Think strategically about communications

• Understand which key characteristics distinguish Bates from our peer institutions

• Develop an annual plan for integrated communication

• Focus on top priority communications outcomes

• Define success metrics, estimate resources required, and move forward with funded initiatives

HOW WE’LL GET THERE

9. What are the next steps?

• Web communications is an important program that will grow more critical to Bates’ success over the coming years

• With your guidance, we are moving forward on the development a comprehensive communications strategy that fully integrates the Web

• We intend to do great work that informs ... and inspires

HOW WE’LL GET THERE

10. What other questions should we ask?

Thank you for your guidance

Jay Collierwww.bates.edu/communicationswww.jaycollier.net