The document provides tips for effective communication using various tools and platforms. It recommends synchronizing content across blogs, videos, news releases and social media. For social media, it emphasizes sharing good external content over self-promotion. Twitter tips include using retweets, direct messages, hashtags and text messaging. Images should be eye-catching and promote sharing. Facebook recommendations include using a meaningful profile picture and catchy banner. Blog writing should use keywords and engage readers with questions or calls to action. Effective email uses a clear subject line and maintains a high skim value.

1. Tips and techniques
Little things that will make your
life easier as you implement
your communication strategy
October 17, 2012 • #KSRE12
K-State Research and Extension
Annual Conference

2. Sync it
Make communication tools work together
• Blog posts, fact sheets, a news release, or
videos can provide in-depth content
• Tweets can link to blogs or YouTube videos
• News releases can promote fact sheets,
videos, or your blog
• Blogs can customize content and offer links
• Should everything be shared everywhere?

3. Social media resources
• It's not about promoting your own content
but sharing good content you find.
• Follow K-State resources and share/retweet.
• Profile picture
• Banner
• Shareable content
• Eye-catching images
• Add links to everything!

4. Social media best practices
1. Be honest. Don't pretend to be someone
you aren't.
2. Listen. Take an active role in the conversation.
Find out what information people want.
3. Learn. Our audiences are finding ways to use
new tools, and we should, too.
4. Try new things. Surround yourself with others
who want to learn.

5. Twitter
• Retweets
• Messages
• Text messages
• Hashtags
• Good tweets and bad tweets

6. Twitter: Retweet
• Simple and quick
• Get info to your followers
• Recognizes the importance, quality of the
tweet’s content

7. Twitter: Message
• A private tweet to a user who is following you
• Quicker than email in some cases
• Can receive direct messages sent via text
message on a smartphone

8. Twitter: Text messaging
Twitter makes text messaging easy
1. Create a Twitter account if you don't have one
2. Encourage folks to text "follow <your account>"
to 40404
3. Any tweet you send automatically goes to
followers
Note:
• Can also do this with a QR code
• Clients can do the same with a Twitter account
• Other sites offer functionality, but not free

9. Twitter: Hashtags
Use # symbol to categorize your tweets
• #wheat
• #Kstate
• #Kansas
• #nutrition
• #FridaysComing
• #WhoWouldaThought

10. Good Tweet? Bad Tweet?

11. Good Tweet? Bad Tweet?

12. Images
• Facebook: crucial cover image
• Flickr: public vs. private, creative commons
• Choose a suitable image
Good images: catchy, colorful, meaningful
Bad images: dull, dark, uninteresting
Make images pop: add text or use infographics

13. Images: Shareability
Always think about shareability: Is this
interesting enough that other people would
share it?
Also:
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• Twitter

14. New to Facebook?
Five things to do
1. Use a meaningful profile picture
(K-State Research and Extension workmark)
2. Choose a catchy banner: It’s almost half
your page
3. Provide information (especially contact info)
4. Post some engaging content
5. Invite everyone!

15. Facebook: What works?
• Catchy images
• Useful information
• Questions/polls
• Giveaways
• Calls to action

16. Facebook: What doesn’t work
• Internal or too-personal updates
• Inflammatory comments
• Incomplete information
• Promoting only yourself

17. Facebook series
Keep your Facebook audience interested!
• Ask questions
• Request feedback
• Offer incentives to people who follow daily
• Invite them to share (photos, recipes, advice)
Good example: Skittles

18. Blog writing tips
• Use keywords
• Make images compelling
• Make it scannable
• Make it engaging
• Give readers a call to action

19. Comments: What to do?
• Think of them as comment cards.
• Don’t delete negative comments unless they
can cause harm, bullying, or are offensive.
• Offer research-based information to respond
to comments, as appropriate.

20. Effective email
Subject line: Include a verb, explain how the
email relates to the reader(s), update to avoid
re:re:re: strings.
Open with the main idea: Be direct.
Explain in the body: Maintain high skim value.
Use lists, headings, underline (links), or bold.
Close with a purpose: Repeat deadlines or
required actions at the end.

21. Email tips
Remember:
• Email may be forwarded
• Use the main point to begin each paragraph
• Allow time to revise and proofread
• Make it easy for the reader to respond
• Email newsletters are easily read if they are
the body of the message.

22. Local websites
• Maintain and update your local unit site
• Include links to social media
• Include social media sharing buttons
(ShareThis)
• Tie in with other resources, such as K-State
Research and Extension material
• Photos are great! (Link from Facebook/Flickr)

23. Radio/audio tips
• Be conversational
• Economize (shorter words, sentences)
• Don’t repeat information
• Avoid clichés, humor
• Read your script out loud

24. Video tips
• Keep the goal or message in mind
• Don’t look directly into the camera
• Use a conversational tone
• Show people doing something
• Shorter is better for online viewing

25. Handout
• Consider the audience and objectives
• Use the best delivery method (ebook? PDF?
printed handout?)
• Good images can illustrate the message
• Get help with editing and design to make it
more polished

26. News release
• Have two or three key messages
• Use the five W’s
• Who
• What
• When
• Where
• Why
• Most important points first

27. Newsletter
• Appearance is important! Consider font use,
columns, design
• Use professional templates
• Tailor content to the medium and audience
• Proofread to check facts, dates, grammar,
spelling, and punctuation

28. Know your publication
Consider your goals. Think about:
• Target audience
• Appropriate medium
• How and where the item will be used
• Seasonal relevance
• Audience awareness of the topic (Does the
title include keywords a target reader might
use in an online search?)

29. Enhance your writing
• Think of writing as a process with separate
drafting, revising, and proofreading steps
• Look for paragraph-level improvements and
full development of ideas
• Look for sentence-level grammar errors and
proofreading mistakes
• Follow the K-State Research and Extension
Style Guide

30. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons
Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. To view
a copy of this license, visit
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
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USA

31. Contact us
Elaine Edwards: elainee@ksu.edu
Russ Feldhausen: russfeld@ksu.edu
Sarah Hancock: sarhan@ksu.edu
Nancy Zimmerli-Cates: nancyz@ksu.edu
Slides available at www.slideshare.net/ksre