Strategic Communications 15 Ideas in 15 minutes

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Strategic Communications15 Ideas in 15 minutes

• Ben Hardcastle,
• OSRHE Dir. of Communications

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Idea 1

• Understand What Americans Say About Science
• 92 are interested
• 72 see the benefit
• 30 understand the process
• 14 feel well-informed
• SE Indicators, 2004

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Idea 2

• What we need
• is a fan base for physics
• Overheard at an American Physical Society meeting
• Diandra L. Leslie-Pelecky
• University of Nebraska - Lincoln

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Idea 3

• Get Strategic
• Clarify your communication Goal(s)
• What behavior are you trying to
• Start
• Stop
• Change

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Idea 4

• Get Strategic
• Understand Your Target
• Grant reviewer
• Department
• Broader Campus
• Community
• Colleagues
• Others

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Idea 5

• Get Strategic
• Identify Barriers
• What will prevent you from accomplishing your
  goal?

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Idea 6

• Get Strategic
• Develop your Messages
• elevator version
• Why Should I Care?
• Tell a story
• Analogies
• Topical references

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Idea 7

• Get Strategic
• Develop the communication Tools
• Print collateral
• Web pages
• Video
• Earned media

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Idea 8

• Get Strategic
• Develop a Timeline

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Idea 9

• Develop a communication strategy at various
  stages
• Application
• Announcing grant
• Conducting research (progress reports)
• Announcing findings

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Idea 10

• Adjust your thinking about communications
• Theyll get it wrong
• Waste of time
• Shouldnt seek publicity
• Lose respect of peers
• Public doesnt care
• Not my job

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Idea 11

• Take a creative approach to Broader Impacts
• Involve your communication department
• Translate your abstracts early

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Idea 12

• Consider pursuing a communication grant
• Communicating Research to Public Audiences
• NSF 03-509
• 75,000 grants
• Current NSF research grantees
• Informal science education activities, such as
  media presentations, exhibits, or youth-based
  activities.

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Idea 13

• Use S.E.O.
• Having a web site isnt enough
• Search Engine Optimization
• Submitexpress.com
• Bruceclay.com
• Seochat.com
• Highrankings.com

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Idea 14

• Think Video
• Tell your story with video
• Production is just the first step
• Old new media distribution
• Montana State University
• Ron Tobias
• tobias_at_montana.edu
• NSF Office of Legislative Public Affairs
• www.nsf.gov/pio

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Idea 15

• Contact me with questions
• Ben Hardcastle
• [phone]
• bhardcastle_at_osrhe.edu