Blogs
If you are interested in starting a blog for your department, we recommend those be at a department level whenever possible and to avoid doing multiple for a department (we realize this may not work for everyone). We recommend you have enough content to post a blog once per week at a minimum. Thinking about a content strategy and themes/tags is important at the beginning.
There are two options you have to get these started:
Blog Option One
Use our Drupal version on your website which allows for tagging so the user can search by topic. It has the option to upload a photo. If you do not have a photo, we can download a stock photo for you from Shutterstock.com. Visit their site and search for an image. We cannot download and use images that are tagged “for editorial use only.” If you choose an image of your own, please be sure you have the rights to the image. You can see an example at counseling.uoregon.edu/be-well-blog
For this option, put in a job request at ssem.uoregon.edu/communications and select the web edit job option. Attach the blog content (we recommend noting the author), and attach the photo you would like in the notes (for Shutterstock just give us the url). The Strategic Communication team will download/upload the photo, upload the blog content, and use the blog tags you indicate. We typically can turn this around in the same day and will do a quick edit for any grammatical issues.
Blog Option Two
Use blogs.uoregon.edu to start a blog. DO NOT post directly to your department website. We will add a link for your department website to your new blog. You are responsible for uploading and maintaining your own content for this blog option.
Visit blogs.uoregon.edu and follow the steps to set up your own blog. You will select “All Other Sites” to create your site. Follow their instructions for requirements and adding users.
Videos
There has been a lot of interest for departments to produce their own videos for students. We can help you promote your videos in an organized, branded, and easily consumable platform.
Strategic Communications will set up a YouTube channel for each department and incorporate UO branding. Within each department you can set up playlists. Programs can have more than one playlist but generally you should only have a playlist if you will continue to produce content in that theme. If a program does not have a playlist, the videos can just be uploaded to the main department account and stand alone.
YouTube Access
Each department may choose who they want to have upload access to their YouTube account. We recommend this only be a few professional staff. To request access, please complete the access form and we will give you access. You will need a Google account to be able to gain access. Once we add the staff member(s) it will send them an invitation to access the YouTube account. When a staff member should no longer have access, please submit the same ticket indicating who should be removed from those permissions.
All videos should be recorded using Zoom. Zoom has an easy export option so you can upload the videos to YouTube directly. Here are the recording instructions for Zoom.
Recording and Exporting Zoom Video
- Open and log into your Zoom app
- Select New Meeting
- Join with Computer Audio
- At the bottom of screen is the record option
- Select Record on this Computer
- At the top left you can select Pause Recording orStop Recording
- Once you have stopped the recording, exit and end the meeting. This should automatically start exporting your recording to a VIDEO FILE (mp4), and AUDIO FILE (m4a).
- Preview the generated files and if they are satisfactory, we recommend you rename the file for easier organization.
Once you have completed recording and exporting, follow the instructions to upload the file to your YouTube channel (playlist).
Uploading and Publishing to YouTube
Please look through these step-by-step instructions from Google to learn how to upload your video to your YouTube channel/playlist.
During this process you will have the ability to have an open or end screen. We are working to have branded options for those available for your team. Please do not use any UO branding for these if it has not been approved or provided by Stratategic Communications. When they are available, we will add them to this page to download.
Visualizing Videos on Your Website
We will have three options to visualize these videos. Options are contingent on how many videos you have available and placement on the website page. Once you have a video uploaded and you would like it on the website, please submit a request for a “Web Edit” and link to the video/playlist. We will work with you to find the ideal location and post it as soon as possible.
Promoting Videos on Social Media
To reach students, you can link to your YouTube playlist or specific videos and blogs through social media. Consider adding this into your social media plans for your social channels.