This presentation addresses the similarities between rockstars and IT communications as higher ed IT departments strive to tell our stories, strategies, plans, and outages in terms of: - changing landscapes - managing your rockstar/IT brand and reputation - practicing with the band (planning with stakeholders) - understanding our fans (audiences) - going on tour (channels) - playing the music (content) - taking time to reminisce (evaluating success)

1. IT Communications
and Rockstars
Mary Kathryn Roberts
Manager, Strategic Communications
Carleton University

2. IT PROJECTS
Strategy and
Organizational
Changes
Website
Outages
Training and
Workshops
Service
Promotion
Events Other

3. Changing landscapes
Brand and reputation
Plan | Practice
Audiences | Fans
Content | Music
Channels | Tour
Evaluate | Reminisce

4. 4
Changing Landscapes
1. Social Media
2. Information Overload
3. Heightened Expectations

5. You don’t have to be everywhere. Know where your audience is.
Quality over quantity.

6. “When we are no
longer able to change
a situation we are
challenged to change
ourselves.”
- Viktor E. Franki

7. 1. Set the Expectation
2. Framework for Communications
3. Importance of Standards and Resources
Brand and Reputation

8. Tell stories that align with your IT
department’s vision and mission.

9. “A brand is a story
that is always being
told.”
- Scott Bedbury

10. 10
Practice = Plan
1. Start Planning Early
2. Create Clear Goals and Objectives
3. Gather Resources

11. The Strategic Part of Strategic Planning
BACKGROUND
STRATEGY
COMMUNICATION GOALS
KEY MESSAGES
KEY FEATURES AND BENEFITS
AUDIENCE ANALYSIS

12. Tactic Vehicle Date Responsibility Notes/Evaluatio
n
Executive level
brief
Information
Systems
Steering
Committee
April 6 –
Quarterly
CIO present
MK provide key
messages
Reactions
Questions
Review and
prepare website
including an FAQ
section
carleton.ca/ccs/
site
April 9 MK Set up
dashboard
alerts in Google
Analytics
Update FAQ as
required
The Tactical Part of Strategic Planning

13. If possible, determines: Point
of contact, Services impacted,
Time to resolve
Performs initial scope
assessment, Posts to generic
channels
Prepares message for
broadcast, Tweets outage
Contacts include: Department
of Communications, Student
Services, Registrar’s Office
Issue Discovered
Outage Reported
for 1st Phase
Communications
Big Issues
Escalated for
Broadcast
Communications
Issue is Broadcast
to Community as
Necessary
Create an Outage Communications Plan

14. “The secret is to
gang up on the
problem, rather
than each other.”
- Thomas Stallkamp

15. Fans = Audience
1. Note Characteristics
2. Work with Timing/Schedules
3. Address Potential Questions and Issues

16. Students are….
busy
stressed
on social media
get a lot of email
tech savvy
Does it matter if
they are
on campus vs off
campus?
Undergrad vs grad?

17. “How does this
impact me?”
- Your audience.

18. Tour = Channels
1. Contact Person for Each Available Channel
2. Use your Website to its Full Potential
3. Leverage Existing Social Media Channels

19. Twitter Rules
• Be polite
• Be useful.
• Be interesting.
• Be social.
• Be consistent.
• Be a person.
Twitter Plan:
• What to tweet. Content strategy.
• How often to tweet. Buffer.
• Hashtag or no hashtag #nohashtag
• How to measure.

20. Bufferapp.com

21. “Every time you add
something you take
something away.”
- 37signals.com

22. 22
Music = Content
1. Keep it Simple
2. Use Pyramid Writing
3. Meet People Where They Are

23. When, What, Who
From Friday June 7 to Monday June 10, Microsoft will be upgrading all Carleton student email accounts.
Why, How (does this affect you)
This upgrade will result in a significant storage increase, from 25 GB to 50 GB.
During the upgrade, students will experience a few minutes of service interruption.
Access via the Portal and via smartphones will be unavailable during this time.
Details
To access your account during the upgrade, (details)
Background Info
Learn more about the upgrade at this website.

25. “The ability to simplify
means to eliminate
the unnecessary so
that the necessary
may speak.” -Hans Hofman

26. Reminisce = Evaluate
1. Know what you’re evaluating
2. Do A | B testing
3. Share your lessons learned / success

27. 27

28. “Experience is what you
get when you didn’t get
what you wanted.”
- Randy Pausch

29. 1. Changing Landscapes. Times they are a changin’.
2. Brand and Reputation. It’s not about what you do, it’s about
what people think about what you do.
3. Plan. Have one. Involve people early.
4. Audience – Address potential prejudices. Potential issues. IT
knowledge. Be aware of schedule conflicts.
5. Channels - Know what channels work best for each audience and
tailor content accordingly. Get social – but keep in mind your
resources.
6. Content - Content needs to be tailored to both the audience and
to the channel. Use pyramid writing. Simple, clear, concise.
7. Evaluation – Include in the plan. Get feedback. Report. Be even
better next time.

30. Questions?
Mary Kathryn Roberts
Manager, Strategic Communications
Office of the Vice-President (Finance and Administration)
Carleton University
@HEITcomms