What the Academics Blog is About
The purpose of this blog is to tell the story of the academic experience at WSU. It provides a behind-the-scenes look at what students, faculty, staff, alumni are doing in the classroom, education-centered extra-curriculars, work, research, community outreach and engagement.
Posts focus on authentic storytelling, with some marketing-oriented elements. Content will be surfaced through submissions and partnerships with academic departments and student clubs.
Ultimately, these posts can feed department websites and social media.
Posts will generally:
- Provide context and relevance for academic events
- Celebrate achievements (faculty, staff, students, alumni, departments)
- Rankings & Awards
- Graduate Outcomes
- Faculty presentations & publications
- Showcase research, special projects
- Explore study abroad opportunities
- Highlight service-learning, unique student experiences and class projects that involve outreach or community partnerships
- Demonstrate the value WSU provides to students via community partnerships
Posts will be attributed to the individual author, a generic department account, or a generic “WSU Communications Office” account as appropriate.
When published, the post will be shared with the person who submitted the post, suggested the story or is featured in the story.
Target Audience
Always keep your audience in mind when writing posts.
Primary Audience: Prospective and Current Students
Imagine that you are talking to a niece or nephew at Thanksgiving dinner. A few general characteristics of WSU college students include:
- They are not experts in a particular academic discipline
- May be from large or small high schools/cities in the Midwest, may be from Winona or live several hours away
- Many are first-generation students who are unfamiliar with college resources and processes
- Some may have previous college experience through PSEO or similar programs
Voice & Style
Posts will generally be written in a professional yet friendly style. People should be able to easily read and understand posts without feeling intimidated or overwhelmed.
Do write with first-person point-of-view ("I" and “we” language) when sharing personal experiences and perspectives.
Keep paragraphs short with 1-3 sentences. Use subheadings and lists if appropriate to make the post easier to scan quickly. Aim for posts between 300-400 words.
All posts should have at least one featured image. If you don’t have an image, you can request photography with MarComm OneStop. Videos and GIFs are also encouraged when appropriate.