Overview

By utilizing social media platforms and a communications strategy, the Office of

International Studies in Education hope to achieve the following:
Have an improved understanding of the OISE mission and goals
Distribute and encourage enhanced knowledge of the GECP cohort
program and other international opportunities so as to increase participation
Increase knowledge of and participation in OISE activities, including
breakfasts, potlucks, symposia, brown bags, etc
Increase the number of applicants to COE study abroad programs and
scholarships
Increase participation in cross-cultural exchanges and/or international
student orientation
Enhance understanding of the OISEs audience and create a style, voice,
and set of goals to be implemented across all social media and communications.
In the content strategy guide to follow, a communications plan and strategy will be
detailed and address issues such as tone, governance, style, office communication
goals, and target audience profiles.
Over the course of the following style guide, we will be covering the following:
1. Governance
2. Our Current Situation
a. Conducting a SWOT Analysis
b. Communications Audit
3. Audience
a. Persona Profiles
4. Style Guide
a. Tone
b. Style
Governance
Over the course of the summer internship in place, Allie will be responsible for drafting a
comprehensive style guide for future use by interns or hired staff. This style guide will
include information necessary to continue social media posts and general
communications pieces sent from the OISE. Along with this style guide, an editorial
calendar will be created and used to appropriately plan and post content, both new and
recycled/reposted. Allie will be responsible for doing research on the audiences targeted
by the OISE communication strategy. This research will, in turn, shape audience
personas and influence the types and tone of posts. Allie will be responsible for
managing all social media accounts and should be well-informed of posts from the
COE, participants and leaders of study abroad programs, etc.

Kris is currently and continually responsible for the maintenance of the OISE website.
When completed, he should refer to the style guide created to remain consistent with
tone and voice displayed in social media posts.
Dr. Drummond will serve as the final opinion on proposed strategies and products. All
proposals should be presented to the team for discussion and recommended edits.
Our Current Situation
Conducting a SWOT Analysis
A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Threats, Opportunities) analysis is a tactic
businesses use to identify and deal with current and potential strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, and threats to the organization. As it relates to the OISE, I suggest
conducting a SWOT analysis in order to identify both problem areas and areas of
excellence in communications, both internal and external. I suggest conducting this
analysis once with the input of all members of your team, and again with the input of
representatives of your audience reached. This analysis is meant to be a tool to be used
to combat potential threats and weaknesses in the current and future communication
strategies. Using the following questions, begin a conversation of the current status of
communications within and around your organization.
Strengths- Strengths can be defined as any advantage that your organization might
have over another. These can include the work of key players in your organizations
communications, resources available to you, etc.
What advantages does your organization have?
What do you do better than anyone else?
What unique resources can you draw upon that others cant?
What do people in your market/audience see as your strengths?
What types of communication have been particularly effective in the past?
Weaknesses- Weaknesses would also be defined as anything that stands in the way of
your communications excelling and setting an example in the current market. Try to
focus the first half of the SWOT analysis on internal factors.
What could you improve?
What should you avoid? (According to market or audience standards)
What are similar organizations/people in your market likely to see as
weaknesses?
What factors lose you support from related organizations or audience
members?

Opportunities- Opportunities would include mostly external factors which provide a

unique or especially beneficial space for your organizations presence through
communication. useful opportunities may present themselves as: changes in technology
or market, changes in government policy, changes in social pattern, and local events.
What good opportunities can you spot in the near future? (ie upcoming
events)
What trends in communications are you aware of?
Threats- Look to external factors to determine what could potentially affect your
communication strategy or relationship with other organizations or stakeholders.
What obstacles do you face?
What are your competitors/ similar organizations doing?
Are standards of university communication changing?
Is changing technology a threat to your current situation?
Are funding or resources an issue?
Could any of your weaknesses defined above seriously threaten your
approach to communications?
Communications Audit
Upon conducting an audit of communications materials provided by Kris Windorski, I
have concluded the following, listed in the table below, of the current situation for future
consideration. The pieces analyzed will be color-coded as follows:
OISE Website
2014-2015 Annual Report
Social Media Outlets
Annual Report (2014 & 2015)
Cultural Exchange Seminar Poster
DSUSA Information Sheet
Final Fact Sheet
International Potluck/Breakfast Posters

Strengths
The sliding banner on the homepage reflects
relevant information to potential visitors of the site.
The color scheme fits within the colors used
in the banner image.
News and Events are posted prominently on
the homepage.
Links on the homepage are clear and include
relevant icons.
Events link to the College of Educations
events calendar.

Weaknesses
Graduate Assistant profiles should be
included on the Our Team page in the same format
as the ones currently listed.
All Faculty profiles should be formatted the
same way, including pictures. Academic Staff and
Other Resource Persons included.
Contact information should also be included
on the homepage.
Tabs should match links on the right side of
the page. (GECP is not listed as a link in the same

 Team member profiles include bios and

pictures.
Inclusion of Key Dates to Remember on the
FEGU page.
FEGU testimonials are great and pictures fit
nicely.
FEGU Archives are a great addition and good
way to introduce multimedia content.
Links to Office of Registrars information on
required courses is helpful for current students.
Useful information for prospective students,
including how to craft an effective application.
Inclusion of blogs under Program Info on
undergrad study abroad is great.
List of partners is great. Maybe creating
partner profiles would offer an opportunity to include
images on this page.
All links on this page offer a wealth of
information that goes above and beyond most
program pages at MSU.
The majority of the content on this page is
evergreen content (definitions of content type
included later in this document) and are lowmaintenance as far as site management.
Header image matches the one displayed on
the website.
Images on the title page match poster images
distributed the previous year.
Table of Contents heading match headings in
the document.
Header continues throughout the document.
Use of tables and images throughout are
helpful and look great.
Colored headers help to establish text
hierarchy.
Text hierarchy is consistent throughout the
document (14)
Footer on the front page with contact
information is important
Running header looks neat and professional
Good use of tables and bullet points
Good use of roman numerals vs. numbers to
establish text hierarchy
Good organization in the contact page,
includes position titles to direct specific questions.
Good text hierarchy in table of contents(15)
Running header looks nice and professional
Awesome use of images/blurbs/tables to
break up the text.
Really great use of quotes, and the formatting
sets them apart from the bulk of the text.
Bolding of names is helpful throughout
Recommendations tables are formatted the
same throughout, which looks great and stays
consistent

order as it is on a tab.)
All links should be the same color to avoid
confusion.
All colors and images used should fit within
MSU Brand Standards (covered later in this
document)
Include Key Dates to Remember on the
Events Calendar.
FEGU information is listed on two tabs.
Information on requirements, eligibility, etc. should be
listed on only one page to avoid repetition.
All events listed on the Events page should
be reflected on the homepage events calendar.
The main Students page is lengthy. Additional
tabs to include all information would be useful.
Exchange Seminar information has its own
tab, but is outdated. Consider removing this tab for
times when current information is not available.
Images under Faculty Publications need to be
updated.
Table format might not be most effective for
Faculty Publications. A blog format, similar to the
profiles and testimonials on the rest of the site might
be more conducive.
Images on the title page are not formatted
the same way (not all the same size or have the black
border.)
Including bullets on the Table of Contents
would help guide the readers eye in addition to the
use of indentation.
Tables shouldnt be interrupted by page
breaks if it can be avoided.
Social Media is not being utilized at this time.
Pictures on cover page would not translate
well into print
Blue underlined headers should pick one or
the other; blue or underlined. The change in color
plus underline gives it higher text hierarchy.
Some pictures are formatted awkwardly
within the text or added as an afterthought after
paragraphs. All picture should be embedded within
text for easy reference.
Lots of images on the front page. Wouldnt
translate well into print. (15)
Again, blue plus underlined text equals
hierarchy issues. I would stick to just blue text. Light
color means lower hierarchy.
Images are sometimes warped (most likely
from stretching them in the process of formatting) and
would often not translate well to print
Spotlight on faculty should be spread
throughout the document if possible
Images should be simplified on the final page
as well
Colors could be lightened (mainly green), as

 Appendices are great so as not to overwhelm

the pages with tables.
Great use of a header across documents
Good organization in top half with What,
Who, Why, How
Good question line used to grab attention of
potential participants.
Awesome use of graphic
Great use of bolding of numbers throughout,
calls attention to and creates ethos
Date and time information is biggest on the
page
Graphics are relevant to event
Description blurb has welcoming and friendly
tone.

is the poster looks mainly black and white

Lots of text on here. Maybe the information
on the bottom half of the sheet wouldnt be necessary
to print in promotional materials, but in separate
materials given to participants.
Event information should be closer to the top
of the page and bigger.
Lots of information here. Maybe downsizing
by just a couple facts (at least for print) would be
helpful.
Pictures arent ideal for print. They would be
great to use for promotional social media posts, but
simpler images and logos would be easier and look
better for print materials.

Audience
One of the main goals of establishing a communications strategy is defining and
reaching out to the audience of the OISE. As the website defines it, the OISEs
audience is as follows:
Prospective undergraduate study abroad participants
Prospective graduate students in Education
Prospective graduate study abroad participants
Current undergraduate students in Education
Current graduate students in Education
In addition, based on conversations about desired audience between Dr. Drummond,
Kris Windorski, and Allie, the target audience should also include the following:
Current undergraduate international students
Current and past undergraduate study abroad participants
Current and past graduate study abroad participants
Persona Profiles

Style Guide
This style guide should serve as a reference before posting to any social media
account, website, or creating print documents. The Chicago Manual of Style (CMS)
should be consulted and references with any grammar concern not addressed in the
following guide. The following sections on tone, accessibility, etc. fit within the guidelines
of MSUs brand standards, which can be referenced using the link below.
http://cabs.msu.edu/documents/MSU-brand-standards-7-23-14.pdf
Tone
MSUs brand standards illustrate tone to be used by all offices and representatives of
the university as follows:
Michigan State University demonstrates that it is entirely possible to be heroic and
humble at the same time. To be larger-than-life and accessible, down-to-earth and
amazing. We are midwestern. Friendly. Proud of our accomplishments. Confident

without being arrogant. We are constructive. We admire perseverance and a job well
done. We are reliable without being boring. We are optimistic. We are always looking for
the next great discovery, the next game-changing solution. And we value telling the
truth, which is what we should always do when speaking about ourselves. Our tone
should be consistent with our values and identity.
MSUs values and identity are defined by the words in the image below.

Style
Because social media posts will be mainly targeting undergraduate students, the style
should rely heavily on posts that combine both images and text into a post. Ideal images
would be pictures taken by past study abroad participants, pictures taken at OISE
events, pictures taken by international students during their study at MSU, etc. All
original image content should be either taken by the designated social media person
working at the OISE or submitted by students involved with the office through their
participation in study abroad, GECP events, etc. Tone should be friendly and relatable,
with a special consideration being paid to inclusivity of international students. Sentences
should be as concise and simple as possible, while also conveying an environment that
welcomes audience participation/feedback, encourages a safe learning environment,

and promotes international understanding on and off campus. Below are some
examples of posts/text that would be most appropriate for OISE communications.
Bad: Event promotion only by inviting specific people on our friends list to an
upcoming OISE event and titling the event Undergrad Ice Cream Social.
Good: Creating an event and inviting everyone on our friends list with the option
to share the event with attendees friends (set event settings to public.) Title the
event OISE Ice Cream Social.

* Keeping events set to public and titling them in an inclusive way will help people
not currently very involved with the OISE to feel comfortable joining events,
bringing friends along, etc. Remember to always be inclusive of everyone on our
long list of audience members.
Bad: Insert summary of grad students publication here.
Good: Check out some of the great work your peers are producing! Here, ___
does an outstanding job of telling us more about ____. Be sure to check it out
and tell us what you think. And as always, send us your student stories so we

can continue to brag.

*Keeping a post more lighthearted, even if only with tone, keeps students
interested enough to check out the information attached. And because one of
our goals is to up student involvement, always encourage participation with a
post and the submission of student stories that will in turn be turned into more
social media material.
Bad: Insert block of text three paragraphs long here.
Good: Keep it short, keep it interesting. And include visuals whenever possible.
Instead of paragraphs of text (though it may be needed) make social media posts
a place for summaries and then add a link to the actual, longer material.

*Grabbing attention and keeping it with short blocks of text will help get the word
out about events and information where it might otherwise be ignored for more
entertaining things on a newsfeed. Doing consistent campaigns such as student
stories or inspiring people/projects coupled with quotes, pictures, videos, etc. will
help keep people interested and looking to our posts for interesting information.
Information should always be formatted in a way that will best highlight the events and
important information to students. Visuals, short text blocks, and things like quotes and
videos that will be relevant outside of the context of OISE specifically and inspiring to

those interested in the field of international education will be most effective in

communicating an interesting organization that is worth actively engaging with.
Accessibility
The OISE website and social media posts are to follow the MSU Web Accessibility
Policy should be followed. The university strives to employ principles of Universal
Design (also inclusive design.) Using the link below, reference MSUs Web Accessibility
Policy document in order to ensure access to communications by all without hinderance
of disability, learning or otherwise.
http://webaccess.msu.edu/Policy_and_Guidelines/web-accessibility-policy.html
Brand Standards
MSU typography includes both a serif (Californian) and sans serif (Gotham) font to be
used. Preferably, used in conjunction they evoke the heroic, bold, and progressive
stories of MSU. To obtain the fonts for use, MSU units may contact Communications
and Brand Strategy at contact@cabs.msu.edu for font packages.

The MSU
color
palette
includes
both
primary
and

secondary colors. The primary colors, MSU

green
and white, are to be used whenever possible. The hex code provided below should be
used for web use. All secondary colors should be chosen from the list of approved
below. While a collection of secondary colors exists within brand standard for alumni,
partners, and donors, only those for undergraduate and graduate students are included
below, as they make up our primary audience.

Style Manual Preferences

Goals
Implementation
Templates (Website and Social Media Post Mock-Ups)
Modes & Media
Contact List (Link to separate Google Doc)
Marketing Bank (Link to separate Google Doc)
Editorial Calendar & Content Management (Link to separate google Doc)