Skip to main content

Get the most out of “Updates” in Unibuddy Community

Best practices for communicating key information and announcements to your students in your Updates channel

Amy Gray avatar
Written by Amy Gray
Updated over 2 weeks ago

Students have told us that having the right information, at the right time, would make them feel better prepared and more excited about attending college, school or university.

There is a lot going on in their email inboxes at this sometimes overwhelming time! Here are our tried-and-tested best practices: so you can cut through the noise, and make sure they get the right announcements and reminders, when they need them most:


Step 1: Create a hit list

This 'greatest hits' compilation should be a comprehensive list of your upcoming dates, events, and key information that admitted students need to know.

Think of this list as removing barriers to enrolment by offering timely reminders; but also as another avenue to build excitement.

Here's some examples:

  • Open houses/open days

  • Virtual AMAs, social takeovers and webinars

  • Deposit deadlines

  • Applications for housing, funding, and visas

  • Cultural events

  • Taster seminars and study days

  • Facilities - i.e. library, mental health support, career services, campus food spots

  • Initiatives: volunteer center, sustainability, diversity

  • University ranking announcements

  • Staff, alumni and student achievements and success stories

  • Orientation and induction events


Step 2: Who should post Updates?

Admins, Staff, and Student Ambassadors can all post Updates. You can read more about account roles and permissions in Community here.

Your Updates channel is pinned to the top of the Inbox for every member - whatever their role within the Community, so its easily accessible to all. Most importantly - members see every Update posted, no matter when they joined your Community, so you know nothing will be missed.

Decide who can post Updates in your Community. Do you want this to be a curated space, where you share a regular cadence of important info? Are you happy for your Ambassadors to take it away and share their stories, insights, successes, and show-stopping photos?

Perhaps a blended approach works best - University Admins take the reins with a consistent rhythm of key takeaways, and Ambassadors are periodically invited to host an Updates takeover, surfacing diverse voices and keeping peer experience at the heart of your offering.


Step 3: Enrich your Community Updates with useful content

Now that you have plotted your important announcements and decided on a strategy as to who can post Updates, its time to fill your Updates channel with relevant and accessible content, to help provide incoming students with a snapshot of life at your institution.

See below for our ideas and examples:

Informative content

Engaging content

Student requested content

Announcements, such as an upcoming virtual AMA or webinar

Photos to build a snapshot of life on campus - aesthetic images, clubs and societies in action, historic buildings, recommended coffee shops

Use your student confidence details. See what students are asking for more information about under Analytics in your Community dashboard

Dates for the diary, event reminders (e.g. open houses/open days) and deadlines for visa applications, housing, and funding

Consumable chunks of content such as 3 Desert Island items Ambassadors wouldn’t have left for college or uni without, seminar essentials, or links to student-created blog posts

Use the student confidence results to generate the content your admitted students want to see, nudging them over the line to enrolment

Guidelines for using Community, ensuring the best experience for all

Event listings - build excitement by signposting to arts and culture, gigs, and sports events

Post Updates to coincide with your email communications, highlighting your email comms’ key points

PDFs can be shared across Community - upload important forms, documents, campus maps, or reading lists

Lend your Updates channel a fun and trending edge by posting GIFs

Refresh and delete Updates when they are no longer relevant, making Community a one-stop shop for the most credible information


Step 4: Decide your cadence

We encourage your team or your Ambassadors to post Updates once a week to keep the momentum going and get your students excited!

Here's some ideas for your Ambassadors:

  • A POV-photo of their study set up

  • Bitesize tips on focus whilst studying

  • 3 best student deals around town

  • A PDF Campus Map, highlighting landmarks around campus

  • Fun and topical GIFs to add a lighthearted touch


Using Community Updates with other communication channels:

Updates is another channel to add to your communications toolkit, and can work hand in hand with your existing communications strategy.

Existing communication channels
(email)

Community Updates

(Unibuddy app)

Objective: Suitable for longer-form content, topics and detail

Objective: suitable for quick, bite-sized information that aligns to your longer-form content

Examples:

  • Guides to early and regular admissions applications

  • Accommodation options

  • Orientation week schedules and directions

Examples:

  • Share a blog to read

  • Share a live session to attend with a key date

  • Share a schedule summary

  • Link a group chat for a conversation to join

  • A quick reminder of an application date closing

  • A PDF application form


See it in action

Resources to help you get started

Did this answer your question?