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Publicise Activities, Events and News

Social media

Social media is a great way to advertise.

If you're holding an event in the Union, invite @standrewsunion as a co-host to your Facebook Event for extra reach. You can also share it with groups, such as Class of 20**.

The Union's Instagram account is available for takeovers — email SADesignmail@ if you're interested, and have a look at the takeover guidelines. You can also share your posts with the account in a direct message, so we can share it to the Story.

Societies can use the Union's YouTube channel to upload videos or host livestreams. Ask SAdesignmail@.

If you use social media effectively, it can become a great tool when promoting your events.

All groups should have a presence on social media – it is a quick and easy way for you to engage with existing and potential members. You can even add links to your social media accounts on your webpage. 

Make sure what you're posting is interesting, relevant and engaging! 

Social media should not just be used for broadcasting promotional information. Most people will find this annoying. Build a good reputation with your audience to gain long-term trust and this outweighs the short-term benefits of a few extra clicks to a link!

Examples of how to be engaging:

  • Ask and answer questions.
  • Post other media (e.g. photos, videos, links).
  • Reveal “behind the scenes” activity.
  • Rewards for engagement (sich as discounts or competitions).

It is the responsibility of all affilaited groups to follow our Social Media Policy, which will be added here soon.

Website

Every society has a page on yourunion.net/societies. This is by far the most viewed page on the website, and is the first place new students go to find out about societies, so make sure your page is up to date.

See our website help page for tips on how to use your page.

If you don't have access to edit your society your a subcommittee or you spot something out-of-date or incorrect please UnionWeb@. Please email from your groups email address, and mention your committee role and personal St Andrews email address in your message.

Calendars

The Union's calendar is very simple to use and provides the only centralised place for you to promote your events. This calendar has the potential to be a really great resource for students.

Events on the Union calendar will be linked to in the weekly sabbatical email which is sent to all students and also to our what's on if the event is happening in the building.

Weekly What's On

Got an event happening in the building? Add it to the website calendar and email [email protected]. We can add it to our what's on post that gets posted on social media and in printed format.

Emails and News Articles

Our weekly sabbatical emails and quarterly Students' Association emails are the perfect chance to reach the whole student body. Do you have news you want to share? Submit your article and we can do the rest. Link coming soon.

Printing

The Union has facilities to print posters, tickets, and wristbands. We can also laminate things. See the Services page.

Posters

Posters are the simplist way to get your messgae out and can be really effective but shouldn't be used in isolation. Make sure to include:

  • Event name
  • Date and time
  • Location
  • Price
  • Where to find tickets and contact you
  • Groups name
  • The phrase "Scottish Registered Charity, number SC019883" -- note that the third character is the number zero, not a letter.
  • The Union logo and the logo of the venue, which you can find on the Brand page.

Remember to keep it simple -- the best posters are the ones where you can get all the information at a quick glance.

Your posters can go:

  • On noticeboards in Rector's Café and Sandy's Bar: Ask reception to stamp them before you put them up.
  • In frames in the Union toilets: If your event is in the building you can leave ten A4 posters at reception, along with a note of where they're for, and your contact details. Posters are distributed on Mondays and up to 2 societies per week can be featured if their event is happening within the building.
  • In large format around the Union building: If your event is open to everyone and on the building, you can email SADesign@ with at least one week's notice. The posters cost £18 to print at A1 and £28 for A0, and can go up for a maximum of two weeks.

Digital displays

For some large events in our building, we can put adverts on our digital displays. Make sure to follow the same design guidelines as the posters above!

The required formats for the different displays are:

  • In Main Bar: 72dpi, full colour 1360px (w) x 765px(h), RGB, JPG or PNG format.
  • Images on billboards around the building: 72dpi, full colour, RGB, JPG format 1080px (w) x 1920(h). File should be delivered in landscape with content rotated 90° clockwise.
  • Videos on billboards around the building: H.264/QuickTime (.mov), 25 fps, <40MB, 1080 x 1920 portrait or, if at lower resolution, at the same aspect ratio. Encode without an audio stream (silent audio streams are not supported).
  • In Main Library: See the library advertising policy.

In person

  • Stalls and bake sales: The piazza can be booked for free if you'd like to hold a stall to advertise or sell items. If you're selling items and need a cash float, ask UnionFinance@.
  • Freshers' and Refreshers' Fayre: Watch out for an email around July or December for details about getting a stall.

Event Photographers

  • If you have a special event we could send a photographer to document it.

Creating your campaign

Here are some quick tips to running a successful campaign:

  • Think of your publicity as a campaign. Spread your message over lots of platforms, don't just focus on social media.
  • What are your objectives?Who are you communicating to? What are your goals? Think consistency, simplicity, and separation (don't post everything at once!).
  • When you’ve decided what your objectives are you should develop them further by making them SMART. 
    • Specific - make your objectives clear, simple and defined.
    • Measurable - make sure that there is a suitable metric to measure it against.
    • Attainable - ensure that you have enough resources to make this happen.  
    • Realistic - be sensible, don’t set unrealistic objectives. 
    • Timely - give each objective a reasonable time limit to achieve it in.
  • The Rule of 7 in marketing is a principle that suggests that brands who engage with customers seven times or more are more likely to earn trust and loyalty. It emphasises the importance of repeated interactions to build trust and credibility over time BUT don't post the same content - be engaging.
  • Take a note of what worked and what didn't, so you and your successor know for next time.
  • Once an event has started, try to cover it in real time. While it might not help attendance at that specific event, it can help to raise the profile of your society overall.

Contact Us

If you have a question or would like to work with the Association's Marketing Department to promote your event please contact us.