Advertising and Graphics
It's not great having a society if nobody knows about it! We've put together some information about how you can attract future recruits to your society on campus.
Stalls
A stall is a great way to engage with students face-to-face. Remember to decorate it to make it as eye-catching as possible. Have plenty of flyers, a paper or iPad sign-up sheet for your mailing list and consider bringing some cakes or sweeties to hand out to entice people in.
The glass walled area between the Main Reception at James Watt and the stairs to the Main Corridor leading to the Shop, Advice Hub etc. is called the Bridge Link. With so many people passing through this key throughfare – to book a stall contact the Edinburgh Conference Centre (top floor of the Hugh Nisbet Building), telephone on Ext 3669 or e-mail reservations@hw.ac.uk. When booking a space, please request a table, chair(s) and a poster board if required.
The Union website
Oh hey there, wouldn't you love to be on our lovely website? It's a great place to be with new and existing Heriot Watt students checking it out to see what societies we have on offer. There are two easy ways to use the Union website to advertise your society:
Update your profile: All societies are listed on the website with information about what they do and their contact details. This is where students looking to get involved with societies go to see what's on offer so it's a great opportunity to showcase your group. Check yours out and keep it up to date! The more information you provide the better, like when/where you meet. If you'd like to make changes to your profile, e-mail your new profile to p.glynn@hw.ac.uk.
Feature on the Societies Newsfeed: If you have an up-coming event you’d like to advertise, or have done something special you’d like to show off, we can feature it on the societies’ newsfeed! Simply e-mail a short description and picture to p.glynn@hw.ac.uk with Societies Newsfeed in the subject line.
Create your own Website
Keep members up to date with your own website! Check out wordpress or groupspaces for easy to use examples.
Plasma Screens
You can also advertise your society on our big plasma screens, located in the busy Union building as well as the Student Shop. Placing an ad on our plasma screens is a great way to make sure that your society stands out. Our Screens will rotate a set number of ads and will ensure that your society message will be displayed throughout the day in an area where it will be noticed.
Please contact Arran McKinlay arran.mckinlay@hw.ac.uk before you design anything for our screens, so we can make sure your graphic has the correct settings and is designed professionally.
Social Media
Facebook and twitter are great tools for promoting your society! Many students will check these sites regularly so make sure you keep your profile up to date and spam free. Include the username in society e-mails and on promotional flyers and posters to encourage students to friend or follow you.
Posters
Posters are a great way to convey your message. However, there are so many posters put up around the University that students can suffer from “poster blindness” and ignore what is being advertised. Try to make your posters as eye catching and unusual as possible. However, please note that in order to keep the University a safe space, and to treat all societies equally, there are a few guidelines which you should observe:
The Union has agreed a policy with the University.
• The Union will approve a maximum of 10 posters for any event and ALL posters on the boards must have the Union approved stamp on them, otherwise they will be removed.
• All posters must show clearly which person / society originated the poster (ie Brewing Society’s Beer Festival or Film Soc Presents etc) and should have an email contact listed on the poster.
• There are several society designated poster boards in the University buildings. These are easy to use boards, in addition to the society pin boards in the Departments.
• If posters are found anywhere other than on the boards — this includes the Bridge Link! - the posters will be removed.
• All posters should be removed when they are out of date, to ensure there is room on the board for current events
• Never cover up another poster on a board, unless it is out of date. All posters must adhere to the following criteria:
• No external organisations including pubs and clubs can be advertised unless an affiliated society is organising the event.
• No obscenities including swear words, derogatory jokes, or naked photos.
• Any posters in a foreign language must have an English translation included.
• No discriminatory content- this can be discrimination on religious, racial, cultural or social grounds.
Flyers
Flyering can be a great way to get your message out. It can sometimes be cold and sometimes disheartening, but it’s well worth the effort if you flyer the right places at the right time. Try lunch time to catch the most students.
Newspaper
If you are holding an event which you think is relevant to the local area, consider sending a press release to local newspapers. This can be done for immediate use or you can ask for it to be embargoed until a set date. Below is a sample of what to include:
PRESS RELEASE (via. www.freelanceuk.com)
TITLE (brief and attention-grabbing)
The first sentence should be a summary of the story. Get your key points across to catch the journalist’s attention or they may not read further. Answer all the important questions like who, what, where, when, why & how. Write as if you are speaking to the publications readers – check out your target publication for an appropriate style.
Expand on the details in the second paragraph. Remember the journalist will want to know what is unique or new about your story and why it will appeal to their readers. Then, back up your claims with facts and statistics in the following paragraphs.
Go on to illustrate your story with quotes, “A quote, written in italics, from a key person, helps bring a story to life”.
Finish off with details such as dates, times, how to order or contact you– this only needs to be brief, and should be the details you’d like to see in print. Fuller details can go in ‘notes to editors’, below.
