Internal content strategy
At The Hague University of Applied Sciences, teachers, partners and 26,000 students from more than 140 countries develop into global citizens. Under the motto ‘ Let’s change. You. Us. The world.’they are encouraged to change and improve the world in which they live, creating the safe and engaged environment in which everyone can develop and innovate. Binding and engaging employees, students and relations at The Hague University of Applied Sciences requires a solid content strategy, tight execution and catchy content. Evolve helped The Hague University of Applied Sciences draw up the content strategy, start up the team with content specialists and set up measuring instruments to report on the impact of the work.
In short: our activities
- Team management
- Content management
- Channel development
- Format development
- Analysis
- Relationship management
In short: our results
- A content strategy supported by the organization
- A functional content team, transcending channels and target audiences
- Significant increase in social media KPIs
- Editorial and production process for corporate content
- Concept development and production of multiple multi-channel content formats
- A continuous stream of high-quality content (five stories per week)
- Reporting format for the channels
- Collaboration and communication lines with primary stakeholders
- Annual plan and budget accountability
- Advisory role to management and the board regarding policy, HR, and budget
- Positive experiences with the content team across all levels of the organization
- Successful handover
Give structure to the content
The research, knowledge and Communication Unit determined that there was a need to make a greater contribution to the positioning, image and corporate identity of The Hague University of Applied Sciences with content. In this way, the University of Applied Sciences wants to connect with the journeys of the different target groups: students (national and international), employees and external relations. A newly formed content team had to give shape to this ambitious goal.
The assignment to Evolve had three key points;
- Drafting and implementing the content strategy
- Getting off to a strong start with the newly formed content team
- Training and onboarding a newly recruited content manager
Evolve took up this assignment by filling the role of interim content director and Deputy content director.
From strategy to execution
In close consultation with the University of Applied Sciences, a phased approach was chosen, in which the establishment of a solid content organization was the first step. We started by setting clear goals and expectations for the team of 9 fte (and some external people) to creatives, writers and artdirection. Then we started to build a close-knit team with clear descriptions of roles and responsibilities. Much attention has been given to the enthusiasm of the team members and the transfer of experiences and ideas through new work and consultation structures. To ensure that each team member had the right knowledge and skills to perform their role, training and coaching processes were set up and, where necessary, it was decided to outsource tasks to external parties.
The planning is guided by a fixed rhythm in which the various themes and types of content reinforce each other.
To make the content strategy concrete, a content planning has been drawn up. The planning is guided by a fixed rhythm in which the different themes and forms of content reinforce each other. We took care of the concept development and production of six multichannel formats. The use of smart formats made it possible to create content quickly and efficiently. The result of the editorial and production process for the corporate content was that there was a continuous flow of high – quality stories on the internal news platform with a translation to various external channels.
Anchoring the organization
After the team was in place and the initial content production was started, the focus shifted to anchoring the team and the work processes in the organization.
In order to guarantee content production and stay on the pulse of the organization, a structural supply of stories and knowledge is necessary. The new team needed to have a strong place in the organization. That is why the relationships with the various services and faculties within the University of Applied Sciences have been constantly worked on, on which the team ultimately also depends for input. In addition, direct contact was maintained with the Executive Board to identify opportunities for creating relevant content at an early stage.
To determine whether the posted content contributes to the objectives, analytics have been added to the channels and a reporting format has been developed for the various publications. This allows the team to adjust where necessary. The result was there; the targeted management of the corporate social media channels led to a significant increase in the set KPIs, including popularity on Facebook within the higher education sector, reach and engagement on all social channels and traffic to the website.
Once the content team and work were anchored, the way was paved for the new content director. This was appointed in the autumn of 2019, after which we took care of the transfer and commissioning.
Want to know more?
Do you want to know more about content strategy or do you have a question that we can help you with? Please feel free to contact Anouk via anouk@evolve.eu or +31 6 57 58 83 63
