Skip to main content
Data Innovation » Graduate Outcomes » Information for providers » Communication resources » Hints and tips

Hints and tips

We’ve provided some quick tips to support your ongoing Graduate Outcomes communications activity.

Social media

  • Follow @grad_outcomes from all of your providers’ Twitter accounts. This will add legitimacy to the Graduate Outcomes account when your followers see that you are also following it.
  • Follow the Graduate Outcomes LinkedIn page – again, make sure all of your providers’ relevant LinkedIn groups and accounts do the same.

Tip! Make sure the Alumni team and Careers service accounts are following these social channels as they are more likely to have a graduate-focused following.

  • Use all of your provider’s social media platforms to promote the survey so get in touch with the internal owners of each handle and ask them to get involved. Each platform is different so make sure you adapt the content to the platform.
  • Use the set of graphics provided and personalise them by adding your logo and take a look at our sample tweets. Retweet or quote tweet our posts - it saves you time and adds legitimacy to the account. You could also use the content for your own posts. Use it to your advantage but just make sure you use the hashtag.
  • When using Twitter, use the hashtag #GraduateOutcomes wherever possible. This is a well-established hashtag so inclusion not only keeps the dialogue fresh and relevant but reinforces the overall message. It’ll also help others join in the dialogue!
  • Keep up a continual dialogue year-round but step up the activity around the following key phases within each cohort:
    • focus your content the two weeks before each cohort
    • the first 2 - 4 weeks of each cohort
    • the last two weeks to follow up any final responses.

Tip! You could do a social media account takeover fortnight to coincide with the first two weeks of each cohort? Use the Twitter, Linkedin and Facebook header images for your takeover weeks! You could also do this during the peak of graduation ceremonies as new graduates (and their parents!) will be visiting your accounts / webpages to find out about the logistics of graduation.

Use a call to action

You should aim for all of your communications to have a ‘call to action’ – this is basically aiming to provoke a response as a result of your post. So for each post, make sure always to include a link.

This could be directing followers to the Graduate Outcomes website www.graduateoutcomes.ac.uk, to your own webpage (see below) or to view one of our short animated videos. This will encourage graduates to 'do' something which is the aim of this communications activity. This will then make it relevant to graduates who will have either received the survey or to those seeing your posts who will get a survey invitation later in the collection.

At every touchpoint of your communications activity, make sure you outline the key messages for graduates – why do you need them to take part? Why should they help you?

Add your own webpage

Add a page on your provider website to show the validity of Graduate Outcomes – give it a permanent home and include a link to www.graduateoutcomes.ac.uk on it so visitors can learn more at the point they’re interested. Use the logo to support the overall awareness and recognition for Graduate Outcomes.

​Tip! Don’t start from a blank sheet of paper - use the content from the Graduate Outcomes website www.graduateoutcomes.ac.uk to populate your page. Pick and choose from the Q&As and make it personal to your provider. You could also include the animated video by linking to the provided youtube page or embed it into your website.

Get creative!

  • Use the Graduate Outcomes animated video and powerpoint template to share the benefits of Graduate Outcomes in lectures and at the start of any post-graduate courses. Just share the key slides you think your audience needs to know. Open out a discussion on why monitoring graduates once they’ve left is important and valuable?
  • Play the animated video on digiscreens as part of the campus signage. It’s vibrant and engaging so will support recognition and also conveys some key messages for a student audience. We’ve also provided a set of four graphics that can also be used on digiscreens so you can use them together or throughout the year.
  • Provide email templates and wording for tutors to post on ‘class of 2018’ LinkedIn groups and in any direct emails to graduates. Many courses set up groups on Facebook and LinkedIn to ensure graduates can keep in touch. Use the mailchimp template to ensure it’s on brand and therefore recognisable.
  • Use upcoming events to promote the survey and to collect up-to-date contact details. Use the roller banner template to create visual signage to capture attention at graduation ceremonies or other events. Roller banners are quick to produce, cheap and highly visual and you can use them over the long term. If you have access to a plasma screen TV, why not play the animated video for your background?
  • Create an annual competition for animation / film students to create a film about Graduate Outcomes. This will spark awareness at various stages and then can be used as content to maintain a relationship will graduates. This might be used when you’re preparing to share results? Personalise it to your brand but include the Graduate Outcomes logo.
  • Learn from others – visit our suite of provider case studies to learn from each other. Do you have a tactic that’s worked well for you? Share it with us.

Think measurement!

  • Measure it – where possible, make sure you track where your efforts are working… then do more of it!