To help communicate your department’s events to the appropriate audiences, the Department of Marketing and Communications has created this guide. Keep in mind that promotion is a resource to achieve goals, not a goal in and of itself. Ultimately, you want someone to do something: buy a ticket, attend your event, register for a class, or make a donation. Any communication should have a specific goal in mind.

There are a variety of free tools available at your disposal listed below. Click on a heading to expand for more information on the topic.

Events Calendar

We strongly encourage all employees, groups and departments to use the Campus Calendar as a central location for all student-centered OTC events. The calendar acts as a hub of information for everything happening across the OTC system, including important deadlines, and it is often the Department of Marketing and Communications’ resource for news and events.

Bookmark this page so you can easily submit events to the calendar.

Please be advised that calendar submissions with very little information will not be approved and you will be asked to resubmit with more details. Click here to review the guidelines you’ll need to follow.

(Audiences: students, faculty, staff, alumni, general public, because the calendar is accessible from the web and there is a mobile version)

OTC Website

OTC Press gives you the ability to edit your section of the website, including the option to add new information, photos and videos. Please make sure your events are prominent on your page, that dates and times are correct and that contact information is available.

If you need assistance with OTC Press, please email Web Services at web@otc.edu to inquire about upcoming OTC Press training.

(Audiences: students, faculty, staff, alumni, general public)

Social Media

If you would like your event or news to be communicated via OTC’s official Facebook, Twitter or Instagram accounts, contact the College Director of Communications Mark Miller at millerm@otc.edu or 447-2655. They will determine which, if any, social media channels are appropriate for your event or news.

If you wish to create a social media account for a unit or department of the college, please review the social media guidelines here, then contact Mark Miller.

(Audiences: more than 14,100 “likes” on Facebook, more than 5,500 followers on Twitter, more than 1400 followers on Instagram, and about 250 followers on Snapchat. These figures include a large number of students and alumni, media members, faculty, staff and the general public.)

OTC Buzz

These bi-weekly upcoming event flyers are posted all over the Springfield campus. Only events that have been submitted to the Events Calendar will be considered for printing, as that is where items are pulled to populate The Buzz. Visit the BUZZ to download the latest version.

(Audiences: students, faculty, staff)

Online Media Calendars

There are several free online community calendars that you can use to publicize your event. Oftentimes, media use these calendars to populate their print and broadcast calendars.

Below are links to the outlets that feature free online calendars. When you go to each site, you’ll be asked to set up a new account. This process takes just a few minutes and it’s free.

(Audience: general public)

Email

Mass emails to all students or employees (or a subset of students or employees) should be used infrequently and contain “need to know” information. If you wish to have an email sent to a specific audience, such as Springfield Faculty, send the email exactly how you desire it to look and read to the appropriate email address. For mass emails that touch all students or employees in the OTC system (otcs@otc.edu or otce@otc.edu), they must meet specific criteria and must be approved by the Marketing and Communications department. Contact Operations and Creative Projects Specialist Ryan Tsai at tsair@otc.edu or 447-2615 and they will advise you.

(Audiences: students, faculty, staff, community)

Employee Newsletter

If you want to get your news, announcement, event, photos or congratulations in front of all OTC employees, the monthly employee newsletter is an option. It is sent to all faculty and staff, full time and part time, on the second week of each month. For consideration, please contact tsair@otc.edu or call 447-2615.

(Audience: faculty and staff)

Creative Services Request

One function of OTC’s Marketing and Communications department is to assist faculty and staff with communicating and marketing their departmental events and programs. To request assistance, fill out the Creative Services Request Form. Requests are evaluated weekly after all pertinent information, content and materials are received.

If we are able to fulfill your request, the Marketing and Communications team will develop a plan to best accomplish your objectives. Someone from the department will contact you regarding your project. Some requests may require further consultation.

(Audiences: students, faculty and staff)

Campus TVs Info Channel

There are monitors throughout OTC’s campuses and centers that project information about upcoming events, registration deadlines, etc. To get in the rotation, submit complete information about the event, graphics, and dates when it should be broadcast to Operations and Creative Projects Specialist Ryan Tsai at tsair@otc.edu for consideration. They will forward any relevant information to the appropriate campus(es) and center(s).

(Audiences: students, faculty and staff.)

News Release

“News is whatever the gatekeepers (editors, radio and television producers) say it is.” By that definition, few events do not rise to the level of a news release. However, in some cases, an event does have newsworthiness beyond the fact that it is merely occurring. If you think your event is newsworthy, please contact us for news release consideration, to strategize how to obtain news coverage, and then how to leverage that media coverage to the benefit of your event or department. Email communications@otc.edu.

(Audiences: media, general public, )