Time Ending at Crown College…Looking for Something New

     I recently found out I will not be continuing my faithful service to Crown College in either Communication Arts department or the Marketing Department. I dearly love the college. I love their heart for ministry, for serving God and people, their desire for educational excellence and even their push to make Crown more affordable for students from low-income families. I could list so many great things about Crown, but sometimes I have to ask…what were you thinking?

When I graduated from Crown with a degree in Communication with a concentration in Creative Media, I was asked by the Communication department to take a role as a Graduate Assistant in the Communication Department. I was to initiate the beginning of the department practicum with another friend, graduate and communication department employee, Jesse. On top of this I was to oversee all the video equipment and editing lab, manage the college’s public access station through the city of Waconia, direct and edit many video projects and help with a number of other small projects here and there on a 30hr a week commitment. While doing this I was working for a heating and air conditioning company called Abel Onsite 20hrs a week and in the evenings I came home to assignments due for my masters degree program through Crown.

Last summer I was told about a position they created between the Communication Arts Department and the Marketing Department to give me full time hours and benefits. I would do the exact same thing I was doing with the added responsibilities of doing all the social media for the entire college (since social media was, more or less, neglected) and a great deal of my time went toward initiating a social media strategy. Here is a large, but incomplete list of all the things I am currently in charge of:

Communication Department

• Drive Vehicles to Department events and conferences

1. Social Media Shepherds
2. Crash + Sues
3. Drop off at Air Port for NAB trip

• Manage all Video Equipment
  1. Includes monitoring check-in/check-out calendar
  2. Being at the equipment closet for check-in/check-out time each day
  3. Making sure all equipment check-in/check-out forms are available and enter all equipment rentals on Excel Spreadsheet
  4. Working with students when multiple teams need equipment in a day
  5. Monitoring broken equipment and researching replacement accessories
  6. Make equipment purchases for department
  7. Organize schedules for video shoots
  8. Fix/tighten loose equipment
  9. Attend all Department Meetings
  10. Once a week
  11. Discuss projects
  12. Trouble shoot issues
  13. Understand objectives
  14. Discuss upcoming events
  • Oversee practicum
    1. Photography
    2. Organize photography events
    3. Update events by email
    4. Train students on photography functions and equpment

• Graphic Design

1. Research projects that need to be completed
2. Train students on design software – Adobe photoshop, illustrator & InDesign

• Blog

1. Create Crown College institutional blogs
2. Train students on blogging, categorizing, using keywords, links, etc.
3. Email Blogging topics to students
4. Receive blog posts via Word document, review post, edit if necessary, post blog after adding hyperlinks, catagories, pictures, tags and keywords.

• Social Media

1.  Train students on the marketing side of social media
2.  Show all social media platforms
3.  Show the analytics behind social media
4.  Demonstrate importance of interactive content and how to make posts go viral
5.  Introduce the idea of gathering info through giveaways, events & prize drawings to gain more followers, gather contact info, etc.
6.  Show how to measure growth and interactions
7.  Give students tools to
8.  Take students to Social Media Shepherds each month – a collective of Christian social media gurus in the Twin Cities

• Video Production

1. Manage all TV station automation
2. Manage all TV station content
3. Update TV station content
4. Organize meetings with Judy – Communicaiton Specialist in Waconia
5. Upload content to the Waconia channel
6. Gather information for producing videos for the Waconia TV channel
7. Check up on video productions every so often
8. Make sure all video crews have the equipment thy need to make their shows for Waconia and for Crown College

• Promote Department events

1. Create posters
2. Send emails
3. Use social media

Marketing Department

Photography

• Sports Events
  1. Respond to email and personal correspondence regarding events
  2. Make sure the camera is not being used
  3. Converse with Luke about Sports games
  4. Put games into a Schedule and either shoot the games myself or arrange practicum students to cover games
  5. Upload all images onto Marketing Server
  6. Organize images into folders on the server
  7. Edit images as necessary
  8. Email confirmation of images on server for athletics to use
• Campus Events (Choir concerts, musicals, plays, bands, SAB events, Graduation, etc.)
  1. Respond to emails about events
  2. Make sure the camera is not being used
  3. Find out specifics about event and arrange for a Practicum student or myself to cover event
  4. Upload all images onto Marketing Server
  5. Organize images
  6. Edit images as necessary
  7. Email confirmation of images on server for athletics to use

Graphic Design

1. Gather information about the event, dates, times, sponsorships, logos and pictures (if available)
2. Brainstorm possible designs
3. Talk with Marketing Director about design mockups
4. Design material

Video Productions

1. Discuss video ideas
2. Find video talent
3. Prep for interview/shoots
4. Upload and edit content
5. Export and upload finished product to social media and/or DV

Blogging

1. Discover topic
2. Write article
3. Gather photos about topic
4. Choose keyword tags
5. Catagorize
6. Publish
7. Spread the word on other social media platforms

Monitor Analytics

1. Periodically check analytics for social media referrals
2. Print and/or discuss analytics with the Marketing Director

Social Media

Manage all Social media avenues for the entire college. Which entails, researching trends on a continual basis, keeping eyes and ears open for impactful posts, tweets, pins, videos and achievement that will encourage interaction and inquiries about Crown College.

Blogs

1. Create Crown College institutional blogs
2. Train students on blogging, categorizing, using keywords, links, etc.
3. Email Blogging topics to students
4. Receive blog posts via Word document, review post, edit if necessary, post blog after adding hyperlinks, catagories, pictures, tags and keywords.

Social Media

1. Train students on the marketing side of social media
2. Show all social media platforms
3. Show the analytics behind social media
4. Demonstrate importance of interactive content and how to make posts go viral
5. Introduce the idea of gathering info through giveaways, events & prize drawings to gain more followers, gather contact info, etc.
6. Show how to measure growth and interactions
7. Give students tools to
8. Take students to Social Media Shepherds each month – a collective of Christian social media gurus in the Twin Cities

Manage all Crown College Social Media Platforms

Facebook

1. Crown College
2. Crown Athletics
3. Crown College Campus Ministry
4. Crown College Adult & Graduate Studies
5. Crown College Storm Chaser
6. Crown Storm Radio
7. Crown Watne Memorial Library
8. Crown Communication Arts
9. Crown College Music Department
10. Crown College Admissions
11. Crown College International Admissions
12. Crown Honors Program
13. Crown Reel Film Club

YouTube

1. Crown College (crowncollege1916)
2. Crown News Update (CrownNewsUpdate)
3. Crown Athletics (crownathletics)
4. The Reel Film Club (ReelieSecretFilms)

Twitter

1. CrownCollege (@CrownCollege)
2. Crown Communication Dept (@CrownCommDept)
3. Crown Bookstore

Pintrest

1. Crown College

Tumblr

1. Crown College

Foursquare

1. Crown College
2. Crown Bookstore
3. Crown Disc Golf Course

Blog

1. Crown College (Crownsblog.wordpress.com)
2. Crown Students (CrownStudents.wordpress.com)

iTunesU

1. Crown College

I am in charge of a great deal of things at Crown. At times I feel overwhelmed, but I dearly love the college and the fantastic people here. I am worried for them as I try to tie up loose ends to hand everything over to the rest of the marketing team. When I gave them the rundown of all the social media I manage they seemed a little worrisome with a lot of questions.

I wish Crown the best in the future. Until I’m done I will do my best to hand everything off smoothly and find another job doing what I love to do. I worry about my future when I’m turned down at yet another job, but I know God will provide a position for me to provide for my family. Hopefully it’s before my current role at Crown is finished.

P.S. my future posts will not be this long…I promise. 🙂