Strategic Communications for SUs

A sixteen-week online course for students' union managers.
Register your interest now for the March 2020 cohort.

The skills you need to transform your SU's influence, reach and engagement

Take part in a sixteen-week online course, with learning material released every other Monday on specific topics such as content strategy, stakeholder management and branding.

Each module includes multiple lessons with clear learning objectives, delivered in a range of formats including text, video and quiz-based content.

All assignments are individually reviewed within a week and the learner supported in making sustainable and impactful changes within their workplace.

One-to-one support, and a learning community

Every learner gets individual support throughout the course, through regular video calls directly with the instructor.

All participants become part of a growing network of students' union communications professionals, sharing ideas and resources with past and future cohorts.

A course designed for students' union staff, by students' union staff

Learners take part in at least one group seminar each fortnight, refreshing the learning points through interactive online presentations with group discussions.

Each module can be immediately put into practice in your SU, as each learner is supported to complete a tangible output each fortnight - such as a content calendar, a tone-of-voice guide, or an internal communications plan.

Interested in joining the March 2020 cohort? Get in touch here.

Who the course is for

  • Marketing & Communication managers & team members

  • Heads of Voice, Engagement or Communications

  • Anyone whose next career step is one of the above

What's in the course

Eight modules over sixteen weeks, with regular online seminars, self-guided content, and a learning community

  • Weeks 1 & 2:

    Introduction to strategic communications

    Understand the meaning of strategic communication, and learn how it can enable your SU to achieve its strategic goals

    Output: Audit of your SU's current communications capacity and output

  • Weeks 3 & 4:

    Principles of strategic communications

    Learn about frames, narratives, messaging, and the importance of re-engineering your SU's image for maximum impact

    Output: Analysis of your SU's current narratives and relationships

  • Weeks 5 & 6:

    Understanding your audiences

    Learn about stakeholders, journeys, personas and how to build influential relationships that enable success

    Output: A stakeholder grid that supports decision-making across your organisation

  • Weeks 7 & 8:

    Building a strong brand

    Define your SU's distinctive identity, through branding, tone-of-voice, and consistent design

    Output: A brand book and tone-of-voice guide

  • Weeks 9 & 10:

    Creating a content strategy

    Build a content pipeline that suits your channels, audiences and strategic goals

    Output: Content strategy and calendar for your SU

  • Weeks 11 & 12:

    Building internal capacity

    Build a sustainable framework for high-quality communications across your SU

    Output: Governance structure for supporting strategic communications within your SU

  • Weeks 13 & 14:

    Governing strategic communication

    Ensuring strategic communication is understood and led at the highest levels

    Output: Audit of your Board's influence on your communications

  • Weeks 15 & 16:

    Putting it all into practice

    Turn theory into action, with 121 sessions for all learners to convert learning into real-life impact for their SU

    Output: Action plan collating all learning points and ideas from the preceding sessions

How the course works

  • Essential tools and models

    Bring the freshest ideas and industry best practices into your SU - such as brand guidelines, content strategies, internal communication plans, and stakeholder grids

  • Scheduled around you

    The course fits around the busy schedule of an SU staff member - the eight modules are spread over sixteen weeks, with online seminars held more than once, and recorded for learners to review at their leisure

  • Ideas put into practice

    After each module, learners are supported to create resources and action plans for their SUs relating to their new skill, ensuring SUs an immediate return on their investment

  • Learn with peers

    Learners join a cohort of 10-15 staff from across the UK in each cycle of the course, learning together online and encouraged to collaborate directly and within the wider SU Skills learning community

  • Taught entirely online

    All learning material is online, with a blend of media formats, giving participants the opportunity to learn at their own pace. Every module has a live, interactive online seminar, held multiple times for maximum flexibility

  • Direct support

    Participants can access up to six hours of one-to-one coaching time with the instructor - 30 minutes per module, as well as two 60-minute sessions for the final module, supporting the creation of a comprehensive action and evaluation plan

Course curriculum

  • 1

    Before we begin

    • Introduction

    • About the course

    • How the course works

    • Course content

    • Course checklist
  • 2

    Introduction to strategic communication

    • What is strategic communication?

    • What makes something 'strategic'?

    • Tactics, operations, or strategy?

    • Strategy, disorder and students' unions

    • Checkpoint

    • Auditing your SU's communications
  • 3

    Principles

    • Principles

    • Understanding frames & narratives

    • Using frames & narratives

    • Tactic #1: Activating frames

    • Tactic #2: Changing salience through narrative

    • Tactic #3: Setting your own agenda

    • Identify frames and audit current usage
  • 4

    Understand your audiences

    • What are audiences?

    • Why audiences are important

    • Identifying audiences: segmentation

    • Understanding audiences: personas and journeys

    • Engaging audiences: frames and narratives

    • Stakeholder grid

    • Create stakeholder grid
  • 5

    Checkpoint

    • Checkpoint
  • 6

    Build a strong brand #1: Understanding 'brand'

    • Module overview

    • What is a brand?

    • Feelings, not logos

    • The consequences of brand

    • Branding terminology

    • Value proposition: a case study

    • Brand traps

    • Branding quiz

Instructor

Founder, SU Skills

Andrew Keenan

Andrew has over ten years of experience in students' unions, first as a sabbatical officer at the University of St Andrews Students' Association and then a staff member at Imperial College Union.

In his most recent role as Head of Student Voice & Communications at ICU, Andrew was the SMT member responsible for Marketing & Communications, Education & Welfare, Advice Services and Democracy.

Now a freelance consultant for students' unions, Andrew's areas of expertise include strategic communications, student democracy, values, and supporting SUs to create mutually-beneficial relationships with their partner universities.

Sign up now

The first full cohort of the Strategic Comms for SUs course is now open

Join the March 2020 cohort

Register your interest now to keep up-to-date

Any questions?

  • When does the course start?

    This cohort is expected to begin in March 2020. The pilot cohort of the Strategic Comms for SUs course launched in November 2019, involving five SUs from across England.

  • How many participants will there be?

    There will be no more than twelve people in the cohort, to ensure everyone gets the direct support they need.

  • How much time will the course take?

    Between two and six hours a fortnight, for four months. Aside from the fortnightly hour-long group discussion, held more than once, participants can learn at their own convenience.

  • How are the 'assignments' marked?

    They're not! The fortnightly assignments are to help participants quickly convert their new knowledge into real-life improvements in their SU. They're not tests or exams - they're templates for strategic communications resources that participants are supported to create. The instructor gives feedback, not marks.

  • Can we invoice you, or pay in monthly installments?

    Yes, either option can be arranged - please get in touch. SUs can also get reduced prices if they purchase more than one place in a single cohort.