Nicole Callahan, Cindy Forbes Cameron, Sarah Musgrave | Dec. 2014

U.S. Department of Education

2014 FSA Training Conference for Financial Aid Professionals

Plug & Play: FSA’s Easy-To-Use Resources to Effectively Engage Students and Families

Session 35

What You CAN’T Do With FSA Content

• Sell it• Edits okay but need to “further

goals of the Department”• Use ED logo/branding on your

own materials

Special case: photos, inc. stock photography

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AUDIT YOUR WEBSITE

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TIP: Promote #AskFAFSA Office Hours

Things to consider:

•StudentAid.gov: We no longer use “Student Aid on the Web”

• Retired sites:

• College.gov

• www.FederalStudentAid.ed.gov

• Ombudsman.ed.gov

• Students.gov

• PIN.ed.gov (Spring 2015)

•Stafford Loans

•Start thinking about PIN content

FinancialAidToolkit.ed.gov

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Site structure: four main content areas•Learn About Financial Aid•Conduct Outreach•Get Training•Search Tools and Resources

Finding Resources on the Toolkit

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“Search Tools & Resources” section•Use filter search•Browse all•Subscribe to RSS feed

Publication Updates• Funding Your Education is now six pages• Your Federal Student Loans series of short pubs

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Ordering Publications• Fact sheet on Toolkit:

“How to Order Federal Student Aid Publications”

• Know Your OPEID• Visit FSAPubs.gov

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Ideas for Articles and E-mails

• “Conduct Outreach” section of Toolkit• Subpage: “Articles and

E-mails”• Find ideas for topics• “Steal” our wording

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Sample Tweets and Facebook Posts

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Tips on Using FSA Content

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Tip 1: Use our YouTube Videos

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TIP: Add videos to relevant FAQ sections of your site

Tip 1: Use our YouTube Videos

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Ideas

•Embed them on your website

•Include them in your “Financial Aid Night” Presentations

•Get them displayed on campus monitors

•Request that your school’s main social media accounts post them during peak seasons

•Include in relevant e-mail communications with students

•Screenshot video frames to use as photos

•Run shorter videos on campus T.V.

Tip 2: Use our Infographics

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Tip 2: Use our Infographics

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Ideas

•Print them: Hang them up in your office, include in admissions and award letter mailings, etc.

•Embed them on your website

•Include them in your “Financial Aid Night” Presentations

•Get them displayed on campus monitors

•Request that your school’s main social media accounts post them during peak seasons

•Include in relevant e-mail communications with students

Tip 3: Share our Social Media Content

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TIP: Share content that we’ve posted

TIP: Reuse content we’ve shared

TIP: Share our blog posts

Tip 3: Share our Social Media Content

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TIP: Use (and customize!) our images

TIP: Don’t have your own social

media accounts? Encourage your school’s main

account to share

TIP: Promote #AskFAFSA Office Hours

Tip 3: Share our Social Media Content

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Ideas

•Retweet our tweets, share our Facebook posts and YouTube videos

•Steal our content. (We’re giving you permission!)

•Share our blog posts, infographics, & videos

•Promote #AskFAFSA Office Hours

•Use and customize our images

Tip 4: Utilize Toolkit Resources

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Tip 4: Utilize Toolkit Resources

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Ideas

•Use our content to develop your social media calendar

• Financial aid office doesn’t have social media? Send to admissions & school social media managers!

•Run a social media campaign using our resources

•Use our images, infographics, and videos to beef up your social media content

Tip 5: Get Excited for the FSA Blog!

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TIP: Promote #AskFAFSA Office Hours

• Will launch early 2015

• Plan to post about twice per week

• Content will come from FSA staff, students, school counselors, and YOU!

The Federal Student Aid Blog!

Case Study: Using FSA Content

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About Marshall University

• Students: 13,000+• 77% of undergrad

students are receiving aid

• FAFSAs: 20,000• Financial aid office

staff size: 17

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Where We Use FSA Resources

• SFA website• Facebook

(primary)• Handouts/fliers• Digital signage

and slide shows

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Using FSA Resources: Example 1

• Links to site• FAFSA and PIN• Loan counseling

and MPN• TEACH counseling

and ATS

• Links to videos• FSA YouTube• FAFSA: What

Happens Next

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Using FSA Resources: Example 2

• Using FSA links• Share posts and

personalize them• Save pictures and

infographics• FSA Facebook• Financial Aid Toolkit

• Share YouTube videos• Anything that can be

shared, will be shared

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Using FSA Resources: Example 2

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Using FSA Resources: Example 3

• Personalize images• Great way to

communicate personal messages

• How: Pieced image together twice, drew text boxes• Microsoft Publisher

• Used on Facebook, university website, digital signage, student portal

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Original

New

Using FSA Resources: Example 3

• Slide show in student portal seen upon student log in

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Using FSA Resources: Example 4

• Replace image with text box• How: White text box over “$”

• Adobe Photoshop

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Original New

Using FSA Resources: Example 5

• Create promotional materials with single image• New • Original

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Using FSA Resources: Example 5

• Fliers• Handed out to students• Sent in e-mail• Posted on Facebook

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• Digital slide shows• Digital signage• University website• Student portal

Finding Pictures and Infographics

• FSA Facebook page• Financial Aid Toolkit• StudentAid.gov• FSA YouTube

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Organizing Pictures and Infographics

• Right click then save picture as• Save in an images folder

• Make file name associated with image’s subject

• Organize by subject• Ex: Award Letter, FAFSA, Loans, FWS

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Managing Facebook Day-to-Day

• It’s not as time consuming as it seems!

• Log into FB daily • When pull up e-mail in morning• Before shut down and leave

• Look at notifications• Wall posts• Comments• Messages

• Multiple administrators

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Managing Facebook Posts

• Create a standard list of posts• Where to get post ideas

• Office deadlines• Scholarships, state grants, SAP, etc.

• Institutional deadlines• Registration, complete withdrawal,

graduation application, etc.

• Financial Aid Toolkit• FAFSA Completion Campaign Facebook Posts• Loan Repayment Campaign Facebook Posts

• StudentAid.gov• Browse topics and content

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Managing Facebook Posts cont.

• Use Outlook Tasks• Five tasks with daily themes

• Monday = Awards (scholarship searches, FWS, TEACH, etc.)• Tuesday = Potluck (SAP, deadlines, general reminders, etc.)• Wednesday = Loans• Thursday = FAFSA• Friday = random

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Managing Facebook Posts cont.

• Use Outlook Tasks cont. • Reminder on Task• Keep a list of posts

in task body• List name of saved

picture• Type in date when

use posts• Change start date to

next week

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In Summary

• Use FSA links and videos• Website, Facebook

• Personalize FSA pictures• Facebook, handouts/fliers, digital signage, and slide shows

• Manage Facebook• Check page daily• Stock pile photos/infographics from FSA sites• Create standard list of posts• Look at FSA Facebook page and share posts

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QUESTIONS?

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