Highlighting events or initiatives

Your department site can be a valuable tool in promoting an event, highlighting a recent publication or sharing an initiative. Even if you're using email, flyers or other channels (like Link, Twitter or Facebook) to reach potential attendees or audiences, it's often important to have an online location to refer to for key information.

Here are a few things to think about, and some tips for using Cascade to help promote your event:

Key questions

  • Who are you trying to reach?
  • Is the event open to the public, or to OP only?
  • Is it by invitation only? Does it cost money?
  • How widely do you want to publicize the event?
  • How much content will you want to put online, both leading up to the event and during/after?
  • Is there already a web page that has information about the topic (for instance, at a campus site)?

You should only use your Cascade-housed department site for promoting something if the content should be visible to the public. If your event/publication is internal or restricted to invitees, your department site is probably not the right place to put the content. SharePoint and other collaboration solutions can allow you to control who can access the content. You might also consider internal-facing channels like Link; for more information, see Internal Communications' guidelines for publicizing events and activities at UCOP.

Tools and options

Depending on your situation — including timeline, volume of content, audience, existing content and resources — different approaches might be best. For help thinking through approaches, contact us. We can help come up with a solution that will be appropriate, efficient and maintainable.

Here are some possible approaches:

  • Think about how you'll use the content: you may want to be able to email a single link to a comprehensive info page, provide a simple "learn more" link in other promotional channels or post materials to a central location for reference. Most of these scenarios require a "home base" page for the event or content. Depending on the depth of content you expect to post, and what form that content will take, this is likely to be either a category/list page or a content page within your department or program site. For help deciding which, contact us. For more: Create a content page, structuring content pages, create a category/list page.
  • If the event, publication or initiative is a departmental priority, you may want to add a flex block to your departmental landing page. The flex block should include the name of the event, a graphic (if relevant) and a link to further information. If there's a call to action (i.e. "Register now"), include that in the link and make sure the link takes the user to a page that will help them complete that action. For more: Create a flex block, add a flex block, edit a flex block.
  • If your department site has an "upcoming events" page or link list, don't forget to add your event. For more: Edit link lists on your landing page.
  • If you want to promote your content to the OP community, contact link@ucop.edu.

Finally, if the content is OP-led, but of systemwide interest and scope, it may be appropriate to promote on other OP pages (i.e. division pages, systemwide initiatives pages, ucop.edu homepage). If you think that might be the case, contact us for options and recommendations.