Campus News

‘Together, we are UB’ campaign continues to steer campus community in right direction

Screen captures from Instagram of student and parent questions about UB’s health and safety precautions, and campus resources during the pandemic.

By DEVON JERLA

Published September 16, 2020

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“We know the UB community is being inundated with information in regards to COVID-19, so we are leveraging our social media channels to highlight the most important updates and reinforce safety precautions in a way that is digestible and accessible. ”
Kaileigh Saeva, social media specialist
University Communications

As the fall semester gets into gear and the UB community adjusts to the new campus environment, University Communications continues to reinforce UB’s Health and Safety Guidelines and facilitate a safer learning and working experience for everyone through its “Together, we are UB” campaign.

Comprehensive digital resources have been a pillar of the campaign from the beginning. Since launch, the “Together, we are UB” campaign has collected more than 2 million views, with more than 62,000 engagements on the university’s official Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn social media accounts. The content encourages the UB community to maintain healthy lifestyles in a variety of unique and creative ways. These efforts will continue throughout the year to reinforce critical messages around surveillance testing, health attestation, wearing a face covering and being a good neighbor.

On UB’s Instagram page, for example, more than 20 communicators from across the university collaborated to answer student and parent questions about UB’s health and safety precautions and campus resources during the pandemic. More than 300 questions from students were received and answered, generating more than 400,000 views. The campaign has contributed to a culture of compliance on campus, evidenced by ubiquitous adherence to the wearing of masks indoors and outdoors on UB’s three campuses.

“We know the UB community is being inundated with information in regards to COVID-19, so we are leveraging our social media channels to highlight the most important updates and reinforce safety precautions in a way that is digestible and accessible,” says Kaileigh Saeva, social media specialist in University Communications.

To provide the UB community with timely information about the spread of the virus, a COVID-19 dashboard was launched at the start of the semester. Updated daily, the dashboard offers a snapshot of active on- and off-campus cases, the number of students currently in isolation/quarantine and historical reporting data.

Additionally, the Daily Health Check informational page was created to provide users with need-to-know information about the tool, including how to use it, why it’s important, who may be exempt and more. The page links directly to the chatbot and also offers accessible forms to ensure equal access for all users.

University Communications continues to produce and distribute ready-made print and digital resources for staff and faculty to use throughout their buildings and communication outlets. Recent additions include new posters and graphics, a social media card series in both horizontal and vertical formats, and an instructional video about wearing face coverings on campus, made in collaboration with the UB Production Group. An editorial style guide has also been posted on the page to ensure COVID-19-related communications from other units use health and safety terms correctly and consistently.

University Communications will also continue keeping the campus informed of COVID-19-specific information through UB Forward, an e-newsletter that has been delivered to faculty, staff and students every Friday since June 12.

Together, and in coordination with several other units and communications representatives across the university, these efforts are making sure behavioral expectations are widely understood and followed, and help campus operations run smoothly.