Communication
"If you want to talk to your young target group today, you have to realise that you can only do this if you are prepared to interact with your customers on many channels and that these channels are constantly changing."
Thomas Mosthaf
Head of Communication
Thomas Mosthaf
Head of Communication
Communication only works in many voicesFor some years now, we have known that the classic communication channels, which have been the hot wire to the world since the 90s, are eroding more and more. The homepage, the customer mail, the newsletter are the fax machine of today. No one can be sure any more that their information will reach the target group just because they have published it on their homepage or sent a serial e-mail to their day-care parents or tenants. The homepage is increasingly degenerating into a communication alibi and an archive for all the in-depth information that has no place on other channels. Wanting to reach the majority of our customers directly via the homepage is a wishful thinking that we have been saying goodbye to for some time.
In the meantime, we communicate more via messenger services and social media comments than via the classic mail channel or homepage news. And even telephone calls have become less and less common since customers know that they will receive an answer within a reasonable period of time, either as a comment or via Messenger.
This is a development that many colleagues can certainly confirm in the communication of other student unions and is therefore not news.But - as in many other areas - the pandemic has greatly intensified and accelerated this effect. User behaviour on the various social media platforms over the last two years has also contributed to a significant shift in user groups. A simple example of this is Facebook. In all surveys of students, Facebook has increasingly become a medium for "trolls and haters" and is used much less by students than before. One can clearly state that Facebook is out of favor with our target group. Only very specific information such as posts about new student jobs or prize contests still work well here. The interactive engagement on Facebook with our target group has now come to a complete standstill, and Facebook groups are only interesting for first-year students at most. Fishing out certain information yes, but getting involved no. Many students have even deleted their profiles and switched to other channels.
In the meantime, we communicate more via messenger services and social media comments than via the classic mail channel or homepage news. And even telephone calls have become less and less common since customers know that they will receive an answer within a reasonable period of time, either as a comment or via Messenger.
This is a development that many colleagues can certainly confirm in the communication of other student unions and is therefore not news.But - as in many other areas - the pandemic has greatly intensified and accelerated this effect. User behaviour on the various social media platforms over the last two years has also contributed to a significant shift in user groups. A simple example of this is Facebook. In all surveys of students, Facebook has increasingly become a medium for "trolls and haters" and is used much less by students than before. One can clearly state that Facebook is out of favor with our target group. Only very specific information such as posts about new student jobs or prize contests still work well here. The interactive engagement on Facebook with our target group has now come to a complete standstill, and Facebook groups are only interesting for first-year students at most. Fishing out certain information yes, but getting involved no. Many students have even deleted their profiles and switched to other channels.
As can be seen from the chart, both Instagram and Snapchat have now overtaken Facebook for first place among our age group. Even TikTok - as a strongly growing platform in recent years - is only just behind the former market leader. We assume that the trends in this statistic will intensify and have set ourselves a communicative repositioning for 2022 that takes these trends into account.Currently, with a number of 2,906 subscribers across all social media platforms, we statistically reach around 16 percent of our students directly. With membership in numerous groups, we can strengthen this reach even more. In the area of university groups, for example, this currently amounts to 42,672 contacts. Communicating in the crisis
The year 2021 has turned out to be even more of an increase as far as crisis communication is concerned. After 2020, we would not have believed that things could get worse in 2021.
Yet operational uncertainty certainly consumed the most communication resources.
On the one hand, the uncertainty regarding the impact of the pandemic on the departments of housing (vacant dormitory places) and university catering (opening; closing; sharp drop in meal numbers) and counselling (sharp increase in counselling numbers). On the other hand, unfortunately, the uncertainty caused by the lack of communication on the part of the government. What was missing here was a clear and unambiguous signal from politics about where the state wants to go with the student unions. Many resources were used to highlight the precarious situation of the student unions, but unfortunately without positive effects. In particular, the fact that the Studierendenwerk has lost its reputation as a secure employer after 2020 and 2021 with the elimination of 51 jobs has caused us great difficulties. Currently, we have catering facilities that remain closed because there is a lack of staff. One reason is, of course, the poor labour market, but another is the decline in the reputation of the Studierendenwerk through no fault of its own. The "secure job" was and is one of our most important arguments on the labour market. We will have to work on regaining this image through communication for a long time to come. Fortunately, with the management's promise to increase the short-time allowance to 100 per cent, we were at least able to send a signal to the permanent staff: We want to keep you! Without this measure, more than two small canteens would certainly be closed today.
In close cooperation with the newly staffed Human Resources Management Department, we were able to prevent a staff collapse at almost all canteens after they reopened. In the future, however, the personnel department will remain a very labour-intensive area in terms of communication.For the time being, there will also be a vacancy for half a position in the Communications Department until the 1st of January 2022.How will we communicate tomorrow?
Our communication must become faster, more direct, more target group-oriented and freer from fear of contact. The courage to leave old communication channels and information alibis and find new, sustainable channels will become an important maxim for us in 2022. Never before has the slogan "the only constant is change" been so relevant. And those who don't change with the times will sooner or later lose touch with their target group. Because one thing is and remains certain: communication is not everything, but without communication everything is nothing...
The year 2021 has turned out to be even more of an increase as far as crisis communication is concerned. After 2020, we would not have believed that things could get worse in 2021.
Yet operational uncertainty certainly consumed the most communication resources.
On the one hand, the uncertainty regarding the impact of the pandemic on the departments of housing (vacant dormitory places) and university catering (opening; closing; sharp drop in meal numbers) and counselling (sharp increase in counselling numbers). On the other hand, unfortunately, the uncertainty caused by the lack of communication on the part of the government. What was missing here was a clear and unambiguous signal from politics about where the state wants to go with the student unions. Many resources were used to highlight the precarious situation of the student unions, but unfortunately without positive effects. In particular, the fact that the Studierendenwerk has lost its reputation as a secure employer after 2020 and 2021 with the elimination of 51 jobs has caused us great difficulties. Currently, we have catering facilities that remain closed because there is a lack of staff. One reason is, of course, the poor labour market, but another is the decline in the reputation of the Studierendenwerk through no fault of its own. The "secure job" was and is one of our most important arguments on the labour market. We will have to work on regaining this image through communication for a long time to come. Fortunately, with the management's promise to increase the short-time allowance to 100 per cent, we were at least able to send a signal to the permanent staff: We want to keep you! Without this measure, more than two small canteens would certainly be closed today.
In close cooperation with the newly staffed Human Resources Management Department, we were able to prevent a staff collapse at almost all canteens after they reopened. In the future, however, the personnel department will remain a very labour-intensive area in terms of communication.For the time being, there will also be a vacancy for half a position in the Communications Department until the 1st of January 2022.How will we communicate tomorrow?
Our communication must become faster, more direct, more target group-oriented and freer from fear of contact. The courage to leave old communication channels and information alibis and find new, sustainable channels will become an important maxim for us in 2022. Never before has the slogan "the only constant is change" been so relevant. And those who don't change with the times will sooner or later lose touch with their target group. Because one thing is and remains certain: communication is not everything, but without communication everything is nothing...
Your contact person for this department
Thomas Mosthaf
Head of Communication / International affairs
Xylanderstraße 17
76829 Landau
Tel.: +49 6341 9179 200
kommunikation@stw-vp.de
stw-vp.de
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
TikTok (launching)
Thomas Mosthaf
Head of Communication / International affairs
Xylanderstraße 17
76829 Landau
Tel.: +49 6341 9179 200
kommunikation@stw-vp.de
stw-vp.de
TikTok (launching)