The results of the survey on developing TREY’s communications have just been published – start by reading them on their own news article! The previous similar survey was conducted in spring 2020, and since then, both social media and the world have changed a lot. For those of us working in communications, the clearest changes have occurred in the use of social media channels; whereas in the early days of TREY, Facebook was our most popular communications channel, it has now had to give way to Instagram and the information Telegram channel introduced in 2021. The information Telegram channel, known as TREY Bulletin, was introduced based on the results of this previous communications development survey, and in the autumn we will sit down with Ingá to consider what concrete measures will follow from the communications development survey conducted this spring. TREY’s Action Plan for this year will guide us to look especially at the communications channels we use, and the results of the survey provided valuable data on which channels students want us to use in our communications! I myself am pleased that Instagram, which focuses on visual and audiovisual communications, has become our main communication channel, as I feel that it is easier to make the communications carried out there fun, relaxed and nice looking without forgetting the information value of the things we are communicating.
For a few years now, adding video content to TREY’s communications has been the desire and goal of the communications sector, which we will continue to implement especially on Instagram, inspired by the results of the survey. We will continue filming TREY News and consider what we could communicate in, for example, the Instagram reels format. Of course, the hot topic is Tiktok, which has strongly risen as a social media in recent years, and the introduction of which involves a lot of resource and data protection questions, in addition to what students wish from us. Unexpectedly, the results of the development survey did not give us a clear answer as to whether TREY should make a Tiktok account or not, so it is up to us to decide that after we return from the summer vacation and have had time for the results to sink in. Personally, I think that the content of the communications should always come first, and then we need to consider the format and channel that best serves it – but whenever it’s possible in terms of content and resources, I’m all for fun videos! TREY’s newly released orientation video (link takes you to Youtube) is my own favorite video production, which hopefully is the kind of relaxed communications that the survey results hoped from us!
When Ingá and I unpacked the results of the communications development survey, the main feeling was joy and gratitude. We are grateful and honoured for the amount of valuable development suggestions we received to improve our communications. The survey respondents represent a wide range of backgrounds in our student community, and the responses conveyed a genuine desire to be a part of developing TREY’s communications in a direction that serves students. This is something we work on every day, and it is heartwarming to hear from especially those who are the target audience of our work. We do our best to ensure that the Student Union’s communications is informative and beneficial to students, as well as fun, relaxed and inviting. It is not always the easiest equation, but by getting concrete feedback we are once again closer to success. We have planned several communications campaigns for the autumn, which hopefully will be a delight and topic of conversation in our community. We will also take concrete measures, especially to develop the newsletter, the information Telegram channel and TREY’s website. Bringing events from associations into our communications is a shared wish, which we hope to find a good way to do in early autumn!
For me, some important themes of the survey results, in addition to the ones mentioned above, were TREY’s campus visibility and the development of our website. TREY’s visibility on the campuses in Hervanta and city center are in a good shape, but we need to do more work so that students studying in Kauppi and Pori, for example, will also feel that they are part of the Student Union and see the Student Union’s presence on their campuses in general. We will consider the measures to be taken regarding this with the force of the whole TREY’s office in the autumn. The development of TREY’s website and the possible restructuring of it are, in turn, my pet projects who have not yet reached the limelight. We have been dreaming among a few staff and board members of implementing a web-based association guide for a few years now, and that would go hand in hand with the restructuring of the main website. However, new openings and reforms of this level need both financial and staff resources, so these considerations will be returned to in the autumn when planning next year’s Action Plan and Budget.
I was a little nervous this spring, because the communications development survey is also a very concrete feedback on my own work, even though the communications sector is definitely not the only one implementing TREY’s communications. I have been working with TREY’s communications throughout its brief existence, and it really matters to me how the survey respondents used their opportunity to give development suggestions about our communications so conscientiously and warmly. Thanks to these valuable development proposals, TREY’s communication will be even better. Thank you!
With our whole ♥, TREY’s communications sector, Specialist in Communications and Advocacy Saana (right) and Board member in charge of communications Ingá (left)