UAB offers several options for sharing important messages with audiences inside or outside the university, from email and social media to public relations and official communication channels. Use the guide below to determine the best communication method for your message type, and then click for additional information or to submit a request.
News Media
Marketing & Communications has a team of public relations professionals to coordinate proactive and reactive media relations for the University of Alabama at Birmingham and UAB Medicine. Our team works with the UAB community and the news media to support the institution’s strategic goals and to inform the public about significant developments and information about our people, operations and outcomes. We regularly communicate about how our students, faculty, staff, alumni and supporters advance all areas of our mission: education, health care, research, community service and economic development. In addition, Athletic Communications works with news media to communicate information specific to UAB Athletics.
Email Marketing & Marketing Cloud
Audience: Prospective StudentsFrom basic newsletters to prospective student campaigns, departments can design, build, and manage data-driven emails with Salesforce Marketing Cloud. Marketing Cloud is an email distribution service that includes analytics, complex reporting, and design templates with strong mobile support.
Email, Text, Digital MarketingMessage Types:
Recruitment Communications, Internal Communications, Alumni/Advancement Communications
Social
Audience: Faculty/Staff/Students/General PublicIn addition to managing all top level social media platforms for the university, Marketing & Communications provides oversight, training and resources for all officially recognized UAB social media accounts and managers.
Social Media ChannelsMessage Types:
News, Events, Institutional-Level External Announcements
UAB eReporter
Audience: Faculty/StaffThe eReporter, an electronic newsletter, is a companion to the UAB Reporter website and the recommended alternative to mass emails. It is distributed twice weekly to all UAB employees in the campus directory.
Electronic Newsletter | Twice WeeklyMessage Types:
News/Events
Blazer Weekly
Audience: StudentsBlazer Weekly is an electronic newsletter distributed to all UAB students on Wednesdays during the fall and spring semesters and alternate weeks during the summer, and it is the recommended alternative to mass emails.
Electronic Newsletter | Weekly (Fall/Spring) & Bi-Weekly (Summer)Message Types:
News/Events
UAB Campus Calendar
Audience: Faculty/Staff/StudentsThe UAB campus calendar is for events organized, hosted, sponsored or cosponsored by UAB units, departments, colleges, schools, centers and institutes, alumni organizations, and official registered student organizations. To ensure maximum exposure for event listings, please submit the listing at least two weeks ahead of the event date. This allows time for review and posting.
WebsiteMessage Types:
Events
BlazerNET
Audience: StudentsThe BlazerNET welcome screen offers the option for displaying short messages on the portal for specifically targeted groups of students and/or faculty. Only messages that originate within the university and pertain to UAB will be posted. These messages are reserved for announcements that can be justified as supporting a student's matriculation. To submit an announcement to be considered for the BlazerNET welcome screen, please provide:
- A one- or two-sentence teaser for the message.
- A description of the specific target audience (this can be something like "all faculty teaching in fall 2018 semester, except those in the schools of Medicine, Dentistry and Optometry" or "currently enrolled undergraduate students in the College of Arts and Sciences.")
- The start and end date for the message to display (not to extend beyond the academic period).
- Any necessary web links pointing to additional information.
BlazerNet PortalMessage Types:
Student Matriculation
Zoom Webinar
Audience: Faculty/Staff/Students/General PublicThink of webinars like a virtual lecture hall or auditorium. Webinars are ideal for large audiences or events that are open to the public. Typically, webinar attendees do not interact with one another. Though Zoom provides options for you to get more social with your attendees, your average webinar has one or a few people speaking to an audience.
WebinarMessage Types:
Town halls
Quarterly updates
Educational lectures
Listservs
Audience: Manually Updated List ofFaculty/Staff/External Recipients
Listservs are used for a defined, static audience of information recipients and are necessary for lists that include recipients outside of UAB. The audience can be determined through self-subscription, or a list owner can add and remove recipients. Listservs may be set up as a one-way distribution outlet or as a virtual discussion community to which all members can post information. To request a Listserv, contact the AskIT Help Desk at 996-5555. Once the ticket is generated, you will need to attach an email from your supervisor stating approval. Allow seven business days for the request to be processed.
EmailMessage Types:
One-way information delivery
or virtual discussion
Dynamic Email Lists
Audience: Dynamically Updated Listof UAB Recipients
Dynamic email services are used for one-way information delivery to audiences whose composition may change daily, such as a specific department, a school, or all occupants of a building. Each use of these services constructs its list of recipients in real-time. To request a distribution list, contact the AskIT Help Desk at 996-5555. Time required to setup a dynamic list will vary based on the selection criteria; typically seven days should be sufficient.
EmailMessage Types:
One-way information delivery
Mass Emails
Audience: All Students/Faculty/Staff/Department/SchoolAny one-time message addressed to multiple recipients that needs to be sent from a “special” address rather than a user’s personal address is considered a mass email. Mass emails sent to all faculty, staff, and students are reserved for special circumstances and require approval from UAB Internal Communications. Mass emails sent within a school or division must be approved at the top of that hierarchy.
Review the Requirements for Mass Emails. Allow seven business days for the request to be processed.
EmailMessage Types:
One-way information delivery
Personal Distribution Lists
Audience: Small Groups of UAB RecipientsUsers may want to manage a personal distribution list for small groups that you will need to email more than once. Follow these instructions to create Personal Distribution Lists in MS Outlook.
Or, alternatively, you can create a list of emails separated by semicolons in a Notepad document and save it; when you are ready to use the list, copy and paste the email addresses into the “Bcc” field (this provides privacy for your recipients). The size limit for attachments is 30MB.
EmailMessage Types:
One-way information delivery
UAB Global Address Book
Audience: Faculty/StaffLists maintained in the UAB Global Address Book are for UAB personnel only. They are reserved for a defined, static audience of ongoing information recipients. To set up a group email distribution list in the Address Book, please contact the AskIT Help Desk at 996-5555. Once the ticket is generated and approved, lists are set up by Infrastructure Services and managed by the Departmental OU Administrator. Please allow 24-36 hours for the request to be processed.
EmailMessage Types:
One-way information delivery
Digital Signage
Audience: Faculty/Staff/StudentsMarketing & Communications has digital screens in the following buildings that departments can submit content for:
- Residence Halls
- Campus Recreation Center
- Hill Student Center
Guidelines
- Only Student Organizations & University Departments may advertise on Student Affairs Digital Screens.
- Marketing & Communications has the right to review, approve, and reject content if ads are deemed inappropriate.
- Marketing & Communications has the right to disallow and take down any ads.
- Ads may not include any inappropriate language or images.
- Ads may be rejected based on conflict of interest with the mission and values of UAB.
- New ads begin Monday morning.
- Ads run until Sunday night at midnight (or when your event/promotion ends if this occurs earlier in the week).
- To reserve ad space, the online reservation form must be completed.
- You will receive an automatic email confirmation when you submit your online request.
- Ads MUST be 1280px by 720px and in .png or .jpg format.
SignageMessage Types:
One-way information delivery