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Navigator Digital Engagement Strategy

The ways people seek and use information online are more diverse than ever. It has become obvious that there is no one best way to reach Extension’s audiences. Today, people get information from social media, smartphone apps, Google searches, smart home devices, and more. In the future, these channels will vary even more widely. We can be certain that as technology develops, the ways people use it will constantly change.

To meet this challenge, OSU Extension has established a new approach to digital strategy. It enhances and supports our statewide presence with a user-focused website run by a CMS (content management system) and will integrate with a CRM (constituent relationship management) tool for wider, personalized engagement.

A major shift started in 2016 and provided an opportunity for meaningful, positive change. It meant new roles and responsibilities and working together in uncharted territory. First steps included:

  • Internal content (employee resources) is now on a separate site.
  • The breadth and depth of content from across OSU Extension is now housed in one framework (not a network of separate sites), organized around topics.
  • Educational content is driven by and managed by program areas (via content teams), based on audiences and goals.

OSU Extension is committed to supporting this change, and working through it together, because it’s essential for our organization’s ongoing success and relevance.

Learn more about each element of this approach

      Essential commitments

      1. We are not our customers. Internal feedback and preference informs our decision making but does not drive it.
      2. We use the power of the Drupal 9 CMS—content management system—to manage content not sites.
      3. Extension Communication’s primary web responsibility is initial development of the CMS, ongoing improvements and features, and security and maintenance of the CMS. Extension Communications will facilitate collaborative development of a customer-focused web strategy based on content, not building individual sites.
      4. Extension faculty and staff won’t be responsible for “updating a website”. Extension faculty and staff will be responsible for planning, writing, reviewing, adding, maintaining and assessing content in the CMS.

      Guiding criteria

      • Customer-focused
        Priority given to known customer/user preferences; features/content—especially on main site—should include option for users to engage in some way, such as call to action, give feedback/comment, ask a question, sign up/register, etc.
      • Mobile-friendly
        Theme/design will be mobile-friendly; priority given to retaining/creating content that can be delivered in mobile-friendly ways.
      • Data-informed
        To the extent possible, we will use analytics and other available data (e.g., needs assessments, trends) to support content, design, and process decisions.
      • Easy navigation/quick access
        Menus/navigation based on what customers want to do, learn, or search for—not on an internal topic or label.
      • Relevant information that can be easily updated frequently
        Preference given to processes/workflows that make updates less work for people, are easier with appropriate training, are managed at the right level, etc.
      • Engaging, high-quality online experience
        Consideration given to videos, images, social engagement, and other interactive features.
      • It’s about the content, not about the sites
        Priority given to developing ways to integrate, use, or transition relevant, sharable content in OSU Extension’s new web presence vs. fulfilling requests to design, develop, host, or manage individual sites.
      • Right people doing the right things
        Priority given to developing features and processes that allow Extension programs, faculty, and staff to focus on content strategy and development vs. website design, development, and management.

      Component 1: Main OSU Extension web presence, county sites, program sites

      Our long-term vision is for the breadth and depth of content from across OSU Extension to be housed in one web framework (not a network of separate sites), organized around topics.

      Phase 1 is now complete and involved:

      • Hired a web developer in July 2017 to set up the structure and functionality of the main web presence.
      • Content/topic teams (organized by program leaders) coordinating statewide to take stock of existing content, evaluate it, organize it, and begin entering it into the new framework. This included assessing:
        • Content on county sites (including combined Extension/AES sites)
        • Content on program sites
        • Other relevant content (including non-web), for example: videos, newsletters, blogs, social media, hard-copy documents
      • The Extension Communications based project team facilitating content teams’ content strategy work by providing—to the extent possible—content inventories/audits, analytics summaries, and tools for planning, organizing, and evaluating content. This will continue a primary focus of Phase 2 with the Content Strategist hired in April 2018.
      • The project team developed and designed the framework that allows all content to be in one place, and—importantly—how the site allows learners to view and access that content in the ways today’s audiences expect and prefer.
      • We launched our new public Extension web presence with essential feature and highest-priority content (“minimum viable product” approach) June 2018, and by the end of 2018:
        • The old main Extension website, county sites, and program sites that shared the same Drupal 6 platform were archived and redirected to the new site
        • Program and other sites that are housed elsewhere remain live until relevant content has been integrated to the new website. Content teams, program leaders, and the project team will develop transition plans on a case-by-case basis in Phase 2.
        • Access the Extension user web guide.

        Component 1: Internal content

        Internal content (employee resources) moved to a separate website. This happened in advance of the new public Extension website launch.

        • In Phase 1, there are no major changes to internal content.
        • In consultation with the Extension administrative team, the project team made minor design and organizational changes for efficiency and user-friendliness.
        • The project team develops a list of needs/requests for a more robust internal platform for communication and connection (“intranet”) in Phase 2.

        Component 2: Content strategy and Constituent relationship management

        In the second phase of our digital strategy project, the Extension Communications based project team works to establish solid workflows and governance for managing content. Also, through a ECTU-based project team, we use our needs assessment to guide the development of a CRM (constituent relationship management) system. OSU Extension and Engagement’s CRM is Salesforce, which aligns with the central OSU instance of Salesforce.

        As with the first web framework component, this second component's work is ongoing. Here is a high-level overview:

        Content Strategy

        1. Hired Content Strategist in April 2018 to improve efficient content management
        2. Plan for new content and map out the workflow to create and maintain content
        3. Understand better how our target audiences are finding and using the content
        4. Discuss roles, responsibilities, and governance decisions to keep content fresh, accurate, and usable.

        Salesforce CRM

        1. Hired a Salesforce-focused position in March 2019 to provide necessary expertise (a programmer/architect)
        2. Assess needs, requirements, initial programming/setup
        3. Begin to consolidate Extension’s disparate contact data (mailing lists)
        4. Pilot using Salesforce to track interactions and communication and marketing scenarios.

        Component 3: Integration of the website's Content Management System and Salesforce CRM for digital engagement

        This stage is focused on engaging a learner holistically (not in program silos). This means we are using data to inform and help us make better decisions about how to engage with our audiences and what content to create to meet their needs.

        The data begins to guide learner engagement. As we integrate the CRM with our web presence, learners can begin to manage their profile, interactions, preferences and subscriptions. This creates opportunity for a personalized digital experience.

        By looking at the journey of audiences who engage with Extension, we can also see how content could be shared at the right time on whatever device they use. As we work to meet their needs, we can also invite them to collaborate with us and seek new ways to further learn or share their knowledge, such as taking an online course or becoming a volunteer.

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