Wilson Communications (WComm) Frequently Asked Questions

• There are so many amazing stories to tell and there are many ways we write and gather stories:
  • Internally we have a writing staff that includes one permanent public communications specialist, contract writers, student intern writers.
  • NC State News Media does a fantastic job of writing stories that relate to published research. If you have research that has been accepted for publication, reach out to Laura Oleniacz (ljolenia@ncsu.edu) at that time so she can time her article to release at the same time as the publication’s release.
  • Different groups on campus may also cover stories including Centennial Campus, Sustainability, Advancement and others. All NC State stories can be shared through Newswire and we are able to pull these stories directly into our website.
  • Any external media coverage can be easily captured in our In the News section.
• Unfortunately, even with several avenues to tell stories, we are not able to every story. Here are some of the factors we use to determine if we write a web story.
  • Content strategy and priorities as set by the dean. 
  • Bandwidth, especially during certain times of year. 
  • How recently we’ve written about this, a similar topic or a different topic that meets the same priority or communicates a similar strategic message.  
  • What visuals exist for the story/how easily it can be shared on social media. 
  • How well this story can be told in an engaging fashion.
  • How unique the story is. For example, did a student win a competition held by the college, the university, or a wider organization? How many students won? Is this an experience offered only by our college?

NC State and all of its colleges follow the AP Stylebook. It’s essentially the journalist’s equivalent of Chicago or MLA style manuals, so it dictates rules for a wide range of things like punctuation, capitalization and titles. Not all colleges at NC State do a great job of enforcing this, so you may occasionally see exceptions. We don’t use Dr. in our stories because of AP Stylebook rules. The entry for “doctor” in the latest edition of the AP Stylebook: 

Use Dr. in first reference as a formal title before the name of an individual who holds a doctor of dental surgery, doctor of medicine, doctor of optometry, doctor of osteopathic medicine, doctor of podiatric medicine, or doctor of veterinary medicine: Dr. Jonas Salk.

The form Dr., or Drs. in a plural construction, applies to all first-reference uses before a name, including direct quotations. Do not continue the use of Dr. in subsequent references.

Do not use Dr. before the names of individuals who hold other types of doctoral degrees. Instead, when necessary or appropriate: Cassandra Karoub, who has a doctorate in mathematics, was lead researcher. U.S. first lady Jill Biden, who has a doctorate in education, plans to continue teaching. U.S. second gentleman Doug Emhoff, a lawyer, is joining the faculty of Georgetown Law.

However, if you specify to us that it’s important to you, we can clarify in the story that you are a doctor and have a Ph.D. by including it in a sentence somewhere in the story. For example: 

Smith, who has a doctorate in biology, says … or 

Smith, who earned her Ph.D. from the College of Sciences, says…

There are a number of older stories where Dr. may be used. It’s on our list to get those all identified and corrected.

This partnership is so exciting and we’d love to get the word out, but we don’t write press releases. That’s because we focus more on what’s happening or impacts vs. the announcement that something will be happening. However, if the company or organization writes a press release and/or that press release gets picked up by external media, we can include it on our In the News section of our Wilson College News site.

If you know that a company or organization that you are working with is writing a press release, please loop WComm (group-tex-marcomm@ncsu.edu) in with that communications team (or someone that can connect us with the communications team). This will help us ensure that the college, degrees, departments, etc. are referred to in a way that is correct and on brand.

We can also write a web story later once the research or project is underway/completed. Oftentimes we can also share press releases (or the information within them) on social media depending on the content and visuals available.

Please fill out this form with your request.

• Your profile can be found at textiles.ncsu.edu > About > People. The information feeding the directory comes from several different places. 
• Check out this article for step-by-step instructions (or continue reading below).
• Name, Title, Work Location, Phone Number, Email
  • By default, this information is pulled from the NC State directory and your NC State directory entry must be updated by you. (For instructions on overriding this (including if you want to list your website), see the “All Other Information” section below.) To update, go to MyPack Portal. Select Employee Self Service > “Personal Details” > “Campus Directory Listing”. The Wilson College directory updates each morning from the campus directory so please allow a day to see the changes.
• Photo
  • To make sure all website alt-text requirements are met for photos, you will need to email TCTS (textiles-tcts@ncsu.edu) to have your photo added or updated.
    • Do you want a new headshot? Beth Palmer, the college’s multimedia specialist, will email whenever there is a new scheduled headshot session date.
    • If you have a headshot that you want to use, email TCTS at textiles-tcts@ncsu.edu with the photo you would like to use. If needed, they will crop it. Note that the final dimensions need to be 500×500 pixels.
• All Other Information
  • Everything else – such as your bio, education, research grants/focus areas and publications – is updated within the Wilson College directory. You are welcome to update this yourself or request updates by TCTS (textiles-tcts@ncsu.edu).
  • For updating the directory, the Wilson College directory link will prompt you to login before going to https://textiles.ncsu.edu/wp-admin/edit.php?post_type=person which will list your directory entry. Click on this entry, make changes and click “Update” in the upper righthand corner to save your changes.
  • If you would like to override what the NC State directory shows, under “Update from Campus Directory” in the middle top – toggle to say “No”. Then you can input your preferred name, title, website, email, office and phone. Remember: if you override the NC State directory, if any information changes, you’ll need to update it in both places.
  • To add or change your groups – including research areas and academic units – login using the instructions above and update these in the “Groups” block on the right side.
    • Groups are used to help filter the directory (you can see them in action on the directory on the left side under “Filter By”).
  • To turn your publications list on: Login using the above instructions. There is a toggle button in your profile settings that reads “Show Publications from Library Database?”. Turn this on to enable showing your publications.
    • It will then ask you for this: University Libraries Citation Index Author ID *. To show citations from the University Libraries Citation Index, you will need your library Scholarly Publications Repository Author ID. To get this, go to the Citation Index search page and search for yourself. Click the link on your name. The ID is at the end of the URL of this page, after “/profiles/”. Sometimes this will be an ID number, and sometimes it will be the person’s unity ID. If you have any questions about this, email: textiles-tcts@ncsu.edu.
• If you have any questions, please email Patrick Nethery (Wilson College webmaster) at textiles-tcts@ncsu.edu.

• When the new website launched, we began utilizing NC State’s Event Calendar. To add an event to the Wilson College website, submit the event through the NC State event system. The Wilson College event feeds gather only Wilson College events from this system.
• By utilizing the NC State event system, your event will reach a larger audience. If needed, you can specify in the event information if there are any restrictions (such as “only available to Wilson College students”).
• To add an event: 
  • Go to: calendar.ncsu.edu > Select “Log in” (in the top right corner) > Log in with your unity ID and password.
  • Select “Submit an event” (in the top right corner).
  • You will see a form titled “Adding an Event” on your screen.
  • The only required information needed is: event name, description, start date, ADA/event coordinator name and contact information.
  • It is recommended that you include a photo but it is not required. A photo will be selected to advertise the event if you don’t submit one. There are also many other fields available to round out the details of your event.
  • Note: If you would like your event displayed on the Centennial Campus website and included in their biweekly newsletter to Centennial partners, faculty collaborators and community leaders, also select “Centennial Campus” under the “Department” category.

• Email group-tex-creative@ncsu.edu with the request and any assets you have.
• If you have your own billboard:
  • Dimensions: 1920 x 1080 pixels.
  • File type: .jpg, .png or .gif.
  • File size: No larger than 2 MB.
  • Dates: Provide the start and end date for how long you want the slide to run.
  • You must also provide the design source file. Any slide shared with us that has brand issues is subject to change.
• If you would like us to create a billboard slide:
  • Provide the title, body text, any links/QR codes and image(s) you would like used.
  • Dates: Provide the start and end date for how long you want the slide to run.

Generally, we need 2-3 days lead time. If possible, we will create the slide sooner than that. If the slide is advertising an event, it’s recommended the slide runs for at least a week before the event date.

You can create a slide in Google Slides, PowerPoint or Canva.

The design source file links to the location where you created your slide and is how we edit the design. When using Google Slides or Canva: copy the share link, share that link with us and make sure editing access is open to the university. When using PowerPoint, save the file as a PowerPoint file and share the file with us.

• The easiest way for you to do this is to post and tag us on social media. We will either interact with the post or share it. 
• You can also email us a photo and the information and make a request. 
• We also have this student work form that you can submit to be featured in our lookbook or social media. 
• We also send out Google forms throughout the year (for things like study abroad, internships and student work) that give you the opportunity to provide photos and answer short questions for the opportunity to be featured on our website and/or social media. 

• Awesome! We love when students tag us when they are at a conference or textile-related event. It helps us show the wide variety of opportunities our students have access to through their education at the Wilson College of Textiles.
• The easiest way for us to feature a student:
  • The student creates a social media post that:
    • Tags the college
    • Has a photo (can just be a phone photo!)
    • Uses a caption that includes information about what conference/event they are attending and information about what they did there (presented research, won an award, heard from a speaker, participated in a mentorship event, etc.)
  • We will interact with the post (like/comment) and may repost it with permission (IG Stories, IG Feed, LinkedIn)! Our social media strategy for each platform and posting calendar affects what our response is.
  • Example of a TATM LI post that was reposted 
  • Example of a TECS LI post that was reposted
• If a student does not have social media. They can email the same information to group-tex-social-media@ncsu.edu for posting consideration.
• How to tag us on social media:
  • IG Stories: Choose the @Mention sticker and type NCStateWilson
  • IG Feed: Either tag @NCStateWilson in the photo or mention @NCStateWilson in the caption
  • LinkedIn: Create post. When you want to mention the college, start typing @NC and it should offer you NC State Wilson College of Textiles (company page). Click on the link it offers.
  • 
• Note: We can’t tag individuals from our LinkedIn account as it is a company account.

• The Wilson College account interacts with and/or reposts organizations/companies/alumni that create posts from their account and tag us!
• If someone tags us in a post, we always try to interact with it (like and/or comment). If the topic is related to promotion of the college, we may repost it.
• With almost 11,000 alumni and hundreds of industry and research partnerships, we are not able to repost everyone’s LinkedIn posts.
• How to tag the college on LinkedIn:
  • Create post. When you want to mention the college, start typing @NC and it should offer you NC State Wilson College of Textiles (company page). Click on the link it offers.
  • 

You have two options: 

1. Post from your student organization’s social media account and tag @ncstateWilson. However, please make sure your post uses NC State, NC State University, Wilson College, Wilson College of Textiles and doesn’t use NCSU, WCOT, COT or College of Textiles. We’ll share this out on our IG stories or possibly on LinkedIn.
2. If your student org doesn’t have an account, you can email us and include any information you think we should include. 

• Photos and videos don’t have to be polished and actually perform better when they’re taken with your phone: think of what you like to see on social media!
  • A quick Google search will tell you what settings you can change on your phone to make a big difference in the quality (pixel size) of the photos and videos you take. 
• Stories and highlights are better for announcing time sensitive information like meetings and updates.
  • If you have upcoming events that you want to announce early, a lot of organizations make a grid post and then pin it at the top.
• For accessibility purposes, use auto closed captioning on Instagram using the in-app feature. 
• Keep captions short! 
• To make it easier for us to share your work and announcements, consider filling out our blanket form! If you want us to let us know about something you posted to help get the word out, the best way to do so is to tag or mention us @ncstatewilson 
• Please avoid using NCSU, COT, WCOT or College of Textiles (without Wilson) these branding errors will unfortunately keep us from resharing your posts.
• Both photos and videos perform well. A carousel of multiple photos or videos performs better than a single photo or video. Portrait-oriented photos and videos (specifically a 4:5 ratio) are what Instagram prefers right now.

• Due to bandwidth, WComm is only able to provide photography services when the photos will be used for the website, the college’s social media and/or other media promoting the college.
• To be able to manage our other priorities, we are only able to attend the event long enough to get the types of photos we will use. 
• Typically we do not use photos from poster presentations, speakers, presentations, awards presentations, class projects. For these events, and anything else we are unable to cover, we recommend following the tips under how to take good phone photo/videos. Also, if you share these photos on social media, please tag us!
• The Convocation Center does not photograph well. If you are hosting an event and it will be something WComm is photographing, please hold it in the W. Duke Kimbrell Atrium.
• If you need event photography or photography WComm cannot cover, we highly recommend university photographers. Please contact Becky Kirkland (rlkirkl2@ncsu.edu) for their availability.

• Go into your phone’s camera settings and change all of your settings to the ones that will yield the highest quality photo/video. For an iPhone 8, that’s: 4K at 30 fps (for video), and “Most compatible” (for photos). Basically, you want whatever setting indicates that a larger file size will be used. This varies by phone, so you can do a quick search to find that. 

• If you’re looking to be featured on the website, landscape photos are best. If you’re looking to be featured on social media, portrait photos are best. Either way, it’s best to take a photo with a bit of “space” around whatever you want included in the photo so we have space to crop if needed. We often take landscape and portrait photos so that we have more options!
• For portraits:
  • Find a space with a background that isn’t “busy” (such as lots of buildings or a distracting background). Outside usually works best! 
  • Watch out for light poles, trees, etc. that would make it seem like it’s sticking out of their head. 
  • Lots of newer phones now have a “portrait” mode you can use!
  • Frame so that from the waist to the top of the head is visible 
• Be careful about natural light:
  • Avoid any lighting (natural or not) directly overhead. 
  • Keep the light or sunlight facing you not behind you. 
  • Be wary of shadows. 
  • Standing completely in shade or shadow (as opposed to in a super sunny spot) will usually yield more flattering photos. 
  • Tap the face right before you take a photo to help focus. 
• For videos:
  • Avoid panning (moving phone left or right) or tilting it up or down. It’s very hard to do this without having the phone shake! 
  • Be mindful of background noise, especially if you know someone will be speaking to the camera. 
  • If you’re filming yourself giving a message, make sure the camera is level with your face by placing your phone or laptop on a stack of books. You don’t want to have to tilt your head up to look at the camera, but we don’t want to be able to see up your nose either! 

There are two options for accessing photos.

1. Access the NC State Photo Database with your unity id login. You can use these to create official marketing materials. These photos are copyright-protected and should not be used for personal purposes.
   • All photos are kept here for historical purposes but if you would like to use a photo that is more than 3 years old (there is a date stamp for each photo), please email WComm (group-tex-marcomm@ncsu.edu) with the request to make sure it is still considered on-brand.
   • Please refrain from using Textiles building photos from the Photo Database. Use building photos from the Wilson College Branded Assets Library (see #2).
2. If you are looking for a photo from an internal college event (such as the Career Fair or Researc
   • If you are a Wilson College faculty or staff member, you have access to the Shared Google Drive: Wilson College Branded Assets Library. Check here first to see if the photo you need is available. You can download any of the photos in the Drive and save them. You can adjust the image size if needed for size constraints or crop for space constraints. Do not otherwise edit or “zoom in” on the photo without approval from WComm (group-tex-marcomm@ncsu.edu). If you cannot find the photo you are looking for, email WComm Please refrain from using Textiles building photos
   • If you are a Wilson College student, please email what you are looking for to WComm (group-tex-marcomm@ncsu.edu).

• Yes! Each lab group can have one photoshoot per year.
• Photosh
  • Outside photos – if the weather is bad, we will reschedule.
  • 30 minutes per session – make sure your entire group can be there during that time – we are unable to schedule additional sessions for a make-up headshot / group photo. If someone cannot attend, the photoshoot can be rescheduled.
  • Lab photoshoots include one headshot per person and two group shots (one formal and one “fun” one – like holding up Wolfies!).
    • If you are interested in photos beyond what is listed above, let us know ahead of time so we can assess if there is time for that. Example: A photo of you holding a major award could be accommodated but a lot of small group photos could not be. This is because there are a lot of lab groups and every photo pose taken requires photo management/organization as well as editing. To be able to offer this service to all lab groups, we have to limit the number of photos taken.
    • If you would like additional photos, we recommend using your phone (tips are above on getting high-quality phone photos), borrowing a camera from the Libraries or hiring the university photographers (email becky_kirkland@ncsu.edu).

• Everyone in the college is able to send emails to:
  • The entire community (undergraduate students, graduate students, employees): group-tex-community@ncsu.edu
  • The employees: group-tex-colleagues@ncsu.edu
  • Both of these lists are moderated to make sure only appropriate emails go to these groups.
  • Most emails can simply be sent this way.

If a committee or unit wants to send a formatted email, reach out to WComm (group-tex-marcomm@ncsu.edu) to discuss putting the email into Mailchimp. WComm has access to the Mailchimp account and can assist with this.

Check out this article to learn about the Wilson College email lists!