#creative medea

We've all been there, scanning office resources trying to find the perfect eye-catching visual for an upcoming presentation. These fun options just might save the day!

Prezi put together a list of free graphics resources, and, simply put, they are pretty awesome. From vintage to vector, these graphics are bound to make your next study abroad pre-departure orientation that much more attention-grabbing.

Tip: Some of these resources email you a free packet of photos each week or month, sign up early to start building your graphics resources.

Quality visual content can transform even the simplest website. So I wanted to share one of my favorite websites for taking photos to the next level. PicMonkey.com is extremely user friendly, and offers a wide variety of photo editing tools. From simple cropping and resizing to the ability to add unique filters, pattern overlays, and text, a few clicks on PicMonkey can make a world of difference for your photos. They even have a tutorial for newbies to photo editing. Now, I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a graphic designer, but here is a sample of how you can have some fun with PicMonkey.

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As someone who always has an eye out for unique content, I was excited to come across this article on the career resource levo.com. The subject caught my attention as something that might be interesting for returned study abroad students, but I also liked that the author leveraged the relevancy of a popular television show, Homeland, to broaden the appeal of their content. Although it may seem challenging to stay ahead of the curve and pair your content with relevant social or cultural events, it can be a creative way to tap into mainstream social media trends and spark conversations with new audiences.

Since things are winding down for the holidays I thought I would just share something fun today. As many of you know, I manage the Twitter account for the Monterey Institute of International Studies (@MIIS). It is one of my favorite things about my job. Of course, I always double, triple, even quadruple check my content for typos before posting. Well, today I accidentally published a typo, but the resulting discovery was a fun surprise:

Meet Stealth Mountain: 

The main page of your website is your most important real estate. In addition to the design, content, and navigation, lots of thought needs to go into the layering and organization of the information you convey to visitors.

This infographic from hotcoursesabroad.com provides valuable insight into the criteria and factors students consider when researching and selecting programs. Using data like this is one way you can evaluate how well your website addresses the primary interests of your audience.

Some food for thought:

Using this data to evaluate your website, does the information you provide on your website match the information that your audience is seeking?

Does the structure of your landing page accommodate researchers with different priorities? (ie. program location, subject area, etc.)

Infographics are a great way to organize data in an engaging format. How are your study abroad students distributed around the world? What are the trends within your international student population? An infographic could be the perfect way to share this data, but building one may seem like a daunting task. That's why we were so excited to discover Easelly, a website that has all the tools to help you make a successful infographic. Watch their video for a better idea of what Easelly can do:

What international education data stories you can share through infographics? For some inspiration, check out this great infographic from GoAbroad.com!

We've probably all heard the phrase "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Well, in the social media world this phrase could be adapted to "a strategic piece of content is worth one hundred random ones." Maybe that phrase isn't as catchy, but the point is that taking the time to analyze which content gets the most engagement will help you learn how to better connect with your audience.

With everything going on in the world of International Education, finding the time to share any content at all may feel like a success. However, if we could give one piece of advice, it would be to take ten minutes at the beginning of each week and think about the content you shared that was most successful the week before. Challenge yourself to listen to your audience and share content that truly interests them.

Where to start? Here's a quick checklist from Twitter that shares some tips for taking stock of your account.

We came across this helpful article on #GivingTuesday that shares four simple ideas for focusing your message and strengthening the impact of your communications. Make a four point checklist out of this article and see if your communications are effectively connecting your audience to your organization.