As an AUA leader, you play a crucial role in amplifying our mission, sharing our story and engaging our community. These resources are designed to equip you with the tools you need to manage media interactions, navigate social media platforms and serve as an AUA brand ambassador.
As an AUA leader, your role extends beyond decision-making and planning. You are also a public representative of the AUA. It’s important to effectively manage media interactions to ensure the organization’s messaging is clear, consistent and positive. Whether it’s a scheduled interview or an unexpected inquiry, how you communicate can significantly impact the AUA’s message and reputation.
Crafting and Delivering Key Messages
To prepare for a media interview, you’ll want to develop three to five core messages. These should be clear, concise, aligned with AUA’s organizational mission (to promote the highest standards of urological clinical care through education, research and the formulation of health care policy) and values (vision integrity, respect and collaboration) and adaptable to the specific format of the interview.
Overall, regardless of the platform, keep your answers simple and get to the point quickly.
Especially for TV and radio, prepare short, impactful statements (10-15 seconds long) that encapsulate your key points. Have data, anecdotes or examples ready to support your key messages. These can be more detailed for print and online interviews.
You can always contact the AUA Communications Team (Communications@AUAnet.org) for help with AUA talking points or to gather background information and data points.
Platform-Specific Preparation Tips
Television
Radio
Online
Print
Social Media
Social media has become an essential component of communication and outreach for organizations across various industries, and the American Urological Association and our official foundation, the Urology Care Foundation, are no exception.
As a leader in this organization, you will be seen as one of the many faces of the AUA. Even though your social media accounts are your accounts, they will now be viewed as connected to the AUA. Social media is a powerful tool for communication, but it also requires careful handling, especially in the health care space.
When curating your online presence, be sure to focus on consistency and professionalism. Additionally, it’s important to respect copyright and intellectual property. Do not post or share content that infringes on copyright or plagiarizes the work of others. Always give proper credit and seek permission when necessary.
Text Best Practices
Posts and photo or video captions offer direct communication to your followers. Whether you use your words to describe an image you posted, offer advice or explain your feelings, they can add value and help your audience get to know you and the AUA.
Always verify information before posting.
Communicate clearly and avoid jargon.
Be open about your role and affiliations.
Short, straight-to-the-point captions are often more impactful than long, drawn-out ones.
Hashtags
Hashtags are a way to categorize content, making it discoverable to a broader audience beyond your immediate followers. When users search for or follow specific hashtags, your content will appear in those search results, increasing its reach.
Branded hashtags are a powerful tool for building brand awareness and running social media campaigns.
Here is a list of AUA hashtags. Don’t forget to include them on your relevant posts.
General
Advocacy
Education
Guidelines
Urology Care Foundation
Member Services
Publications
Research
Sections
Photo and Video Best Practices
Remember to clean your lens.
Shoot in a well-lit area, preferably with as much natural light as possible.
Do not tilt/angle the phone – capture the subject head-on.
Select a simple, neutral background.
Today’s phone cameras automatically focus on the foreground of your frame, but not every picture or video you take has a prominent subject. To adjust where the camera should focus, open your camera app and tap the screen where you want to sharpen the view.
When you take a photo or video from a distance, it’s tempting to zoom in on something specific you’re trying to capture, but its better not to zoom in as doing so can make the image appear grainy, blurry or pixelated. Instead, move closer to your subject.
Avoid using the flash unless you are shooting into the sun with your subject in the foreground. In that case, you can use the flash to illuminate your subject and prevent silhouetting.
For videos, an external microphone is best. If you do not have a microphone, ensure you are close to the subject and in a semi-quiet area for the best sound quality. If possible, avoid places with echoes such as empty room or large halls.
Shoot all videos in portrait orientation.
Branding
As an AUA or UCF spokesperson you are now a brand ambassador! It’s important that you understand the brand. Because to the outside world we are ONE ASSOCIATION with a reputation that we all share. Please take the time to watch this video.
