A campaign is how you convince students to vote for you. This could be through social media, posters, videos, just about anything! The best way to win votes is to talk to as many students as you can, why not ask a couple of friends or class mates to be on your campaign team to help spread the word for you?
Whatever method you chose to campaign, don't forget to keep your name, face and the link to voting as visible as possible!
There are our top tips for making a strong visual campaign
- Decide on a clear brand. What colours and fonts are you going to use? Make sure to keep these consistent throughout so students can recognise you.
- Keep your promotional material clear and easy to read. Perhaps pick a different idea from your manifesto and use them on a different poster. Think about what would make you vote - would you read a whole page of text?
- Think about how you can target different groups of students. What would make student parents vote for you? What about students based at the other London site? What about our Postgraduate community?
We highly recommend the online programme Canva. It's free to use and you can make hundreds of different designs really easily. We've put a couple of videos below to show you how to use it.
There are loads of different videos available to give you different ideas too. No matter how confident you are using technology, there will be something you can do!
The absolute key for using social media in your campaign is to share content that other students will share for you. This means your posters, videos, messages will reach LOTS more students that you don't have access to.
Think about:
- What would make students share your content?
- Should there be an incentive for sharing your content? A prize? A video shout out?
- How long should your video be?
- Could you do a live video event?
- Is it worth investing some of your budget into paid advertising?
Below you can find a couple of different videos that can help you with using social media.
Student Staff Liaison Committee (SSLC)
All the feedback you give to your Class Reps gets taken to an SSLC meeting three times a year. The most commonly raised feedback can be found below.
Students at Anglia Ruskin London campus have highlighted a number of recurrent issues. Namely these issues relate to; Facilities, Learning and Teaching and Welfare. What is most apparent is the desire for students to have a campus that is well maintained, as well as the introduction of a student space that meets their needs. Similarly, with regards to learning and teaching, and welfare, students have expressed the need for access to resources that they believe would further enhance their studies.
Food provisions on campus
Students have pointed to the lack of food options on campus. Specifically, they have pointed out the absence of hot food in the cafeteria. In addition, healthy food options are scarce within the vending machines dotted around campus and students do not have the ability to bring food in and heat it up as there are no microwaves. As such, students would appreciate the introduction of good quality food and coffee on campus.
Student space
As a campus in the middle of central London, it does not come a surprise that ARUL are limited in terms of space. Nonetheless, student space on the Farringdon campus has been an important issue and it has been raised on a number of occasions. Students would like to see the creation of a common room where they can eat, socialise and meet.
Maintenance of toilets
The level of cleanliness in ARUL toilets has been a key concern for students. They have reported that toilets are regularly overcrowded and blocked, making them not fit for use.
Learning Resources Centre
Students have requested that the Learning Resource stock more textbooks. They have also raised the question of having the Learning Resource Centre open for longer hours during the week. This issue is in partnership with longer opening hours of the buildings - particularly in East India - which naturally affects the opening hours of the LRC.
Physical copy of textbooks
Some students have struggled with using Kortext, they find it difficult to navigate and often encounter technical issues. Distribution of physical copies of the key textbooks is seen as a solution, particular for students that struggle with technology.
Support that is quick and easy to access
Students are aware that help and support is available, but many struggle to locate it. As a result, the iCentre are busy with enquiries which frustrates students when unable to get through. Students have suggested that a streamlining of the VLE may be the best way to enable the finding of information and help they need quickly and easily.
Dyslexia and dyspraxia support
Students with Dyslexia and Dyspraxia would like extra support from the university, some students have specifically requested increased awareness about dyslexia and dyspraxia amongst staff members, such as lecturers.
Yes! We will allocate each candidate with £30 to spend on election materials and campaigning costs. You will need to use your own money, KEEP THE RECEIPTS, and then you can claim it back via an online form.
You cannot spend over the specified amount, even if you want to use your own money, you must keep to this budget or you could risk disqualification.
You could use this money on:
- Facebook/Instagram advertisement
- Competition prizes
- Gimmicks for a video
- Absolutely anything you think will help get you votes!
You are responsible for making sure you stick to your budget, you will need to submit your receipts and a claim form at the end of the campaigning week to ensure you are able to get the money refunded to you.