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Introduction to the 2019-2020 Iowa Insiders Campaign


The Iowa Intermediary Network now has three new social media platforms to keep consumers updated; Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. These three platforms will reach a majority of consumers and will allow IIN to present information to students, parents, businesses, and educators throughout the year.


We created a presence on these platforms for you because it would be very time consuming for each region or team to produce sufficient content to keep their a page updated and to keep up with comments, replies, likes, and sharing of other posts. Our goal is for each region or team to contribute some content, which we will edit and share for you. This process will make it possible to keep the platforms updated with interesting content and allow students, parents, businesses, and educators to see what was happening across the entire state.


As you share your stories, we hope you apply the same process you use when sharing on your personal social media. You undoubtedly consider your audience when writing, choosing photos, and sharing content. You may not want people to see your messy kitchen when sharing a photo of dinner so if you’re like us, you move some junk mail out of the frame and you might even crop it a bit. In other words, all of us realize it isn’t necessary to share every bit of the actual experience with all of our followers, and we appreciate it when those we follow do the same.


It’s wise to use the same process when creating a narrative for a social media page that isn’t personal. You can rely on us to help with a lot of those details, but the better the raw material is that we have to work with, the better the final product will be.

For the 2019-2020 campaign, we are creating a narrative around four themes, exciting opportunities in Iowa; opportunities students can explore with the assistance of the Iowa Intermediary Network. We will reinforce that students can experience careers for themselves, and businesses can share the excitement of their workplace.


SHARE THE EXCITEMENT

Excitement is lacking in the information and videos currently available. We were quizzing a friend who works in construction management about his thoughts on how to interest high school students in a construction career and this is what he said.


"Show them the field of construction photography involving drones and cameras that take a 360-degree photograph of an industrial plant which then becomes a CAD drawing. Show how we use that image and software to calculate the best pathway for moving giant machinery through the room while disturbing as little of the plant’s operational capacity as possible. Or show the drone that uses a blueprint and GPS to move exactly above the spot where a particular elevation measurement should be and shows us what elevation we need to achieve. Show them how the software on my phone interfaces with the blueprint, the change orders, and all the notes to provide real-time information for me in the field as I’m making decisions. This work is COOL! Tell them about it! The days of the big-bellied construction guy on the jackhammer are over. We need very bright young men and women who could succeed at a four-year school but who would rather skip the debt, go to work in two years, and have a secure career with a high income."


Talk with anyone working in a field they enjoy, and their enthusiasm is contagious. That’s what we will share.


HERE IN IOWA

Our strategy will allow us to share the exciting opportunities throughout the state without implying that all opportunities for job shadows and internships are available everywhere. We believe this is important because a student living where there isn’t a specific opportunity will still learn that a career in that field is available in Iowa.


EXPLORE WITH CONFIDENCE

Explorers need guides. The Iowa Intermediary Network is the trusted guide in the student’s exploration leading to opportunities to learn from those employed in the student’s area of interest. Surveys show that students trust the advice of those working in a field significantly more than any other source of information.


EXPERIENCE FOR YOURSELF

There is a world of difference between an ER nurse, an OR nurse, and a nurse working in a health clinic. “I want to be a nurse” could entail anything from working in a long term care facility to a career in infectious disease control. Nothing compares with experiencing a workplace for yourself.


Remember, just like your own personal social media it is important to focus on the narrative we want a view to understand and connect with when documenting events. Each individual post most likely won’t contain each of the campaign key ideas but should include at least one of the themes outlined.


1. Share excitement

2. Document opportunities available in Iowa

3. How you can help students explore unique opportunities

4. Reinforce the concept of experiencing for yourself

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