Roles

• Content Strategist & Manager
• Digital Producer
• Video Director & Editor

Overview

I developed and implemented a video-focused content marketing program for the University of Pittsburgh’s Information Technology (Pitt IT) group. The goal was to create engaging, accessible video content that would reduce support tickets, increase digital interaction, and boost the adoption of IT services and tools by students, faculty, and staff. This initiative successfully streamlined IT support processes while improving overall awareness and utilization of university-wide technology offerings.

Challenge

Pitt IT provides essential services to a large and diverse campus community, ranging from first-year students to seasoned faculty members. However, the complexity of IT tools and services often led to an overwhelming number of support tickets and a disappointing underutilization of many valuable offerings.

The key challenges were:

Varied User Experience Levels: The audience had vastly different levels of technical proficiency, making it challenging to create content that resonated with everyone—from tech-savvy students to faculty members less familiar with digital tools.

Overloaded Support System: The IT help desk was receiving a high volume of repetitive support tickets for common issues like software setup, password resets, and service navigation.

Low Engagement: While Pitt IT provided many useful services, adoption rates remained low because students, faculty, and staff were either unaware of them or found them too complex to use.

Solution

To address these challenges, I spearheaded the creation of a video-focused content marketing program with the support of Pitt IT’s leadership team that would provide easy-to-follow tutorials, service spotlights, and customer testimonials. The program was designed with a focus on accessibility, clarity, and engagement—making Pitt IT’s resources more recognized and approachable.

Physical Studio Space: An immediate need was to identify and source the necessary equipment and space for producing this effort. For this need, I put together the equipment needs and budgets, as well as sourced the best prices and vendors to provide materials. Next I worked with individuals from Pitt IT and University facilities to identify and make usable space centrally located on Pitt’s Oakland campus.

Content Development Strategy: The next step was to identify common support issues and underutilized services that would benefit most from video content. I gathered data on frequent support tickets and collaborated with IT staff to pinpoint pain points for users. Based on this research, I designed video training materials that addressed frequently asked questions, service walkthroughs, and proactive tips.

Video Production: I worked as a solo producer and team director to produce short, visually appealing videos that addressed specific IT services, highlighted customer success stories, and offer solutions for common issues. Each video was carefully scripted to ensure clarity and covered topics like:

• How-to guides: Step-by-step instructions on software installation, account setup, and system troubleshooting.
• Service highlights: Brief overviews of underused IT offerings, explaining how they could benefit students, faculty, and staff.
• Customer success: Fast solutions to common problems like password resets and network connection issues.We also ensured that the videos were captioned and mobile-friendly, allowing users to access them on any device, even during a live issue.

Digital Distribution: To ensure maximum reach, we distributed the videos through multiple digital channels:

• The Pitt IT website featured a dedicated video customer success section.
• The Pitt IT YouTube channel had been dormant, but we revived it with a new focus on high quality content and regular posting schedules.
• Social media platforms and email newsletters promoted the content to a wider audience.