#PSEWEB 2012 Canada’s University and College Digital Marketing Conference

1. #PSEWEB 2012Canada’s University and College Digital Marketing Conference Kirsty Budd, Community Manager, Student Success Office Alison Gelata, Web & E-Communications Officer, Engineering

2. Conference overview • Hosted in Halifax, Nova Scotia • July 15 to 17 • 120 attendees

3. Conference overview • Schools represented from coast to coast (including University of Toronto, Laurier, Ottawa, Guelph, McGill, Brock, McMaster, Dalhousie, Sheridan, Humber, Yukon College) • A range of positions represented (Technical and Marketing/ Communications staff in PSE)

4. Sessions • Building a low cost mobile presence • Agile marketing: content strategy and content analytics • Strategic digital media • Transmedia app generation • Keynote (Ken Steele, Academica Group): PSE web trends and applicant stats • Increase admissions with analytics • Usability: does your website pass or fail? • An invitation to conversation • Training a university community • Social media strategy and engagement: why questions take you beyond answers • Defining your success on twitter • Students as social media ambassadors • Keynote (Shawn Henry, W3C): Embracing accessibility

5. Key themes • Accessibility • Mobile • Content strategy • Usability and user experience

6. Accessibility Session • Embracing Accessibility Background of speakers • Shawn Henry (worldwide education and outreach for the W3C WebAccessibility Initiative)

7. Accessibility • A fairly new topic on campuses • Institutions are all gearing up to meet accessibility standards through training and added resources (varies across the board) • A shift in attitude from “we have to make this accessible” to “we should want to make this accessible, how can we do it?” • Understanding accessibility principles helps to design better websites (mobile strategy)

8. Accessibility We asked: • Is your institution currently creating online content with web accessibility guidelines in mind? • Is your institution currently mass communicating the importance of web accessibility to staff and faculty? • Do you currently have access to resources and training for web accessibility on campus?

9. Mobile • Sessions: • Developing a low cost mobile presence • Transmedia app generation • Keynote: PSE at a glance 2012 • Speakers • Terminal Four (CMS vendor) • Sheridan College • Ken Steele, Academica Group, Keynote Speaker

10. Mobile • Stats • Tablet/smartphone users currently account for 15% to 20% of traffic across PSE websites • Forecasting: Mobile users will account for 40% of site traffic by spring 2013 • Average # apps on a teen’s phone right now = 25, average for late teen years (17-19) is 80-90 apps • PSE applicant data (AcademicaGroup): • 74% of applicants own a smartphone, 11% own a tablet • Spend an average of 28.7 hours per week online • 90% say they researched PSE online

11. Mobile • Trends • Majority of Canadian PSE institutions currently have responsive websites, not mobile sites • Good example of new mobile site launched: Queens University of Belfast • Most popular framework for mobile development in PSE is JQuery Mobile (HTML 5 based user interface, works with all popular mobile OS) • CampusM(campusm.com), a mobile app development platform that helps create apps for student life • Seamless mobile integration between social media platforms and web space

12. Mobile • Best Practices & Guidance • Sites for information • Apps for tasks • m.sitename is best for SEO, not sitename/mobile • Develop non-native applications to keep down costs (aka browser apps/ web apps), make available through all devices at the same time (write once, deploy to all) • Plan the user pathway across platforms (mobile, social media) • Mobile navigation buttons must be easily accessed by touch screen users (bars 30 pixels wide) • Utilize QR codes and web forms (make forms that are mobile friendly and easy to submit)

13. Mobile • Tips for planning a mobile strategy • Gather information: conduct focus groups, provide surveys and find out what primary users search for/need access to through their mobile devices • Conduct competitive analysis: what are other universities doing and why • Preparation: Determine budget, what tools are required and how to deploy • Educate content authors/maintainers on mobile presence, usability and functionality, and train them on how to create content for reuse

14. Mobile • We asked: • Does your institution have a mobile strategy in place? • Is your website currently responsive? • Do you have a separate mobile site? • Has your institution developed any mobile applications? • If yes, can you briefly describe what the app is for

15. Content strategy Sessions • Agile Marketing: Content Strategy & Content Analytics • Take a Picture: 2012’s Content & Engagement Trend • Content Strategy: Can the PSE Sector Make it Happen? Background of speakers • Hannon Hill (vendor) • Richard Ivey School of Business • York University

16. Content strategy Trends • Content strategy is being used across multiple channels in multiple ways: web, social media, video/photography, mobile, but not all institutions present as pseweb are using a strategy the same way • Regularly updated content, not flashy graphics or videos with set deadlines • Evergreen content • Content management systems are making content strategy more appealing • Social connection = student retention

17. Content strategy Best practices and guidance • “Chances are you’ve got pieces of a content strategy in your workflow, you just haven’t defined it. It shouldn’t be a thing ‘to do’, it’s the purpose and process behind what we do.” (Laura D’Amelio, York University) • Content strategy is an ongoing process and needs to be continuously updated, audit of legacy content is important too • Build user-generated content into the plan (social media contests) • Analyze  plan  architecture  content creation evaluation • Create templates

18. Content strategy We asked: • Are you using a Content Management System (CMS) to publish your website(s)? • If yes, which one? • Is your institution using a consistent CMS for all websites across campus? • Are you using a content strategy to dictate web content? If no, is there a plan to use content strategy in the future?

19. Usability & User Experience • Sessions: • “Increase admissions with analytics” • “Usability: Does your website pass or fail” • Speakers: • ISL Web Marketing and Development

20. Usability & User Experience • Trends • Common PSE web presence UX issues: complex URLs, scrolling text, overuse of complex animation, orphan pages and inaccessibility • Gaming and microsites are emerging in PSE to enhance specific marketing efforts (example: University of Calgary created a “heal the zombies” game to increase male enrollment in the nursing program. Result: Male applicants increased 47%).

21. Usability & User Experience • Best Practises & Guidance • Optimize content based on user priorities (set 3-5 user priorities) • Plan the user pathway and review analytics • Global navigation should be present throughout the site, on every page • uWaterloo passed! Was included as a good example • Gold star for content goes to: University of Lethbridge • Have fun with page errors, use notifications to encourage feedback and help the user find what they’re looking for • Advertisements must link to exact information • Plan for including social media throughout your site. Get used to providing the user with the ability to share any piece of info on your website