We want to hear from you! Let us know what you thought of the Winter 2022 online conference. Your feedback is critical to the board as decisions are made about future conferences and topics.
Friday, January 21
Informal Morning Networking
8:30 - 8:45 AM
Welcome & Business Meeting
8:45 AM - 9 AM
Keynote Panel: What’s in a Name?
9 AM - 10 AM
Rachel Biundo (John Tyler Community College), Brandy Boies (Lord Fairfax Community College), Amanda Broome (Patrick & Henry Community College), & Jeffrey J. Kraus (Virginia Community College System)
What do you do when your institution becomes fodder for an emotionally-charged debate? How do you navigate major institutional changes when the implications and layers of complexity run deeper than anyone could have anticipated? How do you educate key stakeholders on nuanced decision-making processes while addressing their concerns about the outcome of the decisions?
These are some of the issues five Virginia community colleges faced in 2021 when their names were called into question. Public debates raged, the press clamored, and each college faced an unanticipated strain on resources. Our panelists were in the thick of these challenges at their institutions. In many ways, the renaming process affected how their institutions manage donor and public relations, social media, and many other processes. During this panel discussion, you will not only hear key takeaways that the panelists discovered during the name change process, but you’ll also hear some helpful nuggets for any institution facing unexpected change.
Worst Practices - Mistakes We Make (and Ways to Avoid Them)
10 AM - 11 AM
J. Scott Parker
Virginia Tech
Seeing a polished news story, an emotionally captivating video, or an elegant campaign, the positive results of marketing efforts can almost seem to be a foregone conclusion. In this session, we will go the other way--exploring some of the presenter’s mistakes in creating marketing materials, as well as examining snafus from major brands outside of academia. It will also include a small group exercise with a hypothetical scenario in which participants will think through the potential pitfalls nestled within their seemingly foolproof communications plan. Participants will come away with a greater understanding of how to use student advisory boards to their advantage, how to establish expectations among collaborators, and how to address marketing mistakes once they’ve been made.
Leveraging Faculty Expertise in the News
11 AM - 12 PM
Jordan Fifer
Virginia Tech
It's no secret that earned media can be an incredibly effective source of marketing, sometimes on par with or even more productive than paid advertising, But how can higher education institutions maximize the positive publicity they receive in the news while contributing to the public discourse? This presentation will cover strategies to elevate faculty expertise in the existing news cycle, reflecting on COVID-19 as a long-term — and ongoing — study case.
Lunch Break
12 PM - 1 PM
Managing Social Media: How to use response trees and virtual operations support teams (VOSTs)
1 PM - 2 PM
Corey Byers & Tristana Trani
Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Commonwealth University's Public Affairs team has developed a system to best respond to a wide variety of social media posts, including complaints, reports of policy violations, alleged crimes and "social tattling." Working with communicators across the university, the team has developed a response tree for routine social posts. The team also utilizes an award-winning Virtual Operations Support Team (VOST) to track public sentiment and events, and to inform leadership as they develop timey communications on breaking issues. VOSTs, which have traditionally been used in the field of emergency management, and response trees, can both be replicated at other organizations.
Presentation Techniques to Enhance Retention
2 PM - 3 PM
Rachelle Kamrath
Marine Corps University
How to use slide design, delivery techniques, time management, and storytelling to help audiences retain our message.
Using Social Media to Build an Emotional Connection with Students and Prevent ‘Melt’ in the Virtual Era
3 PM - 4 PM
Sabiha Afrin & Chay Rao
American University
While enrollment numbers at the School of Public Affairs at American University stayed steady in the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, it soon became clear that students would not be able to return to campus in Fall 2020. With this news, new challenges emerged for SPA’s in-house communications team. How can they build excitement about upcoming classes that may exist only on Zoom? How can they tease the excitement of college life without a campus tour? Finally, how can they ensure that these students show up for a class in a virtual world?
Relatively quickly, they realized that their normal strategies of paid social ads and organic content would fall short of the deeper student connection they sought and that an overtly salesy approach would seem insensitive of the times. So, with direction from their dean, Vicky M. Wilkins, and SPA’s director of strategic communications, Chay Rao, the team rolled up their sleeves and designed an innovative social media campaign that doubled their video views across all platforms and saw the strongest engagement rate ever. This campaign helped them connect effectively with current and prospective students and compelled them to “show up” for that first day of the virtual class.
As we define the new normal for higher ed marketing after COVID-19, it is essential that we build innovative opportunities for a virtual connection. Chay and Sabiha will share their tried-and-tested strategies to tackle the communications and branding challenges for a virtual/hybrid education system post-COVID 19.
This presentation will focus on:
How to make your faculty your brand’s spokesperson on social media to attract and retain students.
Proven strategies, tips, and user-friendly apps/tools for designing an integrated video campaign and staging engaging virtual events using organic features.
The power of social listening and user-generated content in connecting with the higher-ed community.
At the end of this session, attendees will be able to develop innovative social media campaign strategies to achieve their own marketing and communications goals.