2023 Sessions
2022 Sessions
Online Workshop: Accessible Social
Accessibility is a common priority when building websites and webpages. But have you considered how individuals with disabilities are engaging with your brand on social media? Are they experiencing accessibility barriers in y…
Hybrid Workshop: We didn’t start the fire – Social’s role in crisis
After more than a decade of content proliferation, the challenge of creating captivating news feeds, while simultaneously combating online controversy, has become crucial to continued social media success. In this 2-hour sess…
In-Person Workshop: How to Make Design Decisions that are Data-Driven, User-Centric, and Stakeholder-Influenced
Analytics and data-driven decision making have a distinct appeal in today’s digital landscape. We have more information than ever before about how people engage with our social media posts, our digital ads, and our website….
Charlene Lewis-Sutherland, Joan Butterworth, Joyce Peralta
Hybrid Workshop: How we show up – Building a community of practice for accessibility, diversity and inclusion
We all have a role to play in creating accessible, diverse, and inclusive environments at the universities and colleges where we work. But what does this mean for us as communicators and marketers? How does this apply to our …
2021 Sessions
2020 Sessions
2019 Sessions
Adventures in podcasting: Where it’s at – I’ve got no turntable and two microphones
At its most basic level, the mission for this podcast is to cover UTM research and profile UTM researchers. Our office wanted to provide new and fresh content, with a bit of a departure from print but also something slightly …
An illustrated journey to some sort of point about marketing
A hilarious tragicomedy, fully illustrated and animated in crayon, of an in-house graphic designer. Interjected with creative real-life case studies covering branding, campus retail/apparel, donor recognition, sports marketin…
Raquel Russell, Jesse Carliner
Beyond books: How the library can support higher ed communicators
Looking for #tbt content for your school? New research published by your faculty? Unique campus spaces? Compelling stories for media pitches and experts for interviews? Content for holidays and milestones? Libraries help with…
Krista Boniface, Lisa Lightbourn
Building trust in a time of uncertainty: A video series and social strategy that could
To get an authentic story across, nothing happens without relationship and trust. In times of high pressure, skepticism and little time, it can be difficult to get to the heart, truth and “why” of what moves a person. In …
Creating a consistent web experience across all faculties
As the Digital Experience team for the University of Calgary tasked with creating a leading edge experience for our audiences on the web, we faced a tough challenge: offering a consistent user experience across all our facult…
Discover if your campus culture evolved enough to create social media engagement and brand communities
This presentation is based off of my doctoral dissertation, a qualitative exploratory multi-case study around strategies used by social media managers in higher ed institutions to create engagement with stakeholders. The lite…
Jeff Riddall, Jonathan Migneault
How Laurentian University created a data-driven content strategy using SEO
We all know SEO is important, but the real question is — are you using it properly? How do you track the performance of your keywords and discover new ones? How do you know if you’re creating the right content and whe…
How to build community on social media
Let's bring the social back to social media! In this session, you'll learn how to develop authentic, relatable content, encourage conversation between staff, students, alumni and industry, strengthen your brand and drive user…
How to hack 10,000 student engagements: Four simple steps to highlight your program
The walls are covered in posters, Instagram is practically all adcon and influencers, how do you stand out anymore? Learn how a few simple techniques to get your program noticed….
How to train everyone in your organisation to write effective digital copy
The opportunity (and necessity) to create and manage digital content right across our organisations is massive, yet so often we either daren't trust people to do it, or we can't get them to deliver….
Interactive UX workshop
Come practice your UX skills and get to see what your fellow conference attendees are up to! This is an interactive session in which volunteers present quick demos of their projects to the group, and the audience provides st…
KEYNOTE: More than Behind the Scenes – Leadership Development for Digital Marketing Professionals
Dr. Josie Ahlquist has trained thousands of professionals and students around the globe on how to thrive online and in life. As a speaker, researcher and author on digital leadership she takes a personal approach to transfo…
Navigating relationships when no one knows what your job is
When I started working as the Digital Community Coordinator at Ontario Tech University, my position was brand new….
Project Welcome Wagon: The most ambitious crossover in YorkU history
Coeur de Lion Chronicles is a webseries that pairs Youtube videos and eNewsletters to create a seamless transition for incoming students from April to September. It covers important information, key deadlines, activities and …
Amanda MacKenzie, Simone Knapp
Reducing our digital footprint in order to improve the customer experience
A recent reorganization of our administrative services units provided an opportunity to re-imagine how we deliver information about our services….
RU Live? ‘Zooming’ in on armchair recruitment with webinars
Ryerson has been finessing its webinar program for prospective students and applicants for several years now, and today we engage students from 80+ countries each cycle and streamline how we share information on topics includ…
Send better emails
Email has a bad reputation — it's outdated, clunky, spam-filled, and, in many ways, can't take advantage of the modern Internet. But is the oldest and most widely used digital channel for peer-to-peer communications really a…
Sharing Indigenous student stories
Enrolment for Indigenous students at Saskatchewan Polytechnic has increased 31 per cent since 2011-12. Currently Indigenous students represent 19 per cent of the student population….
Supporting social media ambassadors
Saskatchewan Polytechnic has 12 affiliate social media accounts (and growing) run by internal subject matter experts, including instructors and coordinators. The Communications and Marketing team is providing training and sup…
Taking it to the next level: Strategies for making good UX a team effort
At McGill, the amount of effort and emphasis put into UX research for web projects has grown substantially over the past few years. This has resulted in more frequent testing, a growing pool of data and increased involvement …
The ABCs of digital marketing for PSEs – Analytics, Bench-marking, and Conversions
We often hear presentations regarding analytics, bench-marking, and conversions that are designed for businesses based in repeat customers. This presentation will look at the unique world of PSE, where long sales cycles and s…
The digital leader: Risks and rewards of having the President on social media
A new national study of Canadian university presidents/principals on social media will be shared alongside insights into how to better integrate the digital leader into the university brand while protecting the reputation of …
The Terminator: Blowing up our website to save our strategy
A website older than time itself. A CMS that crumbled at the slightest touch. And pages upon pages of scattered, scared and out of date content. It wasn’t just non-responsive, it was DOA. We needed to save ourselves from th…
Writing for Santa
Today, university leaders are expected to be active on social media. Whether they handle their own accounts or expect you to do it for them, it's still your job to keep them out of trouble and on message….
2018 Sessions
A Digital Romance: Using Content Modelling and Structured Content to Build Better Relationships Between Your Content and Colleagues
Schools, colleges and universities are complex beasts. The consequence of our vast structures and a great many roles that we play in the world is a system that tends to work in silos. Sadly, our websites, information manageme…
Beyond Strategy: Social Media for Community Engagement
More than a way to inform and drive traffic, social media is a gateway to communities, partners and media, and a source of (mis)information. How might you use insights on a daily or weekly basis to shape the stories you tell …
Capturing the International Experience
Have you ever wondered how to meaningfully capture and tell the stories of students who are making a difference abroad?…
Facebook Live – Connecting with Students to Provide Live Answers to Common Questions
Student Central at Western University has been using Facebook Live to connect with applicants and current students since the summer of 2016. Learn how we use Facebook Live to add a personal touch to our students' interaction …
Facebook’s new New NEW Algorithm: Epic Data Share
The great and noble Facebook is pulling newsfeed real estate from Pages and making room for meaningful, spirit-lifting content from that person you share nothing with except maybe an obligation to friend each other….
Help, My Website Project is Going Off the Rails – Now What?
During the start of a website project, we see everything through rose coloured glasses. Before long the honeymoon phase is over and nothing seems to be going right. Does this sound familiar?…
How to Make Measurement and Analytics Part of Everybody’s Job – Without Causing a Riot
We all know that data and analytics are key to effective marketing, but we also know how daunting it can be to incorporate measurement in meaningful ways. Sometimes it seems like you need a PhD in quantitative analysis just t…
How to Migrate to HTTPS and Win at SEO (in Plain English)
Google has started displaying the "Not secure" message in Chrome browsers for non-HTTPS sites with any form of data collection (i.e. mailing list signup form) as of October 2017. For brand reputation and safeguarding visitors…
How to really tell an Instagram Story
Ephemeral content on Instagram Stories may seem like a fading trend, but with 300 million active users watching them and rising, there is serious marketing potential to be had in mastering them….
Ken Steele Keynote – Automating Educating: Tech Trends and the Future of PSE
Increasingly sophisticated digital technologies have already transformed campus libraries and classrooms, textbooks and administrative functions, and soon, emerging AR and VR will revolutionize student labs and experientia…
KEYNOTE: How Silos Learn – Working in the Idea Factory
Silos can keep us from doing our best work, but when you're in the middle of a silo – and maybe that silo is inside another silo – can you even make a difference? And where do you start?…
KEYNOTE: Optimizing Your PsyCap Mindset
Resilience is a powerful skill and capability that can be developed. It is the ability to bounce back from obstacles and setbacks to achieve higher levels of performance. It requires developing positive adaptation processes …
Making the One-to-One Dream a Reality: Creating a Personalized Web Experience to Drive Enrollment and Giving
Personalization is the next tactic in your marketing toolkit, giving you the keys to make one-to-one marketing a reality for higher education. Many marketers are intrigued by the possibility of personalization, but wary of th…
Rethinking Search Results from the Users’ Perspective
Post-secondary websites have evolved a lot over the past decade. Search results pages have hardly changed. We're long overdue to envision better ways to help users find what they're looking for, faster and with fewer frustrat…
Shaking hands with the developer: How IT Communications can help you build a better website
The IT Communications team at McGill University provides communication methods and services based on the needs of the McGill community. When it comes to McGill’s websites, this means ensuring communications and web professi…
Elizabeth DiEmanuele, Jacqueline Hampshire
Small Budget, Big Impact: Create Engaging Digital Stories
When you have a small budget, creative storytelling is the most valuable commodity in your digital toolbox. Sometimes, it’s even an opportunity to achieve the unexpected: a real, genuine connection between your target audie…
More geese, less art: Learning from your best and worst social analytics
In December 2017, we made a social media campaign out of our most-loved social media posts of the year. Not only did it make for some great filler-content for the holiday break to re-purpose some of the year’s highlights, b…
The Science of Reddit
Western University has begun incorporating Reddit and the Ask Me Anything subreddit as a way to engage with community when announcing groundbreaking research and partnerships. In this talk, Mathew Hoy will discuss how to get …
Using Diary Studies to Track Long-term Usability Results
Diary studies are the unsexy user research method but a perfect match for university campuses and websites. The nature of this user research method provides not only immediate feedback but a longitudinal view of user behavior…
UX for Higher-Ed: Web Renewal with a User-Focused Approach
Laurier has leveraged a user-focused approach in its ongoing web renewal project. In this presentation, we will walk through our research strategy and methods, showcase some of our findings, and discuss how we translated this…
Video as fashion: what’s new on the digital runways for 2018
Remember that awful outfit you wore to prom? Just like fashion, video is a constantly evolving communication channel. Join us as we examine some of the recent trends in how videos for PSE are captured, edited and distributed….
Why Marketing to Online Students is like Online Dating (and how to be good at it)
"Do they give a good visual impression? Do they have kids? What do they do for a living? Where does he/she see themself in 5 years?"…
Dynamic Duos: Win both the Mobile Web and Social Media with Accessibility and Standards
Google, Facebook and Apple have all launched accelerated, mobile-friendly formats to improve performance – because as a whole, the web wasn't cutting it. We were slow, bloated, bogged down in pixels and scripts….
Your Poster is Ugly: Tales from a Multi-Year Digital Recruitment Campaign
Your boss magically grants your wishes and announces that they’re giving you multi-year, digital-specific recruitment budget – you should be thrilled, right!? But where do you even begin when you’re piloting a new initiat…
2016 Sessions
Keiko Kataoka, Christine Worrall
Beyond Marketing: A Collaborative Approach to Social Media that Includes Employees and Students
While Marketing is often responsible for an institution’s primary social media accounts, it’s important to partner with owners of accounts in other departments, faculties and programs and go beyond listing them in a direc…
‘Brand’ is NOT a four letter word
Afraid to use the word 'brand' in meetings with deans or faculty? Used to seeing eyes glaze over when you speak about 'positioning' and 'promise'?…
Engagement: Not Just For Social Media Anymore
Many have developed variations of an engagement index for web; however, in most cases, the index uses variables customized to the purpose, the market or the industry of the website. Moreover, few have attempted development of…
Andrea Karpala, Heather Martin
Everything on the Internet is Free, Right?
Ever wonder if that meme you’re sharing could get you in legal trouble? Worry that your social media intern is sharing copyrighted images or videos? If you’ve answered yes to either of these questions, this session is for…
Facebook Groups: Using engagement to help students take the reins
At Western University we engage our students and enable their ability to manage their own academic experiences. We do this through Facebook class of groups that allow students a safe environment to ask questions, get help f…
From Crotch Shot Revenge to Suspension – or worse, Criminal Charges: teaching your students to be in control of their digital identity
Your students represent your brand, they wear your school's swag and they identify themselves as students of your school. They are your ambassadors whether you want them to be or not; what they do and say and how they behave …
How to Build a PSE UX Team
User experience is a massive competitive advantage that must be measured and adjusted continuously. It can't wait for the next redesign or new project. Jonathan will use his experience working with PSE web and comms teams to …
How to say a lot with a little: The #umorientation advice project
Orientation is a rite of passage for any student. But how do you get to know a campus of 40,000+ students and employees in just two short days? With an outstanding student experience being paramount at the UofM, we knew we wa…
KEYNOTE – Prepare to Enter the Matrix: The Online Future for Higher Education
Higher education already facilitates greater volume and intensity of online stakeholder interactions than virtually any other sector, but the next two decades will bring exponential demands and ever-accelerating change….
KEYNOTE – Trials, tribulations, and triumphs: how we successfully collaborated with big brands and influencers.
New into the world of social influencers, in 2015 Newfoundland & Labrador Tourism went headfirst into an Instagram partnership with Destination Canada and Herschel in its campaign ‘Journey – Newfoundland & Labrador’, on…
Lessons learned from hundreds of usability tests with high school students.
In the past 10 years Mike has conducted almost 400 usability tests with high school students. Since most institutions don't take advantage of this valuable, cost-effective research tool, come to this session to learn insights…
Overhauling your website: more than a fresh coat of paint
Your website is your front door in the digital era. A fresh new design will grab attention, but you’ll need a good content strategy to achieve your goals….
Pandora’s Inbox: How a Simple Idea Got a Life of Its Own
It seems like a simple solution. Our students were getting too many emails from faculty and staff, so we created a weekly "bulletin" to consolidate them. But what started two years ago has continued to develop and evolve….
Panel – Keep up with the Joneses: Staying Current with New Tools and Tech
Responsive design is standard. Scrolling is back in style. Half the web technologies you read about on Mashable are new to you. Sprites? Vector images? CDNs? None of these were standard in 2010….
Panel – Mission Impossible: Political and Practical Sides of Governance
How do you meet regulatory and funding criteria while strengthening your market position at the same time? How do you manage change in your department? What happens when your school gets a new president and strategies shift?…
Panel – “Is that what the kids are calling it?” — Digital Student Recruitment in 2016
Are you doing something interesting / fun / controversial on your website, geared for prospective students? Are you using social media to reach out to potential applicants in new ways? Have you had any surprising results or r…
Pre-Conference Event
Get to know your fellow conference attendees on the Sunday night before the conference! Join us for a multi-venue tour of George Street in downtown St John’s. The fun starts at 5pm, when we’ll depart from the Delta St. Jo…
Profiling Your People in Bulk (to save time and $$)
A small team and budget can have a big impact. Through showcasing two main examples, this workshop will explain how a team of two at the Ontario Agricultural College of the University of Guelph profiled people in bulk to save…
Reports Worth Reading: 21 Century Storytelling
Traditional data reports are boring, soulless, unreadable, and forgettable. It's time we invoked better storytelling in our "reports", using all the power and tools available from the digital world, to find engaging ways to s…
Rocket Room Reception
Take an hour or two to connect with other #PSEWEBbies over delicious appetizers and drinks in the Rocket Room, located on the third floor of the Neyle-Soper Building, a heritage building that used to house a hardware store, a…
Let Me Take a #Selfie: Seneca’s Instagram Story
In the blink of a Snapchat, communicating visually has turned from a method into an art form. As a postsecondary institution it’s increasingly difficult to decide which platforms to invest in and which ones to leave behind….
Julia Beltrano, Melissa Cheater
#shortvideo
Are gif’s back-to-being-the-future? Are still images SO last year? What is a cinemagraph?Welcome to the world of #shortvideo. Facebook counts just three seconds as a video view. Vine is laughing all the way to the Twitter n…
Social media is 90% of your job and only 1% of theirs. Help them do more with that 1%.
You are the brave and sometimes lonely person that leads social media at your institution. You are tasked with managing the main accounts and providing internal support where possible. How can you really build capacity withou…
#ThanksFacebook: the new algorithm that haunts us all.
In shocking news: Facebook’s algorithm turned on us all again. Delivering content to subscribers was as basic to Facebook as Pumpkin Spice Lattes are to the liquid fashion conscious among us….
The Accessible User Experience
Let's be honest. As soon as you saw the word accessible, your eyes glazed over and you were tempted to skip to the next presentation on the schedule. Am I right? Because honestly, how interesting can accessibility be?…
Tragedy, Pitchforks and Twitter: Managing Campus Crises on Social Media
2015 was a tough year for social media at University of South Carolina. With a campus shooting, a student incident that went viral, a literal natural disaster, and this little thing called the Confederate flag, the social tea…
Trigger Fingers < Twitter Fingers: Crisis Social Media Lessons by Aubrey 'Drake' Graham
In the summer of 2014, rapper Meek Mill levelled the serious allegation of ghost writing at international hip hop sensation and light-box dancing enthusiast Aubrey 'Drake' Graham. What followed was a series of social media to…
Web pages, right?!? Simplifying web page strategy
Walk away having learned new techniques on how to build a web page with rock-solid strategy. We, as colleges and universities, build new web pages, modify existing ones, and counsel colleagues on their pages countless times t…
Webistars! How Seneca Uses Digital Information Sessions to Reach Prospective Students
Seneca began delivering online info sessions in the summer of 2015. What started as an experiment has since become one of our most measurably successful recruitment tools. Seriously, some of our webinars have converted up to …
Writing it old school – the evolution of a hashtag campaign
It’s the personal touch that makes the difference. Waterloo’s hashtag campaign evolved from a print media tracking initiative to a confirmation campaign. But, the value lies in how print and digital come together to compl…
You and What Army? Strategies and tactics for achieving full-bodied marketing with a skeleton crew.
Is your job in fact three? Four? Do you wear so many hats people mistake you for a millener? Matt understands — he's been running full-bore marketing with a bare-bones team, and will break down both practical strategies an…
2015 Sessions
Sunday Social – #PSEWEB Tweetup
Get to know your fellow conference attendees on the Sunday night before the conference starts by joining us for a multi-venue tour of downtown Montreal….
A no zombie zone: managing people in content strategy
Content strategy causes feelings. For us these feelings are wrapped in a nerdy glow, but for our coworkers these feelings may hinder your implementation. Fears, agendas, prejudices, past experiences and more lurk within commu…
A student is a student: breaking down communication silos
York University’s Division of Students is embarking on a new content-sharing model for communicating with students, harnessing the momentum of student engagement as students move from prospective to new to continuing studen…
Web-based, touch screen interfaces – a homegrown perspective
A presentation on the current use of touch screens at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT). This will include descriptions of past, current and future plans for our information kiosks, digital alumni and d…
Beyond the Blog – Migrating to WordPress as your CMS
In 2014, Brescia University College migrated our full range of web sites from a mix of static HTML and expensive proprietary systems to WordPress as a CMS….
Breaking Down Silos – Empowering Colleagues to Leverage Social Media
Many of us in higher education work in silos, especially when it comes to social media. With accounts cropping up across campus it can be difficult to ensure your messages are heard above the noise….
Creating Diverse Storyworlds and why it works for HigherEd
What does it mean in today's digital age to tell a really diverse story? This session will look at how brands are developing characters that play across multiple mediums to bring a new level of depth to their stories….
Feeding the beast: connecting UBC’s content strategy and digital ecosystem
The Communications & Marketing team at UBC was producing rich and engaging brand stories, but the audience wasn't what we hoped it would be. Our content strategy was disconnected from our social channels, and that link needed…
#FollowTheLeader: Lessons in Social Media Success from #HigherEd CEOs
Higher ed leaders increasingly need support from their marketing and communications teams to be more effective in their engagement and communication on social media….
Getting to the Good Stuff and Why Less is STILL More!
Digital marketing and content management have really transitioned from the stage of HOW to maintain/update fresh content on the site to WHAT content to maintain….
How to be famous: Recruitment through live internet broadcast
We've all been there — sitting through yet another unengaging and boring webinar. The presenters slides seem somewhat interesting but they've got that same monotonous drawl as the presenter from the last webinar you sat in o…
How To Utilize Social Media for an Institutional Giving Day
From December 2-4, the University of Guelph held 'The U of G 50 Challenge', where the goal was to raise $50, 000 in 50 hours, from 1964 donors. Our community came together to raise over $197,000 in 50 hours!…
Inclusive UX: We are all disabled, or soon might be.
By design, the Web was meant as a universal platform where everyone could easily access information. But ask anyone who has a disability impacting how they use computers and you will soon discover that for many, navigating th…
KEYNOTE: JavaScript ♥ Unicode
This presentation explains the various ways in which JavaScript relies on Unicode, what the consequences are for JavaScript developers, and how ECMAScript 6 will make our lives a bit easier in this regard….
Keep up with not the Jones’ but with Google
In order to stay top of mind to today’s sophisticated searchers, search engines must continuously update their algorithms to make sure the most relevant and informative results are presented in the SERPs (Search Engine Resu…
Keeping People in the User Experience
Think how much planning goes into creating a great user experience (UX) before launching a new web asset. It starts shiny and new and it makes your audiences happy. But how do you keep them that way? 6 months after launch is …
KEYNOTE: Falling in love (again) with… Analytics
How would you best describe your relationship status with digital analytics and data in your work? It's complicated, engaged, married for life, separated, prefer not to say?…
KEYNOTE: Weavers Unwoven – The Past Year in #PSEWEB and a Glimpse of the Future
Canada’s leading higher ed monitor and futurist, Ken Steele, will open the conference with a fast-paced, dynamic overview of digital media trends and developments over the past year. Plenty of institutions have launched soc…
Launch Your Own Social Media Ambassadors Program
Seven students for seven days. That’s the basis of our 100% volunteer based Social Media Ambassadors program at the University of Guelph….
LUNCH & KEYNOTE: #PSEWEB Winners and Sinners
Over lunch, Ken Steele will provide an entertaining and somewhat cynical multimedia review of recent higher ed highs and lows in social media. The past year saw plenty of social media gaffes and controversies, petitions and p…
One Tool to Rule Them All: Sprout Social at #WesternU
49 social media accounts, six faculties, eleven departments, three campuses with one social media tool and one training program….
#RoadToRyerson: How to Run a Kick-Ass, Yet Meaningful, Campaign
Social Media is but a communication tool we use to do what we've been doing for centuries: tell stories. And who tells student stories better than students themselves?…
Social Media Customer Service: 140 Characters to Make a Difference
This session looks at what students’ expectations on internet are and how student affairs professionals can address them to offer effective customer service via social media….
Student Recruitment for the Mobile Generation
Your school’s prospective students live in a mobile connected world. They’re using mobile to research schools, connect to admissions staff and in a growing number of cases, apply to your institution….
Hamza Khan, Bailey Parnell, Tesni Ellis
Teamwork = Dream Work: Creating + Managing In-House Marketing Agencies
Facebook's recently absorbed the award-winning agency, Teehan+Lax, in a move that mirrors other major power plays; Shopify acquired Jet Cooper; Accenture acquired Fjord; Adobe acquired Behance; Square acquired 80/20….
Teenage Mutant Ninja Bloggers: Managing student content teams
Student blogs can be some of your most genuine and well received content. To capitalize on this recruitment and retention opportunity, I propose an analysis of best practices and lessons learned….
The Imitation Game—the war against unofficial social media accounts
What do you do when one of your students creates an unofficial "Class of" Facebook group, slaps your logo on it, and fills it with links to sites you'd rather not associate with your institution?…
This doesn’t suck! UWaterloo students excited about their new portal
Has your institution perfected student communications? … Neither have we, but we think we have a game changer….
From inside the head of an 18 year old
Using the key forms of digital analytics (content analysis, benchmark analysis, sentiment analysis, influencer analysis, and socialgraphics) to develop a content strategy that resonates with an 18 year old….
UBC.ca – A Shift in Paradigm
In 2014, the University of British Columbia released a new version of its top-level website, UBC.ca. The change marked the beginning of a fundamental shift in paradigm in how UBC approaches its main web channel, moving from a…
User Journey Mapping in HigherEd
Rooted in creating a user-centric product (website, mobile app, social media channels), the concept of User Journey Mapping can be a cornerstone for projects in higher education….
When It Hits the Fan: Social Media Crisis Comms
Crises are now real-time public phenomena. Institutions that can't plan in advance & respond quickly pay the price. So what do you do first? What do you listen for? How do you know when to respond and what to respond to?…
Why a beautiful campus but a digital wasteland?
Every college has access to shovels, soil, seeds, trimmers, yet why are some campuses places of beauty for education while others are not? It's not the tools, it is an expression of values, leadership, and discipline that ena…
2014 Sessions
Are UXperienced?
Let’s be honest — User Experience (UX) has become this year’s new black. What is it? How do I get it? Is UX the same thing as UI? How do I know if I have it? Can I really do it on a shoestring budget?…
Before and After: An Assistive Technology Demonstration
This presentation will benefit anyone who is involved in creating web content, or has a stake in an organization's website….
Building a Responsive College Site
How did we create a website that works on the many different platforms our students are using, but still allows us to easily maintain content? Responsive design to the rescue!…
Content Management for the Masses
Content strategy will only get us so far. The success of our sites depends on a regimen of daily care and feeding, often by content experts without the time or passion to do it….
Cool Story, Bro – Memes as Social Marketing Strategy
Whether using biblical quotes or placing black and white text over an image of a cat, Western society has long used “memes” as cultural shorthand; a means of expressing complex emotions and wit in as few words or images a…
Creating a Great Mobile User Experience
Smartphone and tablet use has outpaced desktop, especially among prospective students. Learn how you can create successful user experiences that bridge the channel gap as people jump from device to device, or from email, ads …
Data Driven Design: How Website Usability Testing Can Impact Your Design Decisions
Higher education websites are inherently complex; they serve multiple audiences with a variety of needs. By nature, they become hard to navigate and difficult for users to accomplish tasks….
Exploring the present state and potential future of the news industry
The way we produce, consume and distribute news has evolved at an alarming rate over the past decade — and the changes aren’t going to be slowing down any time soon….
Hart House Reception
Just a short walk away on the beautiful University of Toronto campus, take an hour or two to connect with other #PSEWEBbies over apps* & drinks at Hart House….
How (and why) to make your colleagues better communicators
Or, how decentralized communications can make your job easier and more effective. When you teach your non-communications colleagues some tricks of the trade, they don't come after your job….
How to Measure Absolutely Everything
In the era of big data, analytics and results-based decision making, the need to prove and justify the viability of all your communications properties has never been more relevant. But, with websites and emails and SMS and vi…
In-House Web Teams that Work
Learn what skills and roles you’ll need in-house to design, build and manage websites end-to-end. Focusing specifically on small team design we'll look at ways to set web team standards and decide on the right in-house to…
Inbound, Outbound and All Around: Content Marketing
This session will cover both the “inbound” and “outbound” components of a modern-day content marketing strategy—from SEO, content creation, social media, email marketing and landing pages to paid advertising, direct…
Keeping It Real: What Authenticity Should Look Like In Social Media
Disruption is a thing of the past. Generic and manipulative social media is easily detectable and ineffective. Not being an authentic and genuine part of your community's daily lives is a recipe for failure….
Melissa Cheater, JP Rains, Kristina Doyle, Matt Terry
Let’s Engage: Social Media Panel
This panel discussion will feature Social Media leads fostering discussion around Social Media at their institutions….
Marketing Between Friends: Story Telling + Content Tips From The Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, and Toronto FC.
Jon will showcase how one organization’s approach to creating and sharing content has created a unique relationship with fans, looking at examples of how the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors and Toronto FC connect with …
Measuring In-Person Recruitment Effectiveness with Social Media
Our Undergraduate Admissions and Recruitment department, like all institutions, has multiple interaction points with students before they make the all-important choice of where to attend school in September….
#pancaketweetup
Tuesday’s breakfast will include pancakes, as an extension of July’s official #pancaketweetup just before on July 26th. Eat brekkie & tweet a picture with caption and hashtag #pancaketweetup. Watch the #pancaketweetup has…
Paying your way to the top – Advertising on Facebook + Twitter
You should think that you can get to the top of the social networks organically. This should be the "right" way to get ahead. Well, it isn't exclusively the way to get there. Advertising on Facebook and Twitter, with a budget…
#PSEWEB Tweetup & Pub Crawl
Join fellow conference folk for a multi-venue tour about the neighbourhood’s yummiest & quirkiest. The fun starts at 5:30 pm, when we’ll depart from the hotel lobby on foot to Scaddabush at 382 Yonge Street, which is abou…
Putting users first: The Overhaul of uOttawa.ca
The new uOttawa.ca website went live in November of 2013 to the musical tweets and likes of students and for those who are passionate about creating a user-design experience….
Redesigning the Redesign
The instant your fancy new website goes online is the instant you notice all the things that are wrong with it. Resenting the political aspects of the site, disliking the size of a font, how those two – little – things don’…
Small Fish, Big Pond: A discussion about web governance and digital opportunities in a multi-campus university setting
Working on a satellite campus can often come hand-in-hand with its own set of challenges and limitations, but can also provide a wealth of opportunities for innovation, nimbleness, and creativity….
Social Media – Feeding the Beasts
For the past decade, social media has become ubiquitous in marketing conversations in all industries. And the educational space is not exempt from these conversations….
Social media monitoring & measurement for marketing intelligence
Are you actively listening to your audience? How are you measuring your marketing impact on them? Have you got your crisis tripwires set up? What about your reports to management?…
Start Making Your Website Accessible Today
Does your website meet web accessibility standards? Do you know the steps to take to start making your website compliant today? Do you know about Canada’s web accessibility standards?…
Successful Social Media Marketing: 2,300 Likes in < 12 hours: How we overcame The We Don’t Do Stupid Generation
In September 2013, we knew we could no longer just exist on social media so we started to do something about it….
That Buzzfeed Though
To celebrate our one year anniversary on Instagram, Western University launched a Buzzfeed.com account and posted its first article – a recap of our favourite Instagram posts over the previous twelve months….
The Connected College | Designing a Digital Enterprise
In 2012, Algonquin College completed a significant rebranding effort, giving birth to the Connected College. Taking its new positioning to heart, the College began shaping an ambitious plan to demonstrate industry leadership …
The Great Unbundling
Higher Education is getting flattened which is defined as “when the impact of the Internet and globalization render an industry unrecognizable, and in many cases, obsolete.”…
Twitter: Tweets that engage, not “promote” the email you received from department X
We all get those emails asking us to “promote, raise awareness or advertise” the most recent thing students won’t care about on social media. This session will focus on how to turn those boring emails into tweets that e…
Use Social Media to Connect with the Right Students
Simple communication strategies and social media tools can help maintain student enthusiasm for enrolling in your program and keeping applicants engaged through the “out of sight, out of mind” summer months….
Using Webcasts to Engage Communities
For the past four years we’ve been connecting with our applicants through weekly live, interactive webcasts. In that time we’ve reached out to almost 50,000 students and logged over 1.4M viewer minutes….
Web Wars: A New Hope
Planning the governance, architecture and content of a website can sometimes feel like a sci-fi trilogy. With stakeholders, HiPPOs and your gut all giving you conflicting ideas, where do you take the first step?…
Web Writing Workshop
As web content editor with Memorial University's Division of Marketing and Communications, Andrea Kelly has developed a workshop to help staff, faculty and students write effective web content….
When design and functionality are not enough
The success of a web transformation project is dependent on more than just design and functionality. That's too limiting. It must be seen in the context of a comprehensive and inclusive marketing plan….
“Why Are Students Leaving Facebook?!” – The Future Of Digital Community In PSE
Blame it on intrusive advertising, increasingly convoluted user experiences and your grandmother: 11 millions teens have left Facebook since 2011. And the exodus shows no sign of slowing down….
Writing for the Web
People read differently online so you need to write differently. If the content on your website is a copy-paste of what it is in print, this session is for you. Good web writing will not only attract people and increase finda…
You’re Just One Non-Expert
As communicators for our schools, it’s our job to get the exciting, useful information developed by our faculty and staff out of the ivory towers and into our communities. We have strategies to do this, but there’s so muc…