1. #PSEWEB 2012 Canada’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 Web Accessibility 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: 1.Is your institution currently creating online content with web accessibility guidelines in mind? 2.Is your institution currently mass communicating the importance of web accessibility to staff and faculty? 3.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)Terminal Four –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 (Academica Group): 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 BelfastQueens 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 lifecampusm.com –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: 1.Are you using a Content Management System (CMS) to publish your website(s)? 2.If yes, which one? 3.Is your institution using a consistent CMS for all websites across campus? 4.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 LethbridgeUniversity 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