{"id":5407,"date":"2014-11-20T13:12:11","date_gmt":"2014-11-20T18:12:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/meetcontent.com\/?p=5407"},"modified":"2017-04-20T00:27:57","modified_gmt":"2017-04-20T04:27:57","slug":"confab-higher-ed-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/meetcontent.com\/blog\/confab-higher-ed-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"Making Change at Confab Higher Ed 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Confab<\/a>
If there’s Confab Higher Ed, there’s smart content\u2014and tasty cake.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Last week, a bunch of smart higher education content professionals landed in Atlanta for the second annual Confab Higher Ed cake party. Er, rather, the second annual Confab Higher Ed conference.<\/p>\n

More than just a project show-and-tell, the conference presenters used their accomplishments and experiences to touch on some of the pervasive themes that inform all of our work. These include trust, internal communication and collaboration, and how to continue improving and innovating amidst sometimes challenging circumstances.<\/p>\n

We will update this post with a link to the complete list of published presentation slides when it is available. In the meantime, here are some of the sessions that resonated with us.<\/p>\n

Build Trust and Understanding with Your Audience<\/h2>\n

Michael Freedman<\/a>, Director of Editorial and Content at Stanford Graduate School of Business talked about showcasing faculty research in a compelling way. In discussing this, Freedman uncovered a fundamental quality of successful content: good storytelling. As higher education institutions, our mission is to share ideas\u2014to teach. We need to \u201cfocus on stories that teach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead of falling victim to routine content creation that treats content as a task rather than a resource with purpose and value, Freedman challenges us to ask ourselves: \u201cIs this going to help people? Is it going to explain the world better?\u201d Let\u2019s aim for an enthusiastic, \u201cYes!\u201d<\/p>\n

SUNY Oswego\u2019s Tim Nekritz<\/a> and his student worker Alyssa Levenberg<\/a> shared their experiences creating and sharing "Alyssa Explains it All”<\/a>\u2014a video series geared toward prospective students. One of the most important lessons gleaned from their work is the importance of trust. Nekritz trusts Levenberg not just for her communications and technical skill, but in her ability to represent the institution accurately and in its best interests. There will be setbacks and mistakes, but it\u2019s all part of a learning process. Another is the need to keep the big picture in mind. It\u2019s not about pageviews or retweets, but rather how we are advancing the strategic goals of the institution.<\/p>\n

This session continued the Confab Higher Ed tradition of featuring student speakers, which is extraordinary given our role as institutions of higher education and the significant role students play in helping us achieve our communications goals. Congrats and great job, Alyssa!<\/p>\n

Penn State\u2019s Robin Smail<\/a> spoke about the importance of usability testing and iterative site evolutions. The greatest strength of her talk was in sharing multiple case studies from various institutions that illustrated how user testing can make or break the success of a website. Smail also emphasized the value of measuring (and reporting) the impact of site changes over time.<\/p>\n

In recommending best practices for testing, she advocates bringing in stakeholders as observers, basing personas on observed data, establishing content priorities, and distinguishing yourself from your user. Amen.<\/p>\n

Improve Internal Communication<\/h2>\n

As content professionals, we\u2019ve been there. We do our homework, uncover content problems, find possible solutions. We\u2019re ready to get things moving. We want to develop a content strategy and make positive change, but we\u2019re stuck communicating the value of this effort to leadership who see other priorities more easily than a content audit. Amanda Costello<\/a>, Lead Content Strategist at University of Minnesota has been there too.<\/p>\n

Selling content strategy is a continuous process\u2014we need to be prepared to make the case for quality content. Our ability to communicate value effectively also \u201clowers the cost of understanding,\u201d whether your cost be time, scope, or money.<\/p>\n

Costello aims to break down content strategy for internal stakeholders (\u201cThe internet is real and you have a role\u201d) as well as our role ("I make sure the content on our site is useful for the people who need it\u201d). By simplifying the purpose and value of content strategy and relating it to others\u2019 work we can have meaningful conversations that make change happen.<\/p>\n

John Eckman<\/a>, CEO of 10up, talked about how content professionals can communicate and work with engineers and developers<\/a> more effectively. Why is this so important? Because the advent of mobile, responsive web design, and adaptive content demands it. The various disciplines associated with making websites having folded in upon themselves, and we much change the way we work accordingly.<\/p>\n

Some of his tips include establishing shared problems and shared goals, but also thinking of content as data and weaving content strategy throughout the development process. These changes are in the best interests of both content strategists and developers, as they make the development process more efficient.<\/p>\n

Dave Olsen<\/a> of West Virginia University delivered an important presentation that dove deep into the overlap between content, design, and development<\/a>. Our websites will work best, he argued, if their designs are \u201cstress-tested\u201d with actual content and if the browser replaces Photoshop as the place where design happens.<\/p>\n

Olsen explored the idea of patterns (which represent content, presentation, and mark-up) as one way of approaching this issue (and helping break down silos) and asserted the value of implementing content-based breakpoints in responsive designs. He also shared a great tool developed by the folks at Sparkbox, a content priority guide, that serves as a bridge between audit and architecture, and wireframes for specific page types.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Let \u201cPerfect\u201d Get in the Way of Progress<\/h2>\n

University of Rochester\u2019s Lori Packer<\/a> gave hope to those who feel that content strategy is daunting by exploring some \u201ccontent tactics\u201d<\/a>\u2014which by her definition are \u201cthings you can do at 3 o\u2019clock on a Tuesday to delight a reader or viewer, reinforce an important message, or help another human get something done in this world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Packer\u2019s four-step framework includes focusing on the things that matter (like livestreaming the events with the most demand, such as student music ensembles), doing those things really well (like the U of R\u2019s LEGO-themed April Fools homepage<\/a>), tell everyone about the cool thing you did (like Wayne State University\u2019s Web Communications team blog<\/a> does, or by winning awards), and measure the results (such as demonstrating the cultural penetration of content by including social stats as well as web analytics). In the words of George Washington, \u201cRemember that it is the actions, and not the commission, that make the officer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shelley Keith<\/a> from University of Mary Washington defines governance as \u201cmaking sure the website is working for the institution and effectively stewarding the resource.\u201d Governance also supports both site users and site stewards, because only by attending to both populations can you have a successful website.<\/p>\n

Keith’s idea of \u201cnon-invasive\u201d governance<\/a>, the topic of her Confab Higher Ed talk, takes into account what will work given available resources, organizational culture, and the small steps you can take to instill governance into existing processes. This can be justified by considering what opportunities you would have if your site were improved and what a lack of governance currently prohibits you from doing.<\/p>\n

Break the Mold and Do Better Work<\/h2>\n

Doug Gapinski<\/a>, Strategist at mStoner, talked about some of the most important\u2014and often most neglected\u2014pages on college websites: academic program pages. When prospective students open Google they search for areas of study, not schools schools. When they search for degrees in social work, they find academic program pages, not admissions pages, not college homepages.<\/p>\n

Academic program pages are some of the top landing pages on college websites\u2014many times they *are* our homepage. But, as homepages, how well do these landing pages answer users\u2019 top questions, or represent the culture and values of our institution? Do people understand the value of learning at our institution? Do they understand the costs? Do they know what to do next?<\/p>\n

Gapinski shares some valuable research and offers practical tips for improving program, major, and degree pages<\/a>. If you haven\u2019t taken a good look at these pages on your website, now might be a good time.<\/p>\n

Content strategist Kerry-Anne Gilowey<\/a> talked about the content tool everyone loves to complain about: CMS. They story doesn\u2019t start that way, though. At the beginning, we are full of excitement and hope for our new CMS. It\u2019s just after we implement it and people use it that we start to complain. Wouldn\u2019t it be nice if we could select, customize, and implement a CMS that actually met our needs? Quite an idea, eh?<\/p>\n

Gilowey shares her process for identifying CMS requirements<\/a>, including considerations for information architecture, metadata, authoring and review, governance, analytics and reporting, and publishing and distribution. The right CMS cannot be chosen based on features alone. It\u2019s not a question of whether a CMS *can* do something, it\u2019s about HOW it does it.<\/p>\n

To select a CMS that works, you need to know how content happens and how authors work at your institution. Selecting a CMS, like all content strategy efforts is an exercise in setting priorities and making compromises. Your CMS will not meet everyone\u2019s needs perfectly, but like your website, with careful planning we can implement a CMS that addresses everyone\u2019s needs and works for the best case scenerio.<\/p>\n

Mike Petroff<\/a>, Digital Content Strategist at Harvard University talked about social strategy<\/a>. Or, as this higher ed rebel likes to call it: content strategy. He relates the core elements of content strategy [link] to social strategy to develop a plan that is \u201ccollaborative, scalable, and goal-oriented.\u201d Bo-ya!<\/p>\n

Among many of helpful tips, Petroff urges us all to \u201cStop. Breathe. Think bigger.\u201d Don\u2019t let yourself get stuck in outdated or ineffective processes or publishing mindsets. Think smart: What is the purpose of this post? What emotions will the reader feel?<\/p>\n

Content tools like writing style guides and editorial calendars help us reach our social goals. Content governance ensures we have the roles, workflow, and tools to support and maintain our social strategy. In other words, \u201cYou should be able to take a vacation day without the worry that your social accounts will implode.\u201d Now that\u2019s a goal we should all aim for!<\/p>\n

Confab Higher Ed Heads to New Orleans<\/h2>\n

Yep, that\u2019s right! Confab Higher Ed 2015 will be in New Orleans. As you dig into developing your content strategy in 2015, consider submitting a talk proposal (by November 21) and sharing your smarts with us next year. Keep an eye on Confab Events<\/a> for updates. Now the big question is: beignets, cake, or both?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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