OHO U 2024 Online Conference: Thinking Differently

Thinking Differently

Many of the approaches  higher ed marketers have employed for years  no longer effectively serve the needs of the institution or meet audience expectations. We will be discussing new ways to consider the university website as a conversion-focused marketing tool.
 

Digital Storytelling from Soup to Nuts: Shifting Your News Mindset for Optimized Content

Digital storytelling isn't just about writing articles for your site. It's about understanding how your whole digital ecosystem tells the world who you are, from stories to social media posts to your homepage hero to testimonials and quick facts. Senior Digital Strategist Elisabeth Reinkordt will take you through a multi-course meal of ideas for how your organization can shift away from a newsroom mindset into systems thinking about the web and digital properties. From managing leadership expectations to tracking success metrics, this session will whet your appetite to make big changes in your content strategy.

A storyteller at heart, Elisabeth has devoted most of her career to improving communications in education. Before joining OHO, she directed web content and social media for the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education. She's also a documentary filmmaker who has directed three feature films, wrote her graduate thesis on the relationship between mass media coverage of education and policy implementation, and worked as a multimedia specialist at the Nebraska Department of Education. At OHO, she is a content strategist who loves solving puzzles, working with clients to find clear and effective ways of organizing and communicating information.

Leveraging Accessible Design for Neuro-inclusive Digital Spaces

Neurodiversity has become more mainstream as the numbers of neurodivergent college students steadily continue to increase. Research has shown that our brains vary in how they function - no two brains operate in the same way. This means that learner variability exists and must be taken into account when designing marketing concepts and content for your audience. Neurodiversity exists among students, alumni and other target groups, and learning how to design for them will boost overall engagement.In this session, participants will explore the various aspects of neurodiversity, accessible design, and how both can affect audience engagement. Participants will be able to identify key neuroinclusive design strategies that can be easily used in online marketing, recruitment and other digital spaces. 

Melanie Eley has many years of experience with accessibility, and began crafting her expertise soon after earning a M.S. in Counseling. Her position as Director of Counseling Services at Rockingham Community College is where she began her journey into accessibility, and has found it to be a challenging yet rewarding field that continues to grow. Melanie has a special interest in accessibility-related pedagogies, and specifically in UDL, as it has the capacity to open learning opportunities for all students, including those with disabilities. Melanie currently uses her expertise to develop collaborative campus efforts to make course content and instructional spaces (both virtual and physical) accessible for all users. She has had success in the areas of policy development (ICT Accessibility Policy and Procedures), educational training and resources (Accessibility Resources website, Web Accessibility 101, departmental accessibility planning), and programming (Adapt Conference, UDL Institute). She also leads the Accessibility Fellows and the initiatives that derive from this program’s charge.

Level Up Your Marketing Through Strategic Change

A Q&A with Rachel Reuben Senor, VP Account Strategy, OHO  

Hear one college marketing team’s experiences with strategic change as Champlain College Online (CCO) shifted how they conceptualize their web ecosystem from an enrollment management standpoint allowing them to level up their marketing efforts and outcomes.  By concentrating on organic and paid sources with complementary strategies and dedicated web properties, CCO cut their average time in funnel by more than half and met or exceeded enrollment goals for five consecutive terms and counting! Take-aways that anyone can try at their own institution will be shared during this session. 

Sarah McMaster is a marketing and communications professional with two decades of experience across higher education, B2B, and nonprofits. She focuses on prospect marketing, enrollment management, internal communications, authentic leadership, and operational excellence. As Executive Director of Marketing and Enrollment Management for Champlain College Online, she leads marketing and enrollment management strategies from the start of the prospective student lifecycle through enrollment and beyond. Sarah also serves as an adjunct instructor at Clark University and Brandeis University, teaching courses in integrated marketing communications, marketing ethics, and digital citizenship.

Lightning Talk: Be Your Own Benchmark

Learn how to create and utilize benchmarks to help generate continuous improvement across your social media channels.

As assistant director of social media, Courtney helps plan and execute short- and long-term strategy for Penn State’s main social media accounts, curates and creates content for social media platforms, and analyzes content and campaigns. She also uses performance analytics and content evaluation to shape recommendations for continuous improvement and growth across platforms, constantly seeking new ways to engage with and respond to audiences.

Additional Presentations and Lightning Talks

Be sure to check back frequently as we announce additional speakers bringing you insights on a diverse range of topics, including governance, video, and more.