Join your conference chair Erica Colaianne to meet the conference faculty, learn about the exciting three days of the conference, and discuss how to get the most out of your time here in NOLA!

We’ve entered a new era of needing to meet our audiences where they are — but now we are often the ones trying to keep up. Gen Z and Gen Alpha grew up with social media and understand how it works, and can be a determining factor for when it doesn’t work for brands. These audiences have expectations of brands and how they engage on social media. Join us to hear insights from four different perspectives including experiences that have been successful and ones that were learning opportunities.

Learn how a simple social media post asking , “Who has the best burger in Iowa City?” was leveraged into a successful and repeatable content strategy that your organization can (and should) steal for your alumni engagement communications. This CASE Circle of Excellence Award-winning strategy will show you how to listen to your online audiences to identify opportunities to create deeper engagement that achieves your organization’s goals.

Brat summer. Moo Deng. Very demure, very mindful. As social media managers in higher education, there can be a lot of pressure to keep up with the latest content trends. But here’s the thing: While trends are often entertaining and occasionally useful—your brand is more powerful than any of it. Your students don’t need you to be trendy, they need you to be the amazing and supportive institution that you are and help them finish what they started. Here are three brand-forward things to remember before jumping on the latest trend. 

Education institutions from PK-12 schools to international universities are constantly buzzing with activities, events, and incredible stories to share, but how can they all possibly be captured to showcase the full capacity of a busy and engaged campus. Our panel will examine how education institutions can elevate their students' voice, build engagement on social media platforms, and develop student leaders who are confident and in control of their social media identity. Developing a Student Social Media Ambassador Program can be a highly effective way to engage with your community and celebrate your institution. Participants will be able to develop a social media strategy to support various departments and divisions with their social media goals by employing students and establishing a training and management program that takes the needs and human resources of each unit into consideration, and connect with their leadership and stakeholders to earn buy-in for a student-led social media strategy, individualized to each unit's goals. Participants will also learn how to highlight the unique "personality" and values of each department and division while still "branding up" to the greater institutional messaging and mission, effectively engaging authentically with key audiences including students, parents, faculty, staff, alumni, and donors as well as prospective students, parents, and the surrounding community.

In today’s crowded landscape of campus-wide giving campaigns, alumni engagement and advancement professionals often face fierce competition to capture attention and donations. This session, "Standing Out in the Crowd: Amplifying Alumni Engagement in Competitive Campus Giving Campaigns," will give you strategies to help boost your unit’s impact in campus giving campaigns, build stronger connections with alumni and drive campaign participation. We’ll explore unique approaches that will distinguish your department and align your unit’s goals with broader institutional objectives while creating personalized, impactful messaging that resonates with your audience.