HighEdWeb Rochester Regional Keynote

Reﬂect, Repurpose, Restructure, Re-energizeOr... Everything I know I learned from marching band and McDonald’s Rachel Reuben, MBA @rachelreuben rachelreuben.com

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Quick BackgroundAuto Dealership Catch All Marketing Assistant x2Web Editor Web CoordinatorDirector of Web Communication & Strategic ProjectsAssociate Vice President for Marketing CommunicationsB.S. Organizational Communication & MarketingMBA, Marketing and Management

Everything I needed to know Ilearned from marching band and McDonald’s.

On Being A Drum Major• leadership• playing off the same page• playing to the same tune (message consistency, brand identity)• team work• passion• dedication• always something new to learn

Reﬂection

Where We Came From• ~mid 90s: webmaster (“web mistress”)• early 2000s moved to coordinators & editors• mid 2000s: web teams growing, shifts begin to include web earlier in planning, emergence of Web 2.0

Where We Came From• late 2000s • social media • IA focus to manage rapid growth & Google dumps • Flip cams (RIP), Kodak Zi6s, YouTube - made “unprofessional” videos “cool” & accessible

Where We Came From• late 2000s (cont.) • need for quality, yet authentic videos re-emerges • social media emergence (a home page callout? Gasp!) • strategies, policies, guidelines

Repurpose

Repurpose• Local journalists being regionalized or laid off • access to talented writers, reporters, storytellers• Librarians often overlooked • categorization, information architecture• Content Strategists • “new” hotness -- marketing strategists with journalism and copywriting skills

Repurpose• Media relations staff, crisis communicators, student affairs professionals need be social media savvy • similar skills, new tools• Web coordinators • depending on specialization

Skills For Tomorrow’s Web &Marketing Professionals In Higher Ed in addition to web speciality(ies)• Customer service• Patience• Diplomacy• Political savviness• Common sense

Skills For Tomorrow’s Web &Marketing Professionals In Higher Ed in addition to web speciality(ies)• knowing when to pull in experts vs. DIY (& politics)• set realistic, unemotional expectations• persistence• intergenerational workplace • new Young Guns

Skills For Tomorrow’s Web &Marketing Professionals In Higher Ed in addition to web speciality(ies)• Community managers/wranglers • making strategic decisions based on goals & audience, not the O.S.S.• Data crunchers, trend analyzers

Skills For Tomorrow’s Web &Marketing Professionals In Higher Ed• know your speciality and branch out, ﬁnd ways to stay current • blog • side work • read • professional development • network

Restructure

KILL THE ORG CHART Long live cross-functional project teams

MANTRA:I AM A CHANGE AGENT. Change is my middle name. Change is good. Change is forward-thinking. Change is building a solid foundation. Change is adapting to current & future needs. Change is needed. Change is good.

IT: Web development, design July 2010:28 people, many silos, web design in IT

Client Marketing Recruitment Communication Creative Services Services Marketing✦ Media relations ✦ Cross-platform ✦ School-based MCMs✦ Social media visual designers/ ✦ Sports information✦ Web communication developers✦ Alumni magazine ✦ Print production✦ Writers/editors ✦ Copywriting ✦ Photography ✦ Video production brand managementNow: 4 units, cross-functional teams, 36 positions

Pillars Of A Web Team1. user research 6. tech implementation2. site strategy 7. content production3. tech strategy 8. concrete design4. content strategy 9. project management5. abstract design 2003: http://www.adaptivepath.com/ideas/nine-pillars-of-successful-web-teams

Challenges

Challenges (sampling)• Which tools? (What’s your strategy? Who is your audience?)• CMS: Many vendors/options, no one-size ﬁts all• Digital repositories• OSS• Resources (budget + human)

Challenges (sampling)• Decisions grounded in research knowledge• Brand protection (trademark, licensing, etc.)• Time

Hot topics

Magazines

Magazines• To flip or not to flip (issuu.com, etc.) • Hint: Stop flipping for primary online purpose/access! • Think first: goals & audience • Not mobile friendly (especially iOS devices) • Not 508 compliant (accessible) • Print experience doesn’t translate to web environment • Not deeply searchable, not good for SEO • “But I don’t have the resources to build a site...”

MagazinesRead this: http://tinyurl.com/stopﬂippingAnd this: http://tinyurl.com/stopﬂipping2

Magazines• PDFs• iPad app• Web exclusive content referenced from print• Web exclusive content between issues• Community

Magazines• What do you do?• What would you recommend with your existing resources that matches your publication’s goal(s)? Do you have a case for more resources?

Who Should Manage Social Media

Who Should Manage Social Media?• What’s it like on your campus? •1 person? • Central ofﬁce? • Wild Wild West Show? • Team?

Who Should Manage Social Media?• Managing social media is a team sport http://tinyurl.com/smteamsport• Mid/Late 1990s redux• Questions/Factors • size of institution & culture • size of team • strategic communication plan

Who Should Manage Social Media?

Who Should Manage Social Media?• Ditch the organizational chart. Build a team.

Who Should Manage Social Media?• Ditch the organizational chart. Build a team.• Listen, assess, evolve

Who Should Manage Social Media?• Ditch the organizational chart. Build a team.• Listen, assess, evolve• Not everything and everyone needs to use social media • website is foundation, sm is about community & engagement

Who Should Manage Social Media?• Ditch the organizational chart. Build a team.• Listen, assess, evolve• Not everything and everyone needs to use social media • website is foundation, sm is about community & engagement• Students are good • recent grads are better :)

Re-energize

Re-energize• Find your niche• Find opportunities (low hanging fruit)• Be helpful• Stay up-to-date• Network within and outside our industry

Find Zen• High demands on our time• Things suggested to me: • wine • breathing • positive mantra • meditation • mental health days (spas work too)

Re-energize What works best for me?

a solid team behind you just a few members of my awesome team

Rachel Reuben @rachelreuben rachelreuben.comlinkedin.com/in/rachelreuben

HighEdWeb Rochester Regional Keynote

by Rachel Reuben

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