With trust in institutions declining, a combative political climate, and ongoing challenges to the industry, it’s a complicated time to work in higher education marketing. We face extraordinary pressure to differentiate our institutions, assert their relevance, and meet critical goals for recruitment and fundraising. Meanwhile, the student market is rapidly changing, new policies endanger higher education funding and access, and the stinging impact of these shifting tides is acutely felt across the campus community. Amidst all this, battle fatigue is real. And it’s easy to feel powerless. But within the scope of our roles and abilities as digital communicators, we have tremendous opportunity to target and optimize critical messages, elevate access to indispensable resources, support the most vulnerable members of our communities. In an era of fake news, context, clarity, and expertise have never been more valuable, and the mission of higher education has never been more essential. In this session, I will discuss how the humble higher ed digital communicator can meaningfully and sustainably fight the good fight for both their respective institution and higher education at large. From strategies to subtweets to self-care, consider this session a how-to for higher ed web work in these trying - yet potentially rewarding - times.

1. Georgy Cohenl
#heweb17
THIS IS NOT FINE.
Working on the Web in Higher Ed
During Uncertain Times

2. http://gunshowcomic.com/648

3. Higher ed is a battleground.
(Because higher ed matters.)

7. “[College campuses] are clearly on
the frontline of the alt-right’s
battle against multiculturalism.
They are targeted for a simple
reason: … College campuses are
home to the highest ideals of
human rights.”
– Southern Poverty Law Center, “The Alt-Right On Campus: What Students Need To Know”

8. “The world needs [universities]
as the unbiased, thoughtful and
open forum... providing a bold
vision and a place for open
discussion.”
– Richard Edelman, keynote to AMA Higher Ed conference, December 2016

9. “Whatever may change in
Washington, I believe there is great
power in remembering that it will
not change the values and the
mission that unite us.”
– MIT President L. Rafael Reif, message to the community, Nov. 10, 2016

10. Your work matters.
(More than you may think.)

11. – Everything is Comics, Feb. 1, 2017

12. What can I do? I’m just the
web person. I’m just the
social media person.
You're a communicator.
There’s so much you can
do. You’ve got more power
than you realize.

13. Why should I care? I don’t
get mixed up with politics.
This is happening
whether you like it or not.
We don’t have the luxury of
disinterest or inaction.

14. “Unless someone like you cares a
whole awful lot, nothing is going
to get better. It's not.”
– “The Lorax,” Dr. Seuss

15. Look out for your students

16. 107incidents of white supremacist activity on
campuses during the 2016-17 academic year
Source: Anti-Defamation League report, 3/17

19. OHO INTERACTIVE
The importance of social listening
● People want to be heard—and you
need to hear what they’re saying
● Be proactive and responsive—guard
against creeping post-truth
Look out for your students

20. Where is the
blue phone
on your
website?

25. ???

27. OHO INTERACTIVE
Crisis User Testing
● How can information
architecture help in a crisis?
● Find out how people would
navigate if they needed
time-sensitive information
or emergency assistance
Look out for your students

28. OHO INTERACTIVE
What to do
● Elevate access to key resources
● Be mindful of audience context
● Emphasize reassurance and support,
in both tone and substance
Look out for your students

29. Share strong examples
from other institutions

33. ● Repudiate the action
● Affirm your support for affected parties
● Outline the known or possible consequences
● Commit to specific actions
● Designate people/units to take those actions
● Link to relevant services/resources
● List points of contact (name/email/phone)
● Reaffirm your support for affected parties

34. The importance of self-care

35. “Be kind, be smart and be effective. Manage
your time and your energy. Take care of
yourself and those around you. Love your job
and love what you do. Learn everything you
can. Become more informed and more
educated. Those svgs you are optimizing?
You know how to do that. Teach others how.
Push past the menial and find the
grace to love what you do.”
– Jessica Tremblay, “How to Give a Shit About Your Work While the World is on Fire”, Hackernoon

36. OHO INTERACTIVE
Self-care in an anxious time
● Accept that your feelings are valid
● Take media breaks/moderate news intake
● Exercise
● Experience nature
● Enjoy animals (pet the therapy dog - don’t
just take its picture)
● Reach out to friends & family for support
● Be healthy - eat well, sleep enough, drink
water
The importance of self-care
Sources: Washington Post, Boston University
● Find a creative outlet
● Find opportunities to laugh
and have fun
● Achieve mindfulness via prayer
or meditation
● Empower yourself by taking
positive action
● Write about your feelings
● List out gratitudes
● Seek professional help if you
need it

37. OHO INTERACTIVE
Social media burnout
● Watch out for apathy and withdrawal
● Take offline breaks (work out, cook, take walks)
● Structure your time
● Introduce tools that make work easier
● Distribute the workload
● Sanctify offline time
The importance of self-care
Sources: Sprout Social and Hootsuite

39. OHO INTERACTIVE
Get involved on campus
● Make your office an LGBT “safe space”
● Join a sustainability or diversity
committee or an ally/advocacy group
● Help out a student group
● Take a payroll deduction to go toward
student scholarships or other causes
Strengthen internal relationships & processes

40. Assert the value of
our intellectual product

41. 2017 Edelman Trust Barometer

44. “Every ounce of creativity and
empathy that we have is needed
right now, and the sector globally
needs to pull together to really
define a new discourse for
intellectual endeavour and the
value of expertise.”
– Tracy Playle, Pickle Jar Communications, Nov 2016

48. Strengthen internal
relationships & processes

49. 47%of the 160 school shootings that took place
between 2013-2015 across 38 states occurred
on college or university campuses
Source: Everytown USA

51. OHO INTERACTIVE
Team up with institutional leadership and PR
● Build/strengthen/repair relationships
● Define framework for collaboration
● Show impact of your work/skills and
the value of a close partnership
○ Educate each other
○ Share relevant dashboards/reports
○ Measure against top goals/issues
Strengthen internal relationships & processes

52. “Yiannopoulos said the university again was
standing in the way of free speech, and the
university said Yiannopoulos and his
student group counterparts had failed to fill
out the necessary paperwork.”
– Washington Post, September 24, 2017

53. “Yiannopoulos said the university again was
standing in the way of free speech, and the
university said Yiannopoulos and his
student group counterparts had failed to fill
out the necessary paperwork.”
– Washington Post, September 24, 2017
(Did a college room
reservation system
thwart Milo?!)

54. Talk about diversity. Really talk.

57. 17,000students from the seven countries affected
by the January 2017 immigration executive
order enrolled in U.S. colleges & universities
Source: Vox

59. OHO INTERACTIVE
International recruitment
● Make your case and be welcoming
● Clear details about relevant policies, logistics,
immunizations, visas, travel, arrival, etc.
● Show international composition of student body
● Reassure by noting available support/resources
Talk about diversity

63. OHO INTERACTIVE
Beyond the “Diversity” section
● Tell meaningful stories
● Balance authenticity and aspiration
● Establish context
● Be attentive to photo selection
● Consider full range of diversity
Talk about diversity

68. Find opportunities to be prudently bold.

79. We can make a difference.
(We have the technology.)

80. “Love higher ed. Love the web.
Love people. Love yourself.”
– Dylan Wilbanks, HighEdWeb 2010, Best of Conference

82. Thank you.
@radiofreegeorgy
georgy@oho.com