Note about track sessions

Building Block

These sessions focus on topics that are (or will be) fundamental to the planning, implementation and measurement of social media programs for advancement.

Advanced

These sessions, which presume that attendees are comfortable and experienced with social media platforms and concepts, engage with some of the more complex and ambiguous topics that are emerging as social media programs in advancement become more sophisticated.

Day 1	Day 2	Day 3
CASE Simulcast Sessions

Day 1, Wednesday, April 13

Noon-1:00 PM
Registration

1:00-1:15
Welcome and Introductions

1:15-2:30
Advancement and Social Media: What the Research Reveals
In 2010, CASE partnered with mStoner and Slover Linett Strategies to conduct the first-ever research on how independent schools, colleges and universities were using social media in institutional advancement. We just completed our second study. This session offers an in-depth look at how institutions shifted their strategies for managing social media, with insights on how they're staffing social media; how they're using it in fundraising, affinity-building and marketing; what are the most important (and effective) channels; and how they're measuring success. Since we're releasing the initial findings from our research at the conference, you'll be the first to know about what we've learned!

2:45-4:00
Elective Sessions (choose one)

• Building Block

  Geo Meets Social: Location-based Services Come to Campus
  In real estate, location is everything. On the social web, location is the next big thing. A new batch of mobile devices paired with apps allow you to check in where you are, find out where your friends are, play games and reap rewards at businesses: bars give discounts to Foursquare mayors and restaurants offer discounts to patrons who check in on Yelp. This session will provide insights on some of the key players in the geosocial space-Foursquare, Gowalla, SCVNGR and others-and offer case studies from institutions that have used geosocial tools for alumni events, campus tours and other purposes.

• Advanced

  Are You Listening? Brand Monitoring and Social Media Engagement
  Social media is all about engagement, and engagement starts with listening. As the medium has matured and user numbers rise, advancement professionals working with social media platforms have been confronted with an increasing amount of choice about the tools they use to listen, measure and engage in conversations across the social web. This session explores the range of options from free, self-service tools to full-service, fee-based vendors.

4:15-5:30
Future Trends in Social Media
Nobody knows what the next hot Internet service or site will be. But we can identify some trends and make educated predictions about how online community will evolve. Will social gaming continue to grow? What's the potential for augmented reality apps? Speaking of apps, will they trump the mobile web for people on the go? And when will location-based "geosocial" services stabilize so organizations can decide whether - and how - to commit to them? An open-ended panel discussion puts our faculty members on the spot to share their ideas, and lets attendees weigh in with observations about where social tools are taking our alumni, our institutions - and us.

5:30-6:30
Networking Reception

6:30
Conference Adjourns for the Day
Dinner on Your Own

[Back to top]

Day 2, Thursday, April 14

8:00-9:00 AM
Breakfast Roundtables

9:00-10:15
Elective Sessions (choose one)

• Building Block

  SM Analytics
  He who has the most followers doesn't always win. There are a number of tools available to measure the success of a social media program. The challenge is determining which metrics are actually meaningful. This session will explore the ways to measure effectiveness on Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms.

• Advanced

  Managing and Sharing Student Generated Content
  Every school year opens the door to a new team of content creators: student bloggers, photographers and videographers. Students are a fantastic resource for telling your institution's story, but like the members of any team, they need direction to succeed. Learn the basics of working with student content creators, managing their time (and yours), setting deadlines and expectations, and teaching them to work within the framework of your social media engagement strategy.

10:30-11:30
Community Managers
Managing an online community is much more than just posting news releases on a Facebook page. Learn about the different types of online communities and ways to get your community members more engaged. Presenters will discuss Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs and more, sharing specific examples of successful community management programs.

11:30 AM-NOON
Social Media, Hands-On Orientation

NOON-1:15 PM
Lunch on your own

1:15-3:15
Social Media, Hands-On
It's time to get creative. The faculty has prepared a scenario; you and your team are tasked with developing a social media strategy for promoting, marketing and generating buzz about the topic. Work in groups and get hands-on with the tools to generate a creative campaign using photos, video, blogs, web links and everything else in your social media arsenal. At the end of the afternoon, prizes will be awarded to the team with the best proposal.

3:30-5:30
Team Presentations

6:30-8:00
Tweetup
Co-sponsored by:
CASE and Alumni Futures.

[Back to top]

Day 3, Friday, April 15

8:00-9:00 AM
Continental Breakfast & Roundtables

9:00-10:15
Connecting Your Alumni Site to the Social Web
The social web certainly gives us quick and easy ways to publish our content, but that's only part of the story. The social web has also opened up tremendous opportunities to integrate the alumni experience more deeply with social networks through open APIs (application programming interfaces-hooks into social network databases) and an emerging set of vendors who facilitate this connection. Imagine allowing alums to log in to your alumni site with their favorite social network login. Imagine allowing them to import data they have already painstakingly crafted in other social networks, like profile photos, contact information, professional information, and friend/contact connections that can be used to drive alumni site functionality. And imagine merging your data with social network data to deliver new features like a reunion "Look Who's Coming" list that can be sorted by an alum's LinkedIn contacts or Facebook friends. Hear how Stanford is embarking on an effort to securely allow alums to use their favorite social network login and data to ease and enrich their experience on Stanford alumni websites, in the hope of increasing site usage, site stickiness and alumni engagement. 

10:30-11:45
Making the Case for Investment in Social Media
In a 2010 survey, more than 900 social media managers in education described the greatest barriers to their social media success. The most cited obstacles were a lack of dedicated staff and inadequate budgets. This panel discussion explores different approaches to obtaining senior-level buy-in for increasing social media resources.

11:45
Conference Wrap-up

NOON
Conference Adjourns

[Back to top]