Leaders know that social media is an important way to build reputation and relationships with our audiences, but sometimes they don’t understand why or how. Enter: social media reporting. Social media data gives us the information we need to understand our audiences and how to best connect with them. The challenge is making that data work beyond likes and shares. Reporting can tell a powerful story about how our work impacts institutional reputation and success, while also helping justify resources and build support for our teams. In this session, we will share how we use reporting to communicate value and guide decision-making. We will explore ways of presenting social data through clear, concise dashboards and reports that help leaders quickly understand what matters most. Attendees will leave with practical ideas for turning data into insights that support stronger strategy and better work.

Managing large, emotionally invested online communities requires more than just posting content, it demands empathy, strategy, and consistency. In this session, you’ll learn proven techniques for building trust, maintaining brand voice, and fostering meaningful engagement across platforms. Drawing from nearly a decade of experience managing MSU’s 33,000-member parent Facebook group and a top-performing Instagram account, this session offers practical insights on crisis communication, tone, and creating content that resonates. Whether you oversee a niche audience or a broad brand presence, you’ll leave with actionable strategies to strengthen your digital community and keep engagement thriving.

Looking to amplify student presence across your social media channels? Interested in expanding on Gen Z-focused platforms like TikTok? Want to optimize your content team’s creativity and output? Join us as we discuss the establishment of NC State’s Student Creator Program, which received a CASE Gold Circle of Excellence Award in 2025. We will share actionable strategies for securing buy-in, fostering collaboration, managing students and measuring success. We’ll explore how authentic student-generated content can drive brand awareness, increase engagement and enhance prospective student interest for your institution.

This session will focus on mobile content creation by highlighting readily available apps, sharing best practices for in-the-field student generated content, covering events in real-time, and examples of success from the University of Arkansas. Attendees will leave with practical tools and strategies they can immediately implement to create timely, engaging content from their mobile devices.

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock's Marketing and Communications team partnered with Little Rock Athletics and Admissions to revive Maroon Monday, a beloved campus tradition driven by student-athlete engagement. This session highlights how student-athletes connected face-to-face with their peers across campus, personally inviting them to home games and sparking authentic school spirit. Learn how student workers were elevated from helpers to creators, supporting the initiative through low-cost, wearable elements that extended the message and visibility of Maroon Monday.

Rather than treating social media as a bulletin board that serves endless pieces of content by shouting into the void, learn how The University of Texas at Austin captures data behind each social media post to help improve strategy and ensure less wasted effort (with the goal being no waste!). Dr. Noelle Seybert, Associate Director of Social Media Strategy at UT Austin, will walk the group through the approach, the execution, and the results behind the data tracking efforts and show how you, too, can get in on the fun!

Finding social media conversations is easier than ever, but it’s no longer the only part of the work. It’s also what most organizations are already doing. The real value emerges when we understand the why behind early signals—conversations and other audience and cultural indicators—before they become trends, reputational risks, or missed opportunities. This is where improved experiences for your constituents and meaningful differentiation for your institution begin to take shape. Advances in technology are making this work more accessible, but insight doesn’t happen automatically. Having a clear understanding of the opportunities and roadblocks facing your team, at any level of listening, from basic monitoring to advanced social intelligence and cultural intelligence, is essential. Through discussion and applied examples, attendees will learn how to evaluate early social signals, decide which insights warrant action or escalation, and translate listening into clear next steps that inform strategy and decision making. The session will also surface common human and technological barriers that prevent insights from being used, along with practical ways to address them within the realities of higher education teams. Participants will leave better equipped to connect social listening to institutional priorities such as reputation management, risk assessment, and community engagement; with frameworks they can apply immediately regardless of team size, toolset, or organizational maturity.

What’s the latest trend in this ever-evolving industry? What haven’t we covered throughout the conference? What are you seeking advice on before you head back to your institution? Close out an incredible three days of learning and connecting with a conversational session tailored to the top-of-mind topics in higher education social media. This will be an open and honest discussion with the conference faculty leadership. Bring your questions and leave with new perspectives!