Time: April 10, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Speakers: Angelica Mennella
This presentation will cover how to begin implementation of SEO (search engine optimization) for web marketing. I’ll explain key concepts for on-page SEO such as page structure, header tags, meta descriptions, and keyword research. I will also explain the technical concepts of off-page SEO, such as fixing/redirecting broken links/backlinks, making sure pages are encrypted, the importance of lining out to trusted websites, and social media. I’ll go into detail about conducting keyword research especially for people who may not have access to SEO plugins. This will include understanding audience and goals, brainstorming seed keywords, analyzing keyword metrics, conducting a competitor analysis, grouping and prioritizing keywords, and mapping keywords to content.
Time: April 9, 1:30 pm – 2:00 pm
Speakers: John Moist
Communication is essential at a research university. It’s how ideas transcend the lab or classroom to shape public conversations and have real-world impact. But turning complex topics, dense information, or deep research into compelling messages is a craft of its own. This session offers a toolkit for revealing the human stakes and public relevance in data-heavy or abstract projects, collaborating with faculty experts, and shaping stories to resonate outside of academia. From finding story hooks in working papers to structuring rollout plans that elevate your brand, you’ll leave with practical strategies for transforming research outputs and technical material into engaging content.
Time: April 9, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Speakers: Claire Benjamin, Lauren Quinn, and Steve Wald
The game has changed. In the past 18 months, shifting federal directives and volatile public debates left our communications team on uncertain footing—we suddenly weren’t sure how to do our jobs. In response, we’ve fundamentally reimagined our approach to strategic communications and advocacy. In this session, we’ll share real-world examples of how we pivoted to inspire others to reconnect with stakeholders, find their footing, and elevate the land-grant mission in unprecedented times.
Time: April 10, 2:45 pm – 3:45 pm
Speakers: Marisa Peacock
Piloted in Spring 2024 and refined in 2025, AI and Advertising is a cross-disciplinary elective at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The course combines hands-on use of AI tools with critical discussions on ethics and brand trust, alongside insights from industry and guest speakers. By examining the assignments, readings, guest presentations, and student feedback over two years, this study highlights strong student engagement and the course’s ongoing pedagogical development, Additionally, the course’s design, evolution, and outcomes are explored, offering practical lessons for teaching when technology and creativity intersect.
Time: April 9, 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
Speakers: Jeremy Perkins
How do you reinvent the digital identity of a 100-year-old institution? For the University of Baltimore, the answer was to become different by design. Their website redesign project set out to do more than refresh the university’s website—they aimed to create a bold, user-centric platform that stands apart in higher education. Through deep collaboration, stakeholder engagement, and an unwavering focus on accessibility and intuitive navigation, we delivered a site that’s vibrant, responsive, and authentically UBalt. The result: a web presence that not only honors the university’s legacy but propels it forward, engaging students, faculty, and the community in dynamic new ways. This case study shares the journey, challenges, and creative solutions that made UBalt truly different by design.
Time: April 9, 2:45 pm – 3:45 pm
Speakers: Laura Podeschi
Great content is more than just great storytelling — especially when it comes to brands. Everything you create should orient around a clear strategy that resonates with your audience and moves your organization’s goals forward.Based on The Grainger College of Engineering’s work in building a college-wide content strategy, this workshop will share ways to elevate your curation efforts. We’ll dig into the content planning process, from team sprints to distribution platforms and tactics. We’ll share cross-channel examples of creative, including tips for reusing and repackaging content while ensuring brand style and consistency. And we’ll discuss how to use analytics to continuously iterate and improve.Let’s piece together the puzzle of content strategy together!
Time: April 10, 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
Speaker: Liz Shallenberger
You have three seconds to grab your website visitors’ attention. That’s it. This presentation teaches you how to be ruthless with your words. Create content your audience will actually engage with. We’ll cover how to write when no one has the time, attention, or desire to read.Covers:- understanding web v. editorial style guidelines- identifying audiences- using plain language- practicing conscious writing- pulling it all together- navigating tools and resources
Time: April 4, 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
Speakers: Renee Lyell, Keith Miller
Learn how Illinois Human Resources uses job fair materials, billboards, geofencing, QR codes, and other innovative tools to bring the Illinois Value Proposition to life. This session will highlight how these strategies enhance brand communication and offer practical tips for creating impactful content that resonates with your audience and creates a consistent image for your department/university.
The live session is canceled, but the speaker is providing a recording of the talk after the conference.
Time: April 4, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Speaker: Cheryl Cline
To reach the widest audience, user-experience writers must strive to write inclusive, accessible copy. I will critique real-world examples of UX copy, list resources that UX writers and teams can refer to when ideating and iterating, and address some of the pushback that UX writers and other stakeholders often face when advocating for an inclusive user experience. Attendees will come away with an introductory framework for evaluating website and UX copy.
Time: April 4, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Speaker: Sebastian Kelle
As content creators, you might, at some point, wonder how best to use music. It can help set the mood and bring life to your content. But instead of dealing with licenses, how about creating your own? Electronic music production doesn’t have to be a mystery. With relatively inexpensive tools you can create professional results – if you know what you’re doing. In this session, we’ll take a look at a selection of some of the most popular Digital Audio Workstations (DAW’s), some basic hardware, and showcase how to create a catchy and short song from scratch! For comparison, we’ll also take a look at the status quo of generative AI in music production and how to (not) prompt-engineer a music piece.