How the University of Waterloo powers campus storytelling with Emplifi

Ranked among the top 100 universities globally (Times Higher Education Reputational Rankings), the University of Waterloo is a hub of innovation where research, reputation, and human stories come together. From Nobel-level discoveries to first-year student moments, Waterloo’s social media must capture both the scale and soul of the institution.

Yet with dozens of independent departments and just one central social media manager, managing this ecosystem was a significant challenge. That’s where Emplifi stepped in to help Waterloo do what it does best – telling smart, human stories with clarity and strategy.

Telling a big story with a small team

At most universities, social media is a blend of logistics and legacy: tracking numbers while telling stories that matter. At Waterloo, it’s also about legacy-building. As the only full-time social media manager, Dan Ackerman was responsible for capturing a campus-wide digital footprint: student initiatives, research breakthroughs, rankings, crises, and community moments.

The stakes went beyond operations. Wanting to uphold the reputation of the university, Dan needed to deliver clear, consistent insights that informed strategy across departments and helped the university tell a unified, meaningful story.

A platform that matches University of Waterloo’s vision

The University of Waterloo is going beyond social media; nurturing a digital culture rooted in curiosity, credibility, and connection. Emplifi helped bring that vision to life. With customized dashboards, centralized scheduling, and scalable reporting, Dan could quickly onboard student contributors, align departments under one system, and spend less time chasing metrics, and more time interpreting them.

“We wanted Dan to feel like he had backup,” said an Emplifi Customer Success Manager. “Waterloo’s brand is built on trust, research, and student voice. So our focus was on helping Dan and his co-op team turn data into decisions, and structure into storytelling.”

Emplifi also became a strategic resource. Whether planning content for the Global Futures campaign or testing LinkedIn formats, the platform gave Waterloo the insights they needed to refine content type, tone, and timing for maximum impact.

From data to story, from story to strategy

Waterloo didn’t just speed up reporting. It elevated the role of social media as a strategic asset. Today, Dan produces termly analytics reports that are shared across faculties, helping each team adapt content for their unique audiences while staying rooted in the university’s core message: we are a community of thinkers, innovators, and storytellers.

Departments now borrow insights and templates from these reports. Student co-op creators are trained to plan, publish, and reflect on performance using Emplifi. Strategic campaigns, from research breakthroughs to reputation rankings, are planned in advance, with room for spontaneity and student voice.

With plans to expand benchmarking, explore AI-generated insights, and continue empowering student voices, Waterloo isn’t just managing social media; it’s shaping digital reputation through strategy, humanity, and story. And Emplifi is right there with them.