Here’s a poke for you: Facebook has changed everything—again. But this time, it has an even more significant impact on the way we use the ubiquitous social network to build community through content. Facebook Pages, the main platform for brands in Mark Zuckerberg’s universe, have gotten short shrift from the recent changes. Page content is noticeably missing from users’ news feeds, and as blogger Colin Alsheimer wrote, "The emphasis on … [Read more...]
Content as Customer Service
September 28, 2011 by
When we craft our flashy admissions viewbooks, statement videos and feature stories, we hope they will cultivate “warm fuzzies.” Whether the goal is to get an alumna to donate or a student to apply, tapping that emotional core is critical to influencing behavior. But sometimes, the quickest path to making a connection can be found simply by being helpful. Good customer service can be our best marketing, and our web content is on the front line … [Read more...]
Six Months of Meet Content
September 27, 2011 by
This weekend at Podcamp Boston, one presenter made the point that monitoring social media won't give you all the answers, but it will give you some really good questions. Six months ago today, we started Meet Content to open a discussion about improving web content in higher education, and we've covered a lot of topics, ranging from infographics to contextual content delivery to crisis communications to editorial style. 33 blog posts and 41 On … [Read more...]
Liberate Your PDF Newsletter Content
September 20, 2011 by
We’ve all received them—heck, perhaps we’ve even had to (shudder) distribute them. You know what I’m talking about: PDF newsletters, sent as an email attachment to a distribution list or linked on a webpage. In some corners, they still lurk. I’m just going to say it: People use PDFs for a hundred different reasons, and about 97 of them are wrong. (Rick blogged about some of these content problems in April.) The wrongest of the wrong, however, … [Read more...]
Elements of Editorial Style for the Web
August 4, 2011 by
Last week, while sitting at Starbucks, I overheard a guy tell his friend, "Making websites is so easy these days. You just buy a template and move text around." I joked with Georgy about asking the guy to do a Meet Content guest post on "Cut-and-Paste Content Strategy." Although most people don't describe the process as being that easy, many do have an oversimplified understanding of what is involved in creating effective … [Read more...]