If there’s one thing that the infamous XKCD university homepage comic reminded us, it’s that we need to strike a better balance between tasks and messaging on our homepages. And if there’s one thing that the commentary stemming from that comic reminded us, it’s that our homepage is one of the most political entities we will ever manage, and the solutions don’t come easy. But if you think about, there really is no separate homepage strategy, is … [Read more...]
Case in Point: Content Culture at Vanderbilt
November 14, 2012 by
One of the biggest challenges we face in higher ed getting people to buy into the value of content strategy and build support for content across our organization. At Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., executive director of integrated communications Melanie Moran has rung up a string of successes doing just that. Whether it’s their news site, the 365@VU photo project, the alumni magazine or a recent reorganization, Moran and her team at … [Read more...]
Case in Point: Building Community at UW-Madison
October 30, 2012 by
How can we use content to develop a true sense of community—both online and off—among our audiences? Whether it’s through a revamped newsletter or new ways of using social channels, University of Wisconsin-Madison social media and internal communications manager John Lucas has made it work. Through his work on innovative projects like #UWRightNow, a 24-hour crowdsourced snapshot of life on campus, the Bucky Challenge, a social media scavenger … [Read more...]
Happy Days for Content at HighEdWeb 2012
October 15, 2012 by
Another HighEdWeb conference is in the books. This year’s event, hosted in beautiful Milwaukee, Wisc., featured cheese curds, beer, the Bronze Fonz, bratwursts—and of course, tons of incredible insights into making our university’s online experiences awesome. As for content, there were two compelling themes that ran through the various sessions, and I’m going to get to my recap faster than you can say “Laverne and Shirley. Creating a … [Read more...]
Planning Content for Online Programs
September 5, 2012 by
For many students, campus is no longer a bucolic, tree-lined quad—it’s the nearest web browser. The face of higher education is changing, thanks to the boom of online learning programs—from traditional campuses introducing online degree programs to new, online-only institutions. As these programs and institutions have emerged, they have had to find creative ways to not only market themselves to a range of prospective students, but to … [Read more...]