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Thought leaders are created through persistent leaning into critical issues with a distinct point of view and expertise. Here are our guidelines for positioning yourself as a thought leader using blogging and social media: Goals Build your personal or institutional reputation as a thought leader in your core expertise. Create a readership that engages with your passion for your expertise by delivering insightful, practical, dependable and valuable content. Personal Brand Curate and manage your personal profiles on your organization’s website, your personal LinkedIn account, and other social channels. Grow and cultivate your personal network comprised of practitioners, peers, collaborators and perhaps most importantly influencers. Target Audience Speak to practitioners, peers, collaborators and influencers. Lead the believers in your cause. Persuade the receptive. Ignore the rest. Keyword Focus Think of the keyword or phrase you would like your blog post to be ranked for. Search Google to see who else appears on page 1 of Google for that phrase. Tie content … Continue reading
Posted in: blog writing for colleges and universities, higher education content marketing agency
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Former Indiana University basketball coach Bobby Knight famously said to an audience of newspaper reporters, “All of us learn to write in the second grade. Most of us go on to greater things.” Part joke, part poisoned-tipped joust, the heralded Knight voiced an ambivalence about writing and writers that lingers within many college marketing departments and their creative agencies. Entire blog columns and books have advanced the notion that “content is king.” That idea traces to an 1996 essay by Microsoft founder Bill Gates who envisioned an Internet buoyed by fresh, enlivening content. Google Ngram shows that phrase rocketing straight into conventional wisdom. One could argue the theory, but the eye test says otherwise — the vast seas of web content carry mostly ephemera. My first digital assignment — a 155-character meta description — began my re-education in a new hyper language, one that promised greater speed and potency. As newspaper writers, we learned a seven-second rule — the average … Continue reading
In numerous cases, we as marketers ask those we are marketing to become the voice of the company or institution they represent. Their stories give meaning in a deeply personal way. And, in many cases, we ask those that give voice to the story to be photographed to represent their story. Nine times out of ten, these subjects are uncomfortable, wary, and uncertain about their image being used, knowing their likeness will be seen by every visitor that comes to the website. Most people are simply uncomfortable being in front of a camera. So, the challenge for the designer becomes, ‘how do I represent these individuals in the most respectful and truthful manner?’ The environmental portrait The environmental portrait is just as it says — a photo that represents the subject in their natural environment. Whether it is in their work location, personal home, or a location that is representative of the narrative, the choice to shoot an environmental portrait … Continue reading
Are you still debating whether blogging is beneficial or not? Here are four reasons why blogging matters for inbound marketing strategy.
I enjoyed a rare two-hour sit down recently with an entire marketing and communications team at a major university — and we never once talked about story. They, like many of you, spoke of feeling beleaguered by the demands of an unending news cycle, a tumbleweed website and the torture drip of “next in line” requests for this event press release or that event poster. I realized that as much as I believe in the power of good story telling, many in house departments have lost control of the conditions that might allow it to happen. In the spirit of giving, let’s all take a few minutes and give ourselves the gift of a good story. I found a couple of recent examples from higher education — reminders that the mission of our college and university communications efforts is not to meet every trumped-up deadline, but to help make a lasting difference. As TV writer Steven Moffat says: “We’re all stories, in the end.” … Continue reading
You know how to blog and to use Twitter and Facebook to connect with customers. But do you know how to create the content that attracts and retains them? According to Joe Pulizzi, author of “Epic Content Marketing” and founder of the Content Marketing Institute: “Content marketing is the marketing and business process for creating and distributing valuable and compelling content to attract, acquire and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.” The keywords here are “valuable” and “compelling.” If your content doesn’t fulfill these two prerequisites, chances are it is not reaching too many people. Are you offering your customers something they wouldn’t get from another firm? Is your content compelling enough to be widely shared on social media? Take a look at these companies who are producing valuable and compelling content and think about how your content provides your customers value. Red Bull It’s fair to say that Red Bull will do anything, … Continue reading
Unfortunately for higher education marketers, there is only so much program-specific information a University can espouse before its branding message becomes just another noisy, unrecognizable foghorn on the mist-cloaked, higher-ed seas. To differentiate your school’s programs, brand and message, consider marketing sideways. “Use a peripheral but more human and interesting component of your brand to tell a story that compels your customers and prospects more so than any product feature or benefit,” writes Marketing Keynote Speaker and Best-Selling Author Jay Baer. Baer’s article cites The King of Sideways” – Subway’s Jared Fogle. Subway’s campaign positioned Jared’s weight-loss story in front of customers who would hopefully relate and identify with Jared. The story appears to have worked. Jared is in his fifteenth year as a Subway spokesman with a net worth of $15 million. Sideways marketing is nothing new and certainly doesn’t begin or end with Jared. This marketing technique has been used by an uncountable number of brands – think … Continue reading
Mr. Gilka, Director of Photography at National Geographic, recently passed away. He was adored, feared and respected – all at the same time. Two quotes from his Remembrance in the latest issue of National Geographic Magazine stood out. “He pinpointed talent like a heat-seeking missile, assembling a team that would bring the excitement, immediacy and candor of photojournalism to the pages of the magazine.” And “Gilka wasn’t looking for photographers. He was looking for storytellers.” RIP Mr. Gilka. The world will miss you. Photo: Courtesy of National Geographic. Elliance is fortunate to be the home of some of the most talented people I have met in my life. I pray they live long healthy lives bestowing their gifts to our valued clients and to each other.
A regular regimen of quality photography is one of the most powerful, influential, and simplest things a school can do to invest in the long-term health of its brand. Overstated? I don’t think so. A couple weeks ago, my colleague Kate Tomlinson wrote about a photo shoot we recently completed for a client and what it can teach one about successful social media strategies. Now we’ll discuss about the value it holds for sustaining, even building, your brand image. First I should mention I am the “Ed” she mentioned in her post – the photographer. I’m also a brand strategist and a creative director (in that order) before I’m a photographer. But it is what I do with this “third” discipline that frames and gives life to what I do with my first and second disciplines. A while back I figured out why it was, or how it was, that great street photographers like Walker Evans or Henri Cartier-Bresson were always … Continue reading