What higher education can learn from strong digital brands

What can colleges and universities learn from digital brands like Dollar Shave Club?

As brands, colleges and universities occupy an interesting space. We don’t like to talk about our students as customers, although some would argue that we should change our mindset. Many of us in academia also would prefer to not think of our enterprises in business terms of any sort. But as branding takes on a more prominent role in higher education, there’s also a shift in perspective among administrators, communicators, marketers and faculty that acknowledges the importance of branding and marketing. That shift has led to a greater appreciation for brand management as a function to help influence and shape audience perceptions of our institutions.

Time for a digital reformation?

“Why we need a 21st-century Martin Luther to challenge the church of tech,” by John Naughton (image: The Guardian).

This Tuesday, Oct. 31, marks the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s publication of his 95 Theses, an action that sparked the Protestant Reformation. To commemorate that event, and in hope of igniting a different type of reformation, Guardian columnist John Naughton plans to post his own 95 theses.

Book review: ‘Hit Makers: The Science of Popularity in an Age of Distraction’

In a few short days, the world will be awash in media hype to mark the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, which was released on June 1, 1967. Frequently cited as the greatest album ever made , Sgt. Pepper’s is a pop culture touchstone that has influenced countless musicians over the past half century. The record’s golden anniversary has spawned several new books, a “super deluxe” album reissue, a new documentary about the Fab Four andeven  a pretty hilarious mashup of the album with another pop culture icon, Star Wars.

Help @karinejoly make a digital analytics roadmap

Take Karine Joly’s higher ed digital marketing analytics roadmap assessment (higheredexperts.com/hedmar)

If you’re into digital analytics, here’s your chance to help build a roadmap for yourself and other analytics aficionados.

Why likes matter less than we’d like

I’ve long thought that measuring social media marketing success solely by counting the number of likes a page, post or tweet racks up is the wrong approach — or an incomplete approach at best.