Higher education

Introducing the Content Marketing 50: Education Edition (Infographic)

The education sector is being transformed by education being delivered online, the increasing focus on post graduation outcomes, and several other trends. As the sector undergoes these changes, education marketers are looking for new ways to reach prospective students. For example, education marketers are using the LinkedIn platform to reach professionals who want further education to boost their careers and earning power. Many education marketers are having success using LinkedIn for content marketing and attracting new prospective students.

Previously, we had examined the most influential brands on LinkedIn and published a list of the top 10 here. Now we’re taking a deeper dive into how leading marketers in the education sector are using the LinkedIn platform. Introducing “The Content Marketing 50: Education Edition.” In this infographic, we’ve identified the 50 most effective global education brands when it comes to using the LinkedIn platform to engage, educate, and inspire their target audience. Not only do these marquee institutions know how to position their brand and products with engaging and comment-worthy content on LinkedIn, they also know their audience – and where to find them.  

The top 50 most influential education brands on LinkedIn were determined using the LinkedIn Content Marketing Score.

A brand’s Content Marketing Score is calculated by measuring the ratio between the total target audience and the unique users that engaged with the content so far in 2015. The Content Marketing Score evaluates all content-based activities on the LinkedIn platform, such as Company Page updates, employee shares, Sponsored Content, and Influencer and employee posts through self Publishing on LinkedIn. 

The 50 most influential education brands on LinkedIn shared some common best practices:

  • 90 percent of the 50 top education brands have employees sharing and posting content on their networks
  • 100 percent regularly share updates on their LinkedIn Company Page with the top brands averaging seven posts per week.
  • 75 percent invest in LinkedIn Sponsored Content to give their brands a consistent presence in the LinkedIn feeds of their target audiences.

What do these numbers mean? They mean that the top 50 education brands on LinkedIn are using a mix of reach, frequency, and engagement to reach their audiences – and to boost their CMS score. These brands are encouraging their employees to share and post content on LinkedIn, thus allowing them to act like influencers and boost the reach and engagement. Additionally, these education brands are posting frequently, consistently and in a timely manner in a way that is relevant to their audiences. In fact, the most effective LinkedIn marketers take an always-on approach to content. This approach helps to keep them front-of-mind among high-value prospective students – but it also ensures that those prospects feel uniquely informed about the brands they identify with. When LinkedIn members follow the company pages of top brands, it ensures that they are among the first to know about new announcements.

Based on their content marketing scores in 2015, here are the top 10 most influential education brands on LinkedIn:

  1. Jack Welch Management Institute
  2. University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business
  3. Australian Institute of Business
  4. Stanford University
  5. Singularity University
  6. eCornell
  7. Robert Kennedy College, Zurich, Switzerland
  8. Simplilearn
  9. The Wharton School
  10. FGV

Did your brand make the top 50? Did your competitors? To view the entire top 50, download “The Content Marketing 50: Education Edition” infographic.