Potentially coming soon to a campus near you: "listicles." A growing list of colleges and universities are using BuzzFeed to market to prospective students, experimenting with the internet giant's use of numbered lists to generate interest in particular facets of student life. The University of Wyoming, for instance, posted "13 Things You Could Actually Buy" if you were to graduate from the (relatively affordable) university without student debt. Sponsored content from Temple University, such as "13 Reasons You Should Live in Philly at Least Once in Your Life," has generated a reported 800,000 views.
Besides offering far reach and social sharing, the BuzzFeed strategy appeals to schools for providing real-time data and insights about users, in particular those of student age. "There's a need for and some smart reasons to start looking even at 15-year-olds," said Emily Spitale, associate vice president for strategic marketing and communications at Temple. "How they use technology, how they get their information ... changes a lot more quickly than it did before."
Chronicle of Higher Education (02/14/17)
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