What’s being said and reported about your university online can make or break its reputation. Cyberspace combines the views of consumers, bloggers, reviewers, journalists and anybody else who wants to voice an opinion. Good, bad or indifferent, these views are available to millions at the click of a mouse; and, unlike traditional media, the lingering and semi-permanent nature of the web means they’re likely to be around for a long time.
Clearly, understanding how your university is perceived and the issues and topics it is associated with are critical to establishing and maintaining online reputation and success. Portfolio's online reputation audit searches, identifies and analyses the content of blogs, news, reviews and other social media, providing a solid foundation of understanding on which to improve your image and build marketing campaigns.
AUDIT FOR Q4 2008 - AND TRENDS ANALYSIS - NOW AVAILABLE
Click 'Reports' tab above to find out more and to access audits and trends
JANUARY, 2009: SOME RESULTS FROM THE LATEST, Q42008, AUDIT
- Manchester and Birmingham knock Oxford from top spot in volume of online news and blogs, respectively, but Oxford maintains lead in online reviews
- New universities continue to dominate top places in proportion of positive coverage across online news, blogs and online reviews
- London South Bank, Gloucestershire and Abertay take top spots in proportion of positive coverage across online news, blogs and online reviews, respectively
- Oxford and Cambridge continue to dominate academic and research coverage
- Sheffield takes top place for sport
DECEMBER, 2008: TRADITIONAL UNIVERSITIES GIVEN WAKE-UP CALL BY ONLINE MEDIA LEAGUE TABLES
Despite being top in academic circles, Oxford, Cambridge and other traditional universities have been given a major wake-up call by the new ‘upstarts’ of higher education in league tables of cyber-coverage, or ‘buzz’, published this week by online reputation management specialists, Portfolio Communications. Leeds Metropolitan, Sheffield Hallam and Southampton Solent scored more highly than any other university, new or old, in the volume of positive coverage generated in online news, blogs and online reviews, respectively. The University of Oxford, by comparison, is positioned down at 79th, 34th and 68th in the same league tables.
Based on almost 4,000 online news, blogs and online review pieces, results of the Portfolio Universities Online Reputation Audit are especially significant given students’ rapidly growing use of online social media when choosing a university. The audit provides details of virtually all UK universities against tone and volume of online buzz they generate as well as the subject areas and key issues, including student accommodation, social life and academic standing with which they are associated.
Commenting on the results of the audit, Mark Westaby, Portfolio’s Director of Online Reputation Management, says: “Today’s students are very familiar with the internet and use online information more than any other when choosing a university. What’s being said in online news, blogs and online reviews is therefore critical to the number and quality of students that a university can attract.”
Traditional universities have at least fared better in the league tables of cyber-coverage based on sheer volume of coverage, with Oxford, Manchester, Leeds, Cambridge and York consistently in the top five. Mark Westaby concludes: “We should not be too surprised to see Oxford and other traditional universities at the top of league tables based on the volume of online buzz they generate. These are the major names in the university world that have obviously been around for a very long time. The danger is that they become complacent and the broader results of the audit suggest this is something not even the biggest names can afford to do in such a competitive academic climate.”
