It’s often the same story every year. Business school rankings are released by notable, influential media platforms and organisations all around the world.
And typically the same handful of institutions claim the top spots. Rare indeed it is for an outlier school to break into the top 10s of the most prominent lists.
For the institutions that exist outside of the top spots, whilst these rankings make up an important part of their reinforcing their identity, and their strategy when it comes to bringing in future cohorts, faculty, corporate partners and other potential stakeholders, it can be tricky to see how to share results in the most effective way with these audiences.
After all, gaining attention of potential applicants who most likely will pay greatest attention to the “very best” schools, is no easy feat.
But the “Very Best” results are not only found in the global top 10s. In fact, there is much to be gained by delving a little deeper into what makes up a ranking, and understanding where your institution shines.
Especially if you can then share these successes in the right way… Thankfully, that’s where we can help.
It provides a few initial steps on how to get your house in order when it comes to working with the rankings both in the lead-up to their publication and once they are released.
This blog takes those ideas one step further, looking at how rankings can support your institution long after their initial publication.
More than that, it looks at how institutions can boost their identities and reinforce their values in the long-term in the media, using the numbers the rankings have given them.
What do the numbers mean?
For those institutions that routinely claim a top five, or even top three spot, the exploration of ranking numbers often stops there. After all, why dig deeper if you’ve gained a step on the podium?
However, there is a fault in taking this approach. By only focusing on the overall ranking awarded to an institution, there is limited scope for further discussion – which is not only problematic when it comes to media engagement, but can potentially be short-lived success if the institution loses a few places the following year.
With this in mind, it pays to not get complacent when you do especially well, and always seek to dig a little deeper. If your institution appears mid-table (or lower) look into the criteria of the rankings and see which elements you’ve scored best on.
Perhaps your institution scores particularly well on gender diversity for students or faculty? Or maybe you’re one of only a small handful of institutions in your locale – or even globally - seen to be taking sustainability seriously.
If you’ve read the previous blog you’ll know that simply communicating some numbers via a press release and expecting a swell of attention is highly unrealistic. Not only will every other institution in that ranking be likely to take exactly the same approach (you’ll just be adding to the noise!), but the journalists on the receiving end are highly unlikely to report these numbers as a story – especially if their publication offers a ranking of its own.
These deeper observations provide the seedling for a more impactful story, but don’t stop at the numbers…
How do they complement your ethos?
Taking the previous example of sustainability, consider; what your institution actually does in this area? What steps have you taken? What do you teach? How do your students and wider community engage with your actions?
More importantly, consider “why”.
The answers to these questions provide a stronger narrative to be shared with media and to embed into your identity.
For example… If your students are socially minded and the institution is supporting these ideas, there is a story to be told about how students are helping to shape the attitudes and actions of business schools, and the value a school can gain by in listening to its community. For a journalist, this is a far more engaging discussion than listing a number from a ranking! It provides real world examples of business school impact (which for local media can be especially appealing) and a great deal of thought leadership. The number becomes part of the narrative, but not the core focus. Instead, the ranking helps justify why a journalist should pay attention to your spokespeople.
And, going further… Compare your institution’s actions to what your peers are doing – is there a trend emerging, or are you acting above and beyond what is typical? Communicating this though a wider lens reduces the advertorial slant of your messaging, making it more informative and valuable to a journalist and to their audiences. Such observations can have local, national and even international appeal when pitched correctly.
It’s a story that can be told in multiple ways and with multiple audiences: for example sharing faculty research on sustainability themes, or the eco-focused endeavours of students and alumni, or the developments happening on campus and in the classroom, providing the potential for ongoing media engagement beyond the initial buzz of ranking releases.
It also gives your institution and it’s spokespeople a greater stage upon which to share their ideas, and a means through which to display how you practice what you preach – a far stronger and more credible message to applicants and other potential partners than stating numbers on your website, and with a far greater reach.
Who cares?
The next step is picking your targets smartly. The same pitch won’t work for every outlet, and multiple publications will not want to cover exactly the same story – in fact you risk blacklisting yourself and your institution by attempting to have similar outlets run the same story!
Consider the titles and locales that matter most to your target audiences and, like with the rankings, dig a little deeper… what stories do those outlets typically cover? What approach do they take with their reporting – op-eds or interviews? And, most importantly, how can you pitch your story to them in the most appealing way?
Preparing a compelling pitch is only half the battle (and, to that end, we have some excellent advice here), sending it to the right people is the other, so make sure you explore what your target writers are most motivated by.
The beauty of preparing a number of different narratives around one central idea (such as a good sustainability ranking) allows an institution to target a variety of media, and put forward a greater number of expert spokespeople to carry those press opportunities forward. In short, it offers a longer lifespan for a story inspired by rankings and builds, along with greater visibility, consistency in your institution’s messaging.
Soon, your institution will become seen as the one “doing sustainability right”, investing in both people and planet and leading the charge in shifting perspectives amongst other institutions.
Not only does this provide your institution with a niche around which to build or reinforce an identity and reputation, but such recognition can inspire a response from others beyond applicants. By being seen to be an authority on a given topic, other outlets and organisations will be more likely to approach you directly to collaborate on future articles, events and projects.
Think long-term
And developing such a focus in the year following a ranking’s release can help your institution in considering how it wants to impact rankings in the future, enabling you to put a plan in place. Perhaps you wish to encourage alumni to focus their responses on impacting one particular list? Or perhaps there are changes and additions to be made to a curriculum to allow a programme to score better in certain areas in the future? Maybe such observations impact future hiring? The list goes on…
Institutions need not limit themselves to one idea or focus either. Identifying a selection of key areas on which to focus following the publication of a ranking and following the same steps as above can bring multiple avenues for an institution to explore, greater opportunity for faculty expertise and student successes to be shared, and even more chances to be seen beyond its existing audience.
But the takeaway here is that there is more to rankings than the numbers they boast, and looking beyond the figures can provide you with a bigger payoff that a top 10 – or even top three – placement could ever accomplish.
Find out how BlueSky Education can help increase your rankings.
Kerry is the Strategic Communications and Editorial Lead at BlueSky Education and a former BBC journalist. Recognised in the graduate management education arena as a leading authority on communications for the industry, Kerry has more than a decade of experience in the media and public relations.
