Great Social Media Idea: Celebrating Rankings

Yesterday was celebrating victories, today is celebrating rankings... a sign that this week will be another theme week, like the oh-so-wonderful fundraising week? (Celebrate good times, come on!!!) Tempting, but ich don't think so.

College Rankings are big business. At least, they must be, because every single news outlet known to man loves to throw a bunch of numbers into a blender and spit out "objective" (though, in truth, arbitrary) rankings about everything from business schools to sustainability. U.S. News & World Report is the granddady of them all, but they are joined by Princeton Review, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Kiplinger, Bloomberg Businessweek, The Economist, Washington Monthly... the list goes on and on. If you can't tell from my dismissive tone and dripping sarcasm, I think these rankings - for the most part - suck. Often, they are little more than click-bait and a scam to charge colleges exorbitant rates for ads and for the right to use official Best Colleges logos. (Grumble, grumble, grumble... in other important news: GET OFF MY LAWN!)

But personal feelings aside, there's no denying that these things do matter. Both for admissions and for alumni pride. And boy oh boy, do people love engaging with them on social media. So, deal with them we must. And I must say, I've never seen a college deal with them in the same way that Texas Christian University did today: 

Usually when promoting these rankings, it involves a post with a lot of exclamation points (if you are an irascibly excitable little exclamation-point loving scamp like I am) and a link to either an institutional press release or to the rankings themselves. It gets the job done, for sure, but it does sort of feel a bit clinical and detached.

Which is why I love this from TCU so much. It can be challenging to make a college ranking feel personal - especially true for a school of business - but look how wonderful it is to see all those smiling students! It really does put a face on both the business school and the reason why these rankings exist in the first place (in a philosophical, intangible way): Shiny Happy Students Holding Hands!

Bottom line: This is a super cute, super fun way to spice up a college rankings post. Many props to TCU, and congrats on the ranking!