I am pleased to announce that I have joined the Advisory Board of ExpertFile. ExpertFile is a platform that enables organizations to showcase their experts and thought leaders. I will be working with ExpertFile as they expand in the higher education market. There is huge opportunity to impact academic reputation, student recruitment, faculty recruitment, rankings, and media relations. Here is the full press release.

I strongly believe that faculty are an institution’s most important asset.  The academic reputation of a college or university at a fundamental level is the aggregate expertise of the faculty.  Historically, campuses have done a poor job of showcasing their faculty. We need to be a better job of uncovering the great work of our faculty and presenting it in a way that resonates with our audiences.

Over the past couple of years higher education has begun to embrace the idea of content strategy.  IMHO, in 2014 higher education will also start to think more about content marketing.  (If you don’t know the difference, read  “The relationship between content strategy and content marketing“.)  David Meerman Scott, author of “The New Rules of Marketing & PR” and “Newsjacking”, is also a member of the ExpertFile Advisory Board.  As he explains in the video below, David feels that the next wave in content marketing is showcasing your experts.

I’ve been very impressed with everyone at ExpertFile and I look forward to working with them to enhance what is currently a great platform to one that fully meets the needs of colleges and universities.  As content marketing goes mainstream in higher education, promoting faculty expertise will be an important component.

I plan on writing and speaking on this in 2014.  I’d love to know your thoughts.