When the team at Leeds University Business School (LUBS) got in touch, they were looking for a clearer picture of how they were doing on LinkedIn – and how they stacked up against other schools. Leeds is a well-respected institution with a strong brand, but like many universities, they were wondering if their content and structure were working as hard as they could be.
So we got to work, helping them benchmark their performance, understand their competitors, and fine-tune their social media marketing strategy for universities.
The LUBS team wanted to get a better handle on how their main LinkedIn page was performing. There were also early conversations about creating a new page for executive education.
But more than anything, they wanted to understand:
And while we did make recommendations around their channel structure, the main focus was helping them benchmark, plan, and refresh their LinkedIn content strategy. That’s the part we’ll walk you through here.
We began by asking the team to share a list of peer and competitor schools – some based in the UK, others overseas. These were the institutions they were often compared to or inspired by, and that made them the perfect group to benchmark against.
From there, we ran a full LinkedIn audit, pulling data on:
This was all reviewed over a 90-day period, giving us a clear sense of how Leeds was doing compared to others in the space. It’s the kind of benchmarking that should really be built into any digital marketing strategy for university teams.
We’re not the type of agency to disappear into a spreadsheet and come back with a shiny report.
Instead, we worked closely with the LUBS team 30-minute check-ins – sharing early findings, listening to feedback, and adjusting as we went. It was properly collaborative, and a good example of how we deliver social media training for higher education clients: with partnership, not just PowerPoints.
Our work combined hard numbers (engagement rates, post frequency) with softer insights around tone, audience resonance, and content relevance – something we believe is crucial in any social media marketing for educational institutions.
As we reviewed the content of both LUBS and their competitors, one thing stood out loud and clear: informal, people-focused content consistently outperformed everything else.
The posts that truly resonated with audiences were those showing:
These kinds of posts consistently generated the most engagement – not just for Leeds, but across the whole competitor set. Academic content is important, of course, but for platforms like LinkedIn, it’s the human stories that really draw people in.
This wasn’t just a theory either – we pulled out seven recurring content themes that performed best across the board. When we went back to look at Leeds’ content, those themes were there… but spread across different pages. That scatter made it harder to build momentum or consistency.
So one key takeaway? Leeds already had the right ingredients. They just needed a clearer structure and content focus to make the most of them; a common challenge we see in college social media strategy projects.
We’ve always said the best social media strategy university teams can have is one they actually use. And this one got picked up and put into action straight away.
We loved how open and collaborative the Leeds team were. They asked great questions, engaged with the data, and really owned the process. We’re particularly proud that this work didn’t just sit in a folder – it created change.
We also appreciated the opportunity to zoom out and look at the big picture. In content marketing for university teams, it’s easy to get stuck in the weeds of post-by-post planning. This project gave us and the client a chance to step back, spot trends, and plan with purpose.
If your university or college is feeling unsure about your content (or just wants to know what “good” looks like) benchmarking is the best place to start.
It’s one of the most powerful tools in higher education social media marketing.
It helps you spot gaps, learn from others, and refine your strategy.
We recommend doing it quarterly if possible, especially if you’re juggling multiple channels or managing content across teams. It also pairs beautifully with broader content marketing for educational institutions or SEO for university websites, helping you connect dots across your entire digital presence.
This was a brilliant project with a brilliant team – and a great reminder that strategy doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Sometimes all you need is a clear view of where you are, where others are, and a little nudge in the right direction.
We help universities, colleges, and schools build better strategies: whether it’s through content audits, benchmarking, or social media marketing strategies for colleges and departments.
If you’re looking for a fresh pair of eyes on your content or a partner to support your next campaign, we’d love to chat.
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