There’s a new kid on the block: shouts to Vero.
Check out what’s being said by Dave Musson and Ryan Grenoble for a more in-depth look at the new platform, but for our purposes let’s think about it specifically as an emergent tool for HE marketing. Ok, fair enough, this a potential yawn moment for readers. New social media platforms tend to have the lifespan of a Higgs-Boson (flipping short), and therefore it can be hard to get excited about their inception. But, to be fair to Vero, it’s been knocking around modestly for about three years prior to last month’s hockey-sticking of user numbers. At first glance it actually looks like it could be a bit of a damp squib for university marketers.
It’s done away with advertising and promoted posts and is architected in a way that that gives prominence to the curation of personal interests (like your favourite book ATM), rather than updates from a brand or institution. This is exactly the reason it has real potential though. Data from informational touch-points (such as UCAS Media) highlight the fact that applicants really value the perspectives of current students and, despite its comparably small user base, Vero offers a platform through which marketing teams could showcase authentic and highly individuated content produced by learners already at their university. Hit up the App Store, lest Vero should collapse in on itself and leave nothing but an expectant singularity in the HE digital community.