CSU Blog ranks second globally
When it comes to students getting information in a timely manner, it’s crucial to put out the most important information as possible. The hard work of the Centennial Student Union has paid off as Feedspot ranked the CSU’s blog second globally among the best Student Union RSS Feed Sites.
Feedspot is an online database comprised of 250,000 bloggers and social media influencers to compile the RSS feeds of blogs, podcasts, news websites and forums.
RSS feeds — “Really Simple Syndication” — on Feedspot are ranked by relevance, freshness, authority and social media followers.
Centennial Student Union Communication Coordinator Lenny Koupal explained the blog has an RSS component that pushes a small excerpt from the story into a carousel that’s displayed on monitors throughout the CSU and Myers Field House.
“We get a lot of comments saying ‘Oh, I read about this event on your monitors,’” Koupal said. “We feel it has value. It gives us a lot more visibility for our blog posts keeping students informed.”
Koupal runs the CSU blog along with the Maverick Insider, the weekly newsletter sent to student emails. He said when it comes to making the CSU’s blog stand out, he picks stories that would hold student’s attention while also keeping them informed.
“We want to feel like we’re one of those news sources that students can walk by a monitor and say ‘What’s going on? What’s happening that I would be interested in?’ It’s always been about helping students be informed, engaged and successful,” Koupal said.
Feedspot credited the CSU’s blog for its wide variety of content ranging from “academic success, alumni spotlight, assistance, campus news, events, fraternity and sorority and more.”
Koupal said the blog represents the positive news and events going on around MSU. He said the excerpts on the monitors give students a taste of what to expect, hoping they’ll click the link or head to the website to read more.
“There’s a synergy about student success and the campus community that’s their college home. We want to keep it brief as the Maverick Insider complements the blog,” Koupal said. “We’ll just give you a little snippet that will push you to the site.”
The University of Vaasa in Finland ranked first place with University College London coming in third. MSU ranked third in Feedspot’s Global Ranking of Bloggers in 2022. In attempts to reach the number one spot, Koupal said he, his grad assistant and the two staff writers have become more intent on the stories they pick for the blog.
“We want to keep being a source of instant news for students,” Koupal said. “Weekly posts have helped boost our rankings because Feedspot sees we’re not haphazardly posting things. We’re constantly adding stories to our blog.”
When it comes to informing the MSU campus, Koupal said the CSU takes pride in being recognized by others for their content.
“It helps motivate us and it’s all for a good cause,” Koupal said. “We want to continue being the best we can.”
Write to emma.johnson.5@mnsu.edu