The creators of SparkNotes, Ben Florman and Justin Kestler, created LitCharts as an extension of their initial success.
#SPARK NITES SERIES#
That said, Course Hero last raised an $80 million Series B in August 2020, and assumedly a portion of that check went to this deal.
LitCharts, an offshoot of SparkNotes, got scooped up today by a newly minted edtech unicorn, Course Hero. History in mind, it makes sense that the creators of everyone’s favorite procrastination tool, SparkNotes, are getting noticed by an edtech unicorn. The site, which offered summaries of books on a chapter-by-chapter basis, was the best way to review novels before a quiz - or, was the best last-minute savior if you procrastinated too much and never got around to opening the book in the first place.
Ultimately, the brand’s social media accounts, particularly their Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, have done an exemplary job of creating engagement and driving performance.I’ll admit it: I was the student that tipped the teacher off that half of our English class, including me, was using SparkNotes to “read” “Twelfth Night” by Shakespeare, instead of actually reading the text itself. According to SproutSocial, the best ways to define and maintain your brand voice include reinforcing your brand’s beliefs, outlining your brand’s ideal voice, avoiding “bait and switch” communication, monitoring audience engagement, and learning where your brand voice is highlighted the most.
So how does a 20 year old brand whose focus on the classics reposition themselves in a world where MySpace is considered archaic? By creating social media accounts that the brand itself would want to follow. Recently, the brand tested out a post where they asked their followers to “request custom-made memes by reaching out via email with the title of a book or a subject they’d want meme’d.” Gorter and Aaron were thrilled with the response they received, by teacher and student alike. While the hilarious content certainly draws audiences in, the brand’s posting consistency and audience engagement keeps them there. After some social listening, identifying which types of content were most popular, and adapting a consistent brand tone and voice, Aaron and Gorter developed a content strategy that they believed would help SparkNotes achieve its mission: “making classic literature easier for students to understand.” Flash forward to today, the SparkNotes Twitter account has over 184,000 followers and regularly averages over 10,000 favorites/tweet. Cue in staff writer Courtney Gorter and Chelsea Aaron, who manages the SparkNotes Instagram account.
SparkNotes has done a phenomenal job adapting to this change by creating social media handles that have not only made learning relevant, but cool.Īt the beginning of 2018, the SparkNotes Twitter hovered around 15,000 followers. During this time, I was introduced to SparkNotes, a company who’s original focus was to “provide study guides for literature, poetry, film, and philosophy.” Just as the technological landscape has changed, the educational landscape has changed as well. This was the case until I began my undergraduate degree, where I found certain content to be lengthy and difficult to fully understand. Throughout my childhood, I constantly had my nose in a book. One of my favorite benefits of the increase of technology has been advancements in learning.
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