This report examines how the top 10 UK universities are using social media channels to communicate and build engagement with students and other stakeholders. The report was jointly produced by Interactive Software and Sysomos.

1. UK Universities Social
Media Benchmarking
Report 2016
Compare your university against the best, discover
which content generates most engagement and see
how US Universities are using advanced social media
techniques to rebrand, recruit and retain.

2. 2
Page 3 Introduction
Page 5 The Data
Page 6 Key Takeaways
Page 7 Top 10 UK Universities - Social Profile Comparison
Page 8 Twitter Chatter Key Topics
Page 9-10 Twitter Content Driving Most Engagement
Page 11 International Insights in Social Media Management
Page 12 Case Study One: If you Tweet it, they will come
Page 13 Case Study Two: MSU: Building a Strong Student Community
Page 14 Social Media Management: Best Practices
Page 15 Research Authors
Contents
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3. 3
Back in 2006 “social media marketing” was a new term for a new
channel. Over the next few years, social media marketing was the
cool new kid on the block… but with everyone unsure of his agenda.
The term social media suddenly cropped up on the CV of every Marketing
professional and corporations ploughed large sums of money into the channel
without really having a strategy.
Thankfully, now, the savviest marketers no longer consider social media as a separate
discipline. Rather, as with “digital marketing”, social media is just a set of tools or a
channel that can be used as part of an integrated and holistic marketing campaign.
But social media is not just any old channel. Its reach and potential are still
staggering; Twitter has over 305 million monthly active users. Instagram
over 300 million users. And then there’s the daddy of them all, Facebook,
with 1.59 BILLION active monthly users.
Independent research conducted by Ofcom shows just how far social media has
permeated our daily lives, with 93% of 16-24 year olds having at least one social
media profile.
Research shows us that social media use is growing year on year. For
marketers working in Higher Education, this provides us with a huge
opportunity to engage and influence our target audience in new and
effective ways as never before.
Prospective students actively interact with institutions on social channels
throughout their student journey, making it a key channel for marketing,
recruitment and retention. Institutions are now dedicating serious time and
resource into growing their social audiences, blending paid social with paid search
efforts. But what works and what doesn’t? These statistics compel HE marketers
to act. But what we also need are insights that show us how and when to act for
maximum impact.
Introduction

4. 4
We have aggregated the research data using the latest and most-powerful social
media management software and displayed the information in a series of insights
and takeaways which you can put into action straightaway, taking your social media
student marketing to the next level.
There’s also some great examples of how US Universities are using social media
monitoring, and a best practice guide for you to apply straightaway.
We hope you find the content useful and look forward to hearing about the
opportunities you generate.
That’s why we created the 2016 UK Higher
Education Social Media Benchmarking Report:
providing HE marketing professionals with data
that allows you to benchmark your performance
against the social media profile of the UK’s Top
10 Universities, as well as understanding what
content generates most engagement / reach
and when key peak activity spikes are.
4

5. 5
The Top 10 Universities in this report were taken from the
Guardian League Table 2015. The data was then amassed and
analysed using leading social media management tool Sysomos.
This report will allow you to compare your institutions Social
Media performance against the best UK Universities. The data
used was taken from Twitter, as this is the platform that allows
the most extensive data analysis.
The findings provide considerable understanding on the “social profile” of
these institutions, what content they share, which of this content receives
most engagement (likes and retweets), when the spikes in activity are and the
reasons underpinning this.
The report begins with a takeaways section looking at key trends and insights
across all 10 Universities.
We hope you enjoy our work.
The Data Top 10 UK Universities

6. 6
Key Takeaways
Takeaway #1
Oxbridge dominate on
Social Profile
Oxbridge institutions dominate in terms
of number of Followers and Monthly
Follower Growth. However, it’s the
Universities outside of the top two
that have the higher Average Follower
Authority, which is one indicator of an
accomplished Alumni.
Takeaway #2
Listen and Engage with
A Level Results
A Level Results are responsible for the
main spike in Twitter chatter. Social
listening tools should be used to monitor
and respond to this chatter, engaging with
prospective students and undiscovered
segments to drive additional enquiries
and conversions.
Takeaway #3
Make your Content Strategic
University rankings, key institution news
and tapping into wider cultural events
and trending hashtags generates the
highest level of Tweet engagement.
Measuring engagement with the content
you share and identifying which topics
and media formats (video, links, photos
etc.) gain most traction is an important
step in boosting the reach and success
of your social media activity.

7. 7
Top 10 UK Universities
- Social Profile Comparison
Followers Following Male % Female %
Avg Follower
Authority
Monthly
Follower Growth
Account
Authority
Cambridge @Cambridge_Uni 239,654 775 62 38 3 5,232 10
Oxford @UniofOxford 272,068 582 62 38 3.1 5,179 10
St Andrews @univofstandrews 26,216 478 52 48 3.5 381 8
Surrey @UniOfSurrey 38,222 1,335 53 47 3.4 662 9
Bath @UniofBath 44,351 602 57 43 3.4 648 9
Durham @durham_uni 26,927 1,988 49 51 3.3 474 9
Warwick @warwickuni 50,917 2,430 56 44 3.4 975 9
Imperial College @imperialcollege 43,642 2,855 63 37 3.4 805 9
Exeter @UniofExeter 42,647 8,016 49 51 3.5 635 9
Lancaster @LancasterUni 39,466 996 54 46 3.4 1,093 9
The Social Profile comparison
table above lists Universities
as they appear in the Guardian
League Table 2015. As you would
expect the Oxbridge institutions
dominate in terms of Followers
and Monthly Follower Growth,
which is an average taken over the
six months up until March 2016.
Interestingly, it’s the Universities
outside of the top two that have
the higher Average Follower
Authority, which could be an
indicator of an accomplished
Alumni.
Being able to see a breakdown
of your social audience allows a
University to develop strategic
discussions between, genders,
age ranges and locations.
Findings

8. 8
Findings
Here’s a graph looking at the combined twitter chatter for all of the
Top 10 UK universities. Each spike is driven by a major news event
concerning one specific university.
We can clearly see the main spike on August 13 which is driven
by A Level Results Day, peaking at 3723 tweets that day.
Other notable spikes include;
Spike 1 – Kanye West speaks at Oxford Union
Spike 2 – Oxford Cambridge Boat Race
Spike 3 – Louise Richardson named first female Vice Chancellor at Oxford
Spike 4 – David Cameron doing unspeakable things to a pig’s head at Oxford
Spike 5 – Warwick student union bans an ex-Muslim from speaking, causing a freedom of speech argument
Spike 6 – The Times Higher Education World University Rankings being published and universities talking about their performance
Spike 7 – Various issues – protest against animal experiments at Cambridge (#boycottcambridge), news story about Oxford University accepting a
donation from a Russian oligarch and Welsh rugby player Jamie Roberts making his debut for Cambridge University
Spike 8 – Lancaster University exams delayed due to floods causing a power cut
Being able to “listen” to this chatter and understand audiences allows a University to reach out and engage with prospective students
as never before – congratulating the successful, providing advice to the disappointed and even offering places through clearing.
Twitter Chatter Key Topics

9. 9
Cambridge University University of Oxford St Andrews University University of Surrey University of Bath
The following data shows the Top 3 tweets and content that generated the most engagement
for the UK’s Top 10 Universities for the 12 month period up to March 2016.
Twitter Content
Driving Most Engagement

10. 10
Durham University Warwick University Imperial College London University of Exeter Lancaster University
Findings It’s clear from the tweet engagement
data that content around University
rankings and league table performance
consistently generates the highest level
of engagement.
Following league table performance, the content that
drives most engagement typically concerns key news
events relative to each institution, such as a new
Vice Chancellor or significant research findings – with
existing students and staff compelled to share this
content and extend its reach into new audiences.
Content that taps into wider cultural events or
trending hashtags, for example the #solareclipse,
also performs well.

11. 11
US Universities have been using sophisticated social media management tools to
supercharge recruiting, manage online reputation and gain clear student insights
for some time. Powerful social listening software is now a central component in the
marketing toolkit of US colleges fighting to compete in a noisy, saturated industry.
There exists an opportunity for UK Universities to employ these tools to increase
social media presence and impact conversion rates.
Brand Management
US Colleges and universities spend significant time and money building big
brands and maintaining their reputation in order to attract new students every
year. A key channel for managing reputation is what prospective students read
and hear on social media.
“Listening” to social media conversations empowers HE Marketing Professionals in
the States to track everything that’s being said about their school across all social
channels — both positive and negative. This real-time data enables universities
to react quickly to news, rumours and conversations – managing or changing
sentiment – or piggy-backing on good news stories for positive brand association.
Student Experience
So, how do we engage with Digital Natives with our school? Well, in the US social
media is used to foster an environment in which students participate actively and
in turn develop a sense of belonging - helping students make the transition into
university culture more efficiently and successfully.
Using social media to nurture connections between peers outside of the
classroom early in their university life helps promote social interaction, lower
barriers and serves as a strong starting point for entry level students. Universities
in the States use social media to initially help form these embryonic relationships,
then use the same social channels to encourage face-to-face interaction, which
then builds meaningful and sustainable relationships.
Recruitment
Social media and technology have changed recruiting, students now research
extensively before engaging with a university. US Colleges use social media
management to understand what students are searching for so they can have
answers ready. US schools “listen” to online conversations to help define the
messages they need to focus on - financial aid is usually a hot topic. For example,
if a social listening tool is recording a lot of “financial aid” mentions, the university
will share content about the financial aid process, hold QA forums or host
related events.
Social media management tools also measure the success of a campaign by
assessing students’ reaction to it. If engagement with a piece of content is high,
this can be an indication it will encourage students to attend an open day or
complete an enquiry form.
US colleges meet and engage their audiences where they are — on social media.
Social tools deliver the understanding schools need to build “youth” brands,
provide better experiences and appeal to prospects.
International Insights
in Social Media Management

12. 12
Promoting a Diverse, industry-focused University
Georgia State University (GSU) in Atlanta prides itself on its
diverse student body and industry-focused academics. Its
goals include “to become a national model for undergraduate
education by demonstrating that students from all
backgrounds can achieve academic and career success.”
Using social media, GSU connects with future and current
students, creating a sense of excitement about GSU that students can share, and
encourages prospects to apply and applicants to enrol.
Providing Support to a Diverse Student Body
After seeing what other universities were doing with social media, GSU’s social
media management goals included;
• Tracking brand mentions accurately
• Filling the applicant funnel
• Supporting “at-risk” students by getting them help before they drop out
• Improving student experience by using social media to answer questions
and provide timely information
Monitoring the Pulse of the Campus
Previously GSU were using free tools with no way to weed out noise. Their
first campaign with new social management software focused on making new
applicants feel welcome. GSU asked newly-accepted applicants to tweet a picture
of themselves with a GSU poster, encouraging these applicants to become
students. They then followed-up on each of the tweets, linking students to the
correct form to confirm their enrolment.
Students are now most likely to use social media to try to get answers about
campus questions. GSU’s new tools manage each of its Twitter accounts,
workflows fire off questions on accommodation, applications or fees to the
relevant department.
Serving Students and building a Brand for the Future
Recently, GSU brought in a new VP of Public Relations and Marketing who
created a strategic communication plan focused on using social media tools and
channels to promote the university’s brand, new scholarships, fellowships,
research and more.
Case Study One
If you Tweet it,
they will come.

13. 13
Efficiently Marketing the University
Midwestern State University (MSU) is small in size but big
on value. MSU ensures that every area of its operations
makes efficient use of its resources. To help achieve this
goal, the university’s Social Media Director, Matt Steimel,
decided to explore tools to integrate social media with the
university’s wider marketing campaigns.
Engaging Prospective Students
“MSU is now able to analyse prospective students’ decision-making process while
choosing a university,” says Steimel. Social listening tools revealed to Steimel that
students talked about MSU with their family and friends on social media, “so it
seemed natural to reach out to students and their influencers who might not realise
that MSU had a Twitter account,” says Steimel.
The university also invites potential students with whom it has a social media
relationship to attend orientation events where they can visit the campus and
learn more about the university, “we’ve found this previously undiscovered group
of students genuinely excited about the university,” says Steimel.
Retaining current Students
Monitoring common subjects gives the
university an opportunity to answer
pressing questions to individual
students, while also broadcasting the
answers to all who follow the social
media accounts. Students tweet at
the university’s accounts when there
is a problem with their data such as a
misspelled name. “Listening” allows the
university to make corrections quickly,
which makes existing students feel
well-served.
MSU has had so much success using
social listening tools that it plans to
expand use. The social media department has identified Twitter accounts that
influence students on Twitter. The department focuses promotional efforts on
these accounts and tracks the growth of mentions of an upcoming event. The
number of students attending various university-run events has increased, which
organisers attribute to social media outreach efforts.
Case Study Two
MSU: Building a Strong
Student Community

14. 14
A clear understanding of how social media management
compliments and supports your business objectives will
help you make the transition from tactical to strategic,
push to pull, annoy to engage.
By incorporating the following best practice steps, your social media
monitoring will become more strategic and effective;
Conduct an audit to verify company readiness to integrate social media
monitoring within overall business processes in order to ensure effective
and sustainable deployment across the entire organization.
Set clear, measurable social media goals that are aligned to core business
objectives. Define KPI’s to track which will inform you whether you are
meeting your social goals and wider business objectives.
Provide leadership and develop structured teams and processes
with clear strategic goals.
Select social media monitoring tools based on your individual
company’s strategy, market and segments.
Dedicate resources (money, time, people with appropriate skills) and invest
in internal training to support new SM technologies and raise awareness of
company’s social media policy and practices.
Train your team how to master the software and interpret the data, but
how it fits into the wider marketing plan and why it has been selected to
communicate with the target audience / segment.
Organise processes and workflows to ensure rapid engagement
with customers on social channels and to provide consistent
brand experience as a part of wider customer service.
Prepare company’s response plan, resources
and procedures for managing possible social
media crisis in accordance with the company’s
core values and overall marketing and
communication activities.
View social data as a company strategic
asset and understand the value of the
data - how it can be monetised within
your business setting.
Social Media Management:
Best Practices

15. 15
This research was undertaken by;
It used to be enough to just observe social media. But with billions of
conversations happening daily around your brand and audience, you need true
intelligence and practical tools.
Make better decisions based on actionable data gathered from sophisticated
social listening tools. The true potential of social media captured and managed
in a single platform.
From insights to business results. Research without limitation, monitor and
influence what your community is saying, and engage with people looking for
what you’re selling.
Sysomos use data science to bring together intelligent businesses and
connected customers to deliver more personalised, relevant experiences.
Don’t just listen. Understand.
Monitor, analyse and gather
insights that allow you to create
better products and services.
Interactive Software provide Student Recruitment Customer Relationship
Management (CRM) systems that align your software requirements with your
corporate goals and marketing objectives. Helping you hit targets, climb league
tables and understand students.
Build a consistent, strong “youth” brand that speaks to young people through
tools and channels which create meaningful dialogues.
Our partnership approach, developed through longstanding relationships with
leading UK universities, allows productivity, creativity and immediate business
benefit to thrive.
Because we’ve mapped our implementation process to the student journey,
you can be up and running in less than 6 weeks.
Big Brands that cut through
the noise, Targeted Multi-channel
Marketing and clear Student
Insights.

16. Please call; 0121 380 1010
email; enquiries@interactivesoftware.co.uk
or visit; interactivesoftware.co.uk/aes