5 of the Best University Social Feeds

In the crowded market of colleges and universities, making sure your brand stands out while increasing engagement with your community can be a challenge. That’s why we like spotlighting schools who go above and beyond with their social strategy. Here are five of the best.

It’s no secret that social media has become younger generations’ primary form of communication. From communicating with friends and family to keeping up with the latest news, social platforms serve a variety of purposes.

When it comes to attracting prospective students, interacting with current students, and staying connected with alumni, universities have embraced social media as a powerful marketing tool.

Here are the 5 best university social feeds that are truly a notch above the rest.

University of Michigan

You might know the University of Michigan as the Wolverines, but did you know they are also pioneers on the Snapchat front? As only the second university in the United States to begin marketing on Snapchat, they’re the undisputed experts in the field.

One week after launching their Snapchat account, they gained over 1,100 followers on Snapchat, and received nearly 800 snaps. Each snap showcased a unique part of campus life.

To this day, the University of Michigan continues to be the best university social feed for engaging students on a variety of platforms.

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Home of the Mustangs and situated along the central coast of California, the California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) team deserves to be right up there with the best university social feeds in the nation.

They’ve done a lot of great stuff on social media, but my favorite is their #CalPolyNow hashtag campaign to help share students’ voices and experiences via photos and videos.

On Instagram, for example, students are asked to use Cal Poly hashtags while posting and the social team then curates that content, sharing it on the main university account. The team tags the student and uses the #CalPolyNow hashtag to add hyper-relevant user-generated content to their stream.

New York University

NYU is an inspiration to not only the collegiate world but to brands everywhere.

Did you know that they manage more than 1,000 social media accounts campus-wide? Incredible!

Located somewhere between mid-and-downtown in bustling streets of New York City, NYU takes full advantage of their incredible landscape, offering students, alumni, and prospective students a daily dose of inspiration.

But busy city streets aren’t the only thing they’re good at. The NYU social media team also shares real, heartwarming stories of their students:

These “Violet Spotlights” are some of their most engaging content on Facebook in terms of likes, comments, and shares.

Harvard University

Harvard. The oldest and quite possibly, most renowned university in the world, isn’t only known for their academic prowess. Harvard also has one of the best university social feeds in the business – demonstrating that with great intellect comes great creativity.

With more than 7,000,000 followers across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, the Harvard social team drives tens of thousands of engagements on a daily basis. Of course, much of their content is educational (and mind-blowing!) in nature:

Harvard uses their various social media channels as a way to educate, inform, and inspire:

Instead of telling current students, prospective students, and alumni why Harvard is great, they show them.

University of California, Los Angeles

The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) makes the most of its breathtaking on-campus architecture, as well as the stunning California weather.

Their social media presence is a constant reminder to students, alumni, and community why they’re one of the most sought-after universities to attend.

By creating the simple hashtag #SceneAtUCLA, their Instagram account is encouraging everyone to be a part of the visual story. The hashtag has been used more than 11,000 times on Instagram alone!

Hashtags allow the UCLA social media team to curate photos into one beautiful feed and provides audiences with a campus experience through the eyes of students.

Biggest PR Takeaways

The world’s best university social feeds illustrate the power of visual storytelling and educational value on social media. Whether it’s academics, athletics, research, or campus life itself, universities focus on engaging content to highlight everything that they have to offer.

Younger generations are highly likely to use social media as a decision tool in deciding which university to attend. Whereas alumni might use social media to stay in touch with their alma mater. With the right strategy and tools in place, universities can win the hearts and minds of their community.

With universities and colleges acting as a nexus for social media and producing so much social media content on their own, having a media intelligence platform is a necessity. And don’t forget a well-defined social media program.