6 How universities use social media
The aim of this section is to raise your awareness of how universities may use social media to connect to their students.
In order to keep up to date with the ways in which your institution is using social media, you need to know how to identify official social media accounts.
Activity 5 Learning about how universities use social media
You may already be aware of your university’s social media use. However, for the purposes of this activity we are going to ask you to search for information on the Open University using either Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. If you are not using any of these platforms, don’t worry, you can still do the activity.
Go to your preferred search engine (e.g. Google) and search for ‘The Open University’ followed by the social media you want to look at e.g. ‘The Open University Instagram’.
Look at the top few search results and make a note of what they are. For example, are they official accounts or other sources of information?
If you have managed to locate the account and you can access it, have a look at the kind of information that is covered.
For example, which of the key areas does it relate to (university’s reputation, career prospects for graduates, what the teaching is like, administrative details such as fee structure and student life)? If you cannot access the account, use the image in Figure 7 which is taken from the Open University Instagram Account.
- How do you feel about the information you can see on the official account? Do you trust it? Is it helpful to you in learning more about the university?
As technology develops, the potential for universities to engage with students offer a number of exciting possibilities. Following your own institution is one of the best ways of keeping on top of activities. There are a variety of official accounts, giving you the opportunity to follow your own subject area.