1m sets of eyeballs can’t be wrong

Our University is one of the education sector’s best communicators in social media, and we have more than 1 million followers to prove it.

UNSW is celebrating its corporate social media channels passing 1,000,000 total followers for the first time, while also maintaining its position as a top-3 ranked Australian university.

Ten years after its first foray into social media, UNSW has amassed more than 1.1 million followers across its Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram channels.

In a rapidly changing environment, with algorithms, product plans and advertising methods shifting year to year, UNSW’s social media activity has successfully evolved with the times and cemented its place as a sector-leading institution.

“UNSW has built a strong social media presence over the past 10 years, with incredible successes and complete shifts in the way we’re communicating with our audiences,” says Jack Breen, Digital Lead: Social Media from the Division of External Relations (DEx).

And that presence has paid dividends, but not just in the number of fans amassed. For the 4th consecutive month, UNSW has achieved a top-5 result in the industry benchmark Edurank ranking of Australian universities on web and social media (3rd for June 2018), and the top spot in New South Wales.

In an increasingly digital universe, a world-class social media presence is invaluable in connecting with both current and prospective students, as well as alumni.

“The average Australian now spends 10% of their waking life on social media, and the number of us who are watching videos online everyday has increased by 20% year on year,” Jack continues.

“This space presents an incredible opportunity for UNSW to create conversations about our world-leading research, showcase our fantastic student life, and celebrate the successes of our students, grads and academics. Increased exposure of UNSW stories through social allows us to reach and engage a global audience, helping achieve the goals of our 2025 Strategy.”

But despite the great successes in the first half of 2018, standing still on a constantly evolving medium like social media isn’t an option.

“There have been significant changes in the social landscape and the algorithms of the platforms which meant that a new strategy and approach was needed,” says Jack.

“We have implemented some key changes for our corporate social channels, including instilling a 'fewer, bigger, better' approach to content. That means that we focus more on the quality of content, rather than the quantity. The tactics we’ve been implementing this year have been a pilot for the new UNSW Social Media Strategy that we’re rolling out later this year, helping to elevate our social impact across the Faculties and key international markets. We want everything that we serve on social to be providing value to our audiences - content they would want to engage with.”

You can check out the great work done by Jack and his Global Profile & Reputation colleagues firsthand by following UNSW on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.