UNSW announces it is the first ANZ university to pass 1m likes on TikTok

This is a win worth having, what with TT being a preferred social media for teens in Australia, used by 12 per cent in 2017 and 38 per cent in 2020, according to the eSafety Commissioner.

The 1m figure gives it a light-year lead on other universities. Macquarie U is second, with 115 000 likes followed by, Deakin U (72 000), UTS (64 000) and Uni Sydney (35 000). At the other end, 13 universities with TT accounts have no, as in none, followers.

UNSW’s Tiktok is an eclectic combination of product information (“the law building has no right angles”) and brand building (such as research stories for people with minimal attention spans).

UNSW gets social media – it always has, since ancient times when Facebook was where universities made friends. Back in 2016 it was the first Australian university to have half a million Facebook pals (CMM October 13) – it has 641 000 likes now. This is way ahead of its TikTok numbers – just 28 000 followers (Macquarie U has 4000) – but TikTok is where the next undergraduates are.