by JACK BREEN

The start of the year is a great time to step back and evaluate some of the new opportunities that social media can provide for our universities.

 Don’t ignore TikTok

Short-form video on social continues to grow in importance, but TikTok is taking things to a whole new level, and format. For Australia in 2022, TikTok is by far the fastest growing social channel by average time spent using the app. At a whopping 23 hours/month, it’s up 40 per cent year-on-year.

This compares with Facebook 18 hours (-3 per cent), YouTube 17 hours (+5 per cent) and Instagram 8 hours (+2 per cent). TikTok is powering ahead and proving it’s not just “dancing videos for kids.”

Most Australian universities have a TikTok account but a third are yet to post – they should start.

For some inspiration, check out

Uni Sydney: fantastic work via their deliberately, discreetly branded future student focused AStar.tv

UTS, they nail humour

UniMelb, the campus aesthetic down pat

Uni Wollongong captures the return-to-campus vibes

Macquarie U,  student hosts create a strong persona

Deakin U, is down with “the kids’

and, of course, UNSW which is down with the platypuses.

Keep an ear on “social audio”

Audiences can listen live and get involved directly, by talking in the broadcast (in a controlled way). It won’t replace podcasting or live radio, but the interactive format opens up new opportunities.

Emerging channel  Clubhouse  doesn’t seem to have taken off significantly in Australia yet, and Twitter Spaces and Facebook Live Audio have followed up with very similar products, which are more likely to gain traction because of their existing user bases.  Twitter Spaces will be an interesting one to watch, and may be a good match for university thought leadership talks, Q&As or anything that would benefit from a broadcast format with two-way participation. Remember, to get the most out of it, you should be letting your audience speak, too.

Focus your efforts (and don’t burn out)

After years of one-person social teams’ thankfully most of our institutions have seen the power and ever-expanding potential of meaningfully connecting with our students, future students, academics, alumni and others through social media. But while social teams are bigger than they were five years ago, they are still small compared with more established communications and marketing functions.

So, while I’m quick to encourage the pursuit of opportunities on TikTok and social audio platforms, there will always be endless opportunities in social, and a burnt-out team isn’t good for anybody.

Social media isn’t just about creating content, it’s also about strategic research, planning and advice, moderating communities (especially in the evolving environment and risks around defamation law in Australia), risk mitigation, issues management, and balancing priorities from stakeholders across the organisation.

This increases with every additional platform. Growing your social team is very important, but know that you won’t ever be able to do everything (well). Work out where your team’s strengths are and where you see the most opportunity, and allow your social team to re-prioritise their goals and ways of working to adapt. If your social team is always busy reacting to requests from other teams, they won’t have the time or space to get proactive and achieve great things.

Encourage your academics to use social (more) – lead by example

This is critical, because social media at universities is not just done by the social team – in fact, I argue  there are few people who have absolutely no interaction with social media in their day-to-day roles. There is huge potential, especially from an academic perspective, to be sharing your work and collaborating with peers on social, and it’s a win-win, because academics are building both their personal reputation and the university’s brand.

Senior academic staff should lead by example, and show their teams that it’s an incredibly valuable tool for their career progression and expanding their academic profile. Also, an organisation that invests in professionally building its branded social media channels sends a strong signal to academics about how important social is for the university. A top-down approach that places strong importance on social media as a key communication and collaboration tool is the best way to generate meaningful change in an institution.

A clear sign that more and more academics continue to come onboard is the near doubling in UNSW academics using Twitter professionally that I’ve observed in the last three years.

Jack Breen is Social Media Manager at UNSW Sydney. Tell him what you want to hear more about in the HE social media space @ jackjbreen on Twitter or /jackbreen on LinkedIn.