Marketshare of Major Social Media Platforms March 2013 Data & graph provided by Dreamgrow Digital
F a c e b o o k Social Largest social platform with over 1 billion users worldwide February 2004 rating: #1 (58.51%) Post photos, status updates, events Follow updates of friends as well as brands and celebrities Like, comment on, or share the statuses of others Play games individually or collectively Create events and invite friends to them Friend & friend request Fan Like Ticker Timeline Notifications Promote awareness of your institution, department, or program Post photos of events, new facilities, successful students and faculty Encourage alumni to follow your fan page & keep tabs on them Survey or engage in discussions with fans and get input from them Promote events within your department Y o u T u b e Video streaming & content repository Slogan: Broadcast yourself. February 2005 Owned by: Google rating: #2 (24.15%) View videos from amateurs or professionals Comment on videos, like/ dislike them, and favorite them Upload your own videos for individual views Create channels of similar content Embed videos on websites Channel Embed Playlist Subscription Publishing medium for amateur videographers Introduce faculty members or facilities on video
T w i t t e r social ing & microblogging March 2006 rating:#3 (1.72%) Send mini-updates, known as tweets, which are limited to 140 characters Tweets can include links to websites or photos Follow people, brands, or celebrities they like Follow global trends with the use of the hashtag Send private messages (DM). Tweet Retweet (RT) Hashtag (#) Handle Trending Direct message (DM) Mention Live-tweet an event, such as a competition, auction, etc. Tweet pictures of facilities, students, events, etc. Tweet departmental updates Answer students questions Curated interest & photo sharing platform March 2010 (invite-only at first) Demographic highlight: 83% female Fastest adoption rate of any social media rating: #4 (1.14%) P i n t e r e s t Organize your profile into topic-themed boards Pin images that link back to a story, blog, etc. Upload original photos Like, comment, or repin others pins Search existing pins Pin Re-pin Board Hashtag Showcase images of anything relevant to the department Pin any news or blog articles with powerful header images Pin information, infographics, or articles that could be useful to your students or alumni
L i n k e d I n Professional social Slogan: Relationships Matter May 2003 rating: #6 (0.89%) List a comprehensive resume for others to peruse Identify affiliations Connect with colleagues and friends, and connect with their connections Request recommendations from colleagues and display them List and search for jobs Connections/contacts Recommendations Endorsements Groups Find alumni through searches Keep track of alumni through specific alumni groups Survey / gather information from followers Encourage graduating seniors to complete their LinkedIn profile G o o g l e + Social Slogan: Real-life sharing rethought for the web June 2011 Connected to Google s other products rating: #7 (0.79%) Post photos, status updates, events Follow updates of friends as well as brands and celebrities Like, comment on, or share the statuses of others Engage in virtual chat rooms in hangouts Instant message with followers Circles +1 (plus one) Hangout Stream Messenger Very similar to Facebook at this point, but without the strong fan base Search engine results are a great side benefit Definitely keep an eye on it to see where it is headed
T u m b l r Microblogging platform & social ing site April 2007 rating: #9 (0.42%) Create your own short-form blog with photos and text Follow blogs of others and like or comment on their posts Share others posts and submit posts to others blogs Dashboard Like Re-blog Notes Asks Anons Similar to uses of Pinterest--another platform for sharing visual respresentations of campus Fairly popular with a younger hipster audience--be very cautious of sales messaging I n s t a g r a m Photo sharing Slogan: Fast beautiful photo sharing October 2010 Owned by Facebook Very mobile-focused rating: #10 (0.36%) Take photos, crop them to squares, and apply cool retro filters Share your photos directly within Instagram with followers, or post to Twitter/ Facebook/other s. Like and comment on others images. Hashtags Photostream Lo-fi, Nashville, Kelvin, etc. Completely visual platform, so best used for showcasing campus, events, and campus life