Social Media press release

Press releases must be like buses - non for ages, then two come at once! Another great one from our media team (obviously great as it features a quote from me), about the social media report I posted about last week. Here it is:

University of Sheffield rated most receptive for social media in the US and UK 

The University of Sheffield has the most receptive and responsive social media out of leading American and UK institutions, according to a new independent report.

Placed eighth overall, the University was also one of just two UK Universities to feature in a top 10 dominated by US institutions – considered to be world leaders in the use of Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and the internet.

The University scored highest for "receptiveness" which measured the extent to which each brand, or institution, is seen to be listening to comments or conversations by users and includes linking, following and referencing.

It was also highly rated in "popularity" – measured by site traffic, followers, references, fans, views and engagement with the brand – as well as "interaction" with users.

Dr Chris Sexton, Director of Corporate Information and Computing Services, said: "The University prides itself on really embracing social media as a way of communicating with staff, students, prospective students and members of the public both in the UK and across the world.

"Engaging with people by responding to enquiries, starting debates and posting interesting content is the crux of what social media, such as Twitter and Facebook, should be about and it is this that has helped us come top compared to other universities in terms of our 'receptiveness'.

"The social media revolution is still only in its early days and we will continue to adapt our services to keep up the pace. We are extending free Wi-Fi across campus and in residences so staff and students can stay connected in all areas, we're adding social media interaction to our web pages and to our existing help and support channels, and have built a suite of creative media rooms in which students can create, edit and upload their own interactive content. We hope this will help us build upon the success of this study and allow us to lead the way for other higher education institutions."

The Transatlantic University Divide – the first study in the UK into social media effectiveness by Universities – examined and compared the 50 leading US and UK institutions using five attributes: popularity; receptiveness; interaction; network reach and trust.

Sociagility, who carried out the investigation, used its PRINT™ social media performance measurement system to analyse the relative effectiveness of institutions in the UK and America to identify what, if any, lessons could be learned.

The researchers claim it is essential that universities project their brands onto social media platforms as the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics shows 16–24 year-olds are the most connected age group in history and that social networking is their number one pre‐occupation online.

Harvard University, where Mark Zuckerburg studied and created Facebook, topped the chart.