Changes in the Social Media Landscape and How it Impacts BU’s Strategy
By Dave McDonald, Associate Director of Social Media
2022 has been quite the year in the social media universe. TikTok has taken center stage as the new supreme of the social media platforms, while Meta’s Facebook and Instagram struggle to catch up as they continue to push Reels. Meanwhile, Youtube is also getting into the short-form video market as its loyal users adopt Shorts, Youtube’s TikTok-like function. And then, of course, there’s Twitter, which is going through a major identity crisis as Elon Musk takes the reins as the new CEO. All these drastic changes beg the question: How does this impact our social media strategy? Let’s focus on the evolution of Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, how our audiences are changing on these channels, and how we’re pivoting when it comes to content creation.
Moving away from direct connections to AI-recommended content
While one may argue that Vine, Twitter’s long-lost cousin, was the first on the scene when it comes to short-form video, TikTok was the first to master it, popularizing the trend of highlighting relevant creators instead of direct connections with its scary accurate algorithm. So naturally, as more users sign up for TikTok to see what all the buzz is about, the folks over at Meta are chomping at the bit to keep their users’ attention as they continue their hard push of Reels. According to a recent article published by Social Media Today, “Meta’s looking to incorporate more AI-recommended content into Facebook feeds, based on overall engagement and popularity, not on your personal connections. Which is similar to how TikTok sources content.” The article also mentions that Reels now make up 20% of the time people spend on the platform, while video makes up 50% of time spent on Facebook, and how META plans to continue leaning in these formats. So what does this all mean? If you haven’t already, you’ll start noticing many more videos in your feeds.
How is this playing out on BU’s social media channels?
In FY22, we saw a noticeable shift across our channels. After years of success, Facebook is moving to a legacy channel with slower growth and an aging demographic. However, our Instagram and TikTok channels continue to grow in size and popularity. At the end of this fiscal year, we saw our followers on Instagram grow by 31.73%. We also saw a significant increase in followers on TikTok, jumping from 1,574 followers to 4,868.
For example, on Facebook, while undergraduate students and young alums represent most of our audience, the most often engaged followers are older, ranging from mid-forties to 65+.
Meanwhile, our audience on Instagram most closely mirrors the university's student community and young alumni population. It is roughly 60% female and primarily ages 25–34 (32.8%), followed by users in the 18–24 (30.6%) age range. With time, more parents are adopting the platform, but it remains a preferred social network of our core student audience.
Finally, on TikTok, 60% of our followers are 16- to 24- years old, which matches up with the overall user base of the platform.
What’s rising on Instagram and TikTok?
Keeping in mind the trends we see in the industry, here is a quick summary of the types of content that continue to rise to the top of our channels:
What’s rising on Instagram:
- Sharable headlines — Similar to how major news outlets present breaking news on their Instagram feeds, posts highlight news and events happening at BU that students should be aware of continue to be top performers. The intent here is that when students see these posts, they will then share them to their Instagram stories for their followers to see, increasing our post reach.
- Student Takeovers — Year after year, our takeovers continue to be one of the best ways to showcase what student life is like at Boston University. Our #TerrierTuesday series, where we showcase a student’s BU experience on our Instagram feed and stories each week, continues to be a top performer.
- Reels — No surprise here. As the algorithm continues to push reels, we expect to see content like our day-in-the-life series, dorm tours, and more rise to the top.
- Explainer carousels — Whenever there is a big university update or event coming up, we use carousels to highlight the details. We explain the announcement’s various nuances on each slide, making it easy to understand. Similar to how time spent on a webpage helps with SEO, time spent on a post is considered when Instagram’s algorithm determines the importance of a post. Therefore, the more time users spend swiping through a carousel, the higher it will rank in a user’s feed.
What’s rising on TikTok:
While short-form video is at the heart of the platform, here are the top-performing themes we see on our channel:
- Playing into trends — Whether using a trending sound or a popular dance, creating BU-themed versions of top-performing content in the TikTok universe is a surefire way to get a lot of engagement on the platform.
- Humor — No surprise here. Unlike Instagram’s more beautifully manicured content, TikTok users prefer a more raw and unfiltered experience. This is why inserting humor into our videos does so well. For BU, that could mean poking fun at one of our neighboring colleges or tapping the shoulder of our mascot, Rhett, for some wholesome fun.
- Local — Our students always look for new things to explore around Boston. This also helps them feel part of the BU and the larger Boston community. Creating content that showcases activities, shops, and restaurants is a great way to keep our students engaged.
- Educational — Whether it be study tips or learning a new life hack, our Terriers are always looking for ways to learn new things or make life a little easier.
What’s next for BU’s social channels?
We are currently working on a creator program to help engage more students and help keep a steady flow of new content on the channel. While TikTok videos are short, they take time to create. Highlighting student creators will help us deliver videos that will be highly engaging.
What changes have you seen on your channels this past year? Sound off in the comments, and let us know.
