Social Networking: College Students and Social Media Statistics

 

On any large campus, at any given time, there are likely to be thousands of college students participating in some form of social media. Whether they’re posting “Throwback Thursday” (#tbt) photos on Instagram, Tweeting updates about their boring professor’s lectures, or prowling LinkedIn for internship opportunities or simply Facebook messaging their friends across the country, students view social media as an essential (and often primary) form of communication.

While survey results demonstrate that students love magazines and that their relationship and identification with print has never been stronger, that doesn’t mean that publishers can rely simply on their print publications to capture the interest (and business!) of this valuable demographic. Integrating social media into one’s marketing strategy–especially when targeting college students–is not just recommended; it’s essential! Ignoring these social networking platforms that college students use so frequently and passionately–especially when one’s competitors are likely to be utilizing the platforms–could not only mean falling behind for a company, but falling off the map completely.

Shweiki Media teamed up with its sister company, Study Breaks College Media, in fall 2013 to survey 260 college students, and came up with the following social media statistics on how students are using social networking.

 

Of 260 College Students surveyed, these are the results…

social media, college students, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram, LinkedIn, Vine, Myspace, Brand Interaction, Foursquare, Fan Pages, Smartphones, Mobile

SUMMARY:

-Percentage of students who use the following social media platforms:

Facebook: 95%

Twitter: 80%

Pinterest: 48%

Foursquare: 14%

Myspace: 7%

Tumblr: 29%

Instagram: 73%

Vine: 40%

LinkedIn: 40%

Google+: 29%

 

-The social media platform students say they use the most:

Facebook: 53%

Twitter: 19%

Pinterest: 1%

Tumblr: 5%

Instagram: 18%

LinkedIn: 2%

Vine: 1%

Google+: <1%

 

– Students who have made a purchase on Facebook:

12% Have

88% Have Not

 

– Students who have purchased an item they discovered on Pinterest:

23% Have

77% Have Not

 

-The Percentage of Students Who Will “Like” a Fan Page for the Following Reasons:

Contests: 47%

Giveaways: 56%

Suggested by a friend: 25%

Personal Connection: 47%

Good Content: 55%

Just Being a True Fan of the Brand: 68%

 

-Students’ self-proclaimed likeliness to click on a Facebook ad:

Very Likely: 2%

Somewhat Likely: 7%

Depends on the Ad: 33%

Not Very Likely: 39%

Would Never: 19%

 

-42% of students love seeing good deals, specials and discounts on their social media feeds.

 

-71% of students “check in.”

 

-90% of students surveyed think it’s okay for a brand to post on Facebook, including the 56% who think it’s okay for a brand to post daily if the content is valuable.

 

-When students claim to spend the most time on social media:

Immediately After Waking Up: 14%

Morning: 13%

Afternoon: 24%

Evening: 33%

Late at Night: 16%

 

-40% of students check Facebook 6+ times a day.

 

-63% of students check Twitter at least once a day, including the 33% who check 6+ times a day.

 

-75% of students are most likely to use their smart phone (over a laptop, desktop or tablet) to access social media. 

 

Check out the results of Study Breaks’ other survey on College Students and Print!

 

 

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