Most universities have a ways to go to break into the viral video age. Perspective students are going to be relying on social media more and more to help make their higher education decisions.
Recent research shows that online video users are expected to double to 1.5 billion in 2016, (Cisco) and 92 percent of mobile video viewers share videos with others (Invodo).
Universities are going to want to hop on board the video train. We were happy to see these early adapters putting so much creative and thoughtful attention to their videos. This list is based on YouTube and Facebook subscribers, as well as interaction with subscribers and the variety and creativity of their videos that offer a sense of what their university community is about.
1. HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Harvard is very good with diversifying their content. There seems to be a little bit of everything on their YouTube and Facebook pages, offering a good sense of "college life" at this prestigious East Coast University. For each post on Facebook, there are many shares, likes and comments, helping to make this University number one on this viral video list. 2. STANDFORD UNIVERSITY
Standford's viral video strength lies on their facebook page, their facebook fans love to comment and share their videos. However their YouTube page is also chock-full of great content, including videos of campus life and news from the work of their professors and students. 3. FULL SAIL UNIVERSITY
Full Sail University is an art, music and film school. With that said, it is one of the best sites in this group for really showcasing their students work. Due to the fact that many of their students work involves video, that may make it easier to do. The whole online community Full Sail creates, shows perspective students what they can expect.4. UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX
The University of Phoenix is an online university and is doing very well. As an online school, it would make sense that it's students look to social media for school information. It's YouTube subscribers aren't nearly as large as some of the other universities on this list, but their social interaction is strong. Also, many of their videos have had views in the hundreds of thousands and even some in the millions. U of Phoenix partnered with NFL wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, and are making a series of his time there.
5. MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (MIT)
MIT puts all of their courses online for people all over the world to view free of charge. They also have a separate, easy-to-use site to help you find everything you need to know and more about MIT.
6. ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY Arizona State University captures student life very well on both their YouTube Channel and Facebook page. They have a wide variety of video programming.
7. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
The University of Michigan's YouTube channel is probably the most organized and easy to use of all the ten listed here. They've combined their landing page to include all their channels into one. It really looks like you've tuned in to the UM station.8. TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
While the majority of facebook posts are sports based and their most popular youtube channel with over 10,000 subscribers is their athletic department, Texas A&M knows what their subscribers want and get a lot of interaction on both sites.
9. UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA The University of Pennsylvania does a great job with their youtube page. Their videos are well-rounded and offer a good sense of what the University has to offer. There's also lots of feedback on their posts.
10. LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY Louisiana State University's YouTube page shows the schools sports pride, but it also has a nice section featuring different events happening. Including the first ever open house of the libraries special collection section, showcasing some of the rarest historical artifacts and literature.
