![Top 10 Social Media-Savvy Universities [STUDY]](https://helios-i.mashable.com/imagery/archives/00Fo6LGKl1jUbaQg9KV1dNy/hero-image.fill.size_1248x702.v1647020806.jpg)
Harvard University is at the head of the class when it comes to using social media to connect with students, potential applicants and the community, beating out University of Pennsylvania and MIT for the top spot.
Social media consulting company Sociagility revealed a list of which of the 25 highest-ranked universities in both the U.S. and UK are best at using social media such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Sociagility selected which schools to analyze based on the 2011 - 2012 Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
The results are determined by how each school attracted attention to its social media pages -- based on site traffic, followers, views and engagement -- as well as receptiveness to listening to comments, interaction, network reach and trust. Here are the top 10:Harvard
University of Pennsylvania
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
University of Michigan
Stanford University
University of California, Berkeley
University of Oxford
University of Sheffield
University of Wisconsin, Madison
University of Texas at Austin
Harvard -- which has more than 1.6 million fans on Facebook and 107,000 Twitter followers -- posts everything from news about its latest research to video footage of its men's basketball team winning the Ivy League championship. Meanwhile, MIT manages a variety of Twitter accounts to spread updates, from @MIT_Alumni and @MITSloan to @Medialab and @TechReview.
According to research from the Office for National Statistics, people between the ages of 16 and 24 are the most connected group in history, and visiting social networking sites takes up a lot of their time. So universities are ramping up efforts to connect more with this demographic on social media platforms.
Although U.S.-based universities dominated the top ten, two British schools made the list: University of Oxford and University of Sheffield. The report indicates that UK-based universities might be missing out on student recruiting opportunities.
"It must be acknowledged that many of the U.S. institutions dominating the rankings are very large and very well-funded compared to their U.K. counterparts, and that sheer size and volume of activity may boost some individual attribute scores, like 'popularity' and 'network.' Success breeds success," Sociagility said in the report.