67% of consumers tap networks like Twitter and Facebook for customer service ( JD Power).

66% percent of Facebook users get “news or news headlines” from the social network ( Pew Research Center).

Nearly 80% of social media time is spent on mobile devices ( M arketing Land).Internet users have an average of 7 social media accounts ( Global Web Index).

From recruiting new students and faculty, to raising money, to diffusing incidents and situations-leveraging Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other networks are powerful tools in the hands of communicators. Today, we now know that, if used correctly, social media can help us share information and build relationships with our various audiences. There was a time, not so long ago, when universities and colleges ignored the potential of social networks. Whether you’re reaching out to the public in general or to alumni, parents, faculty, staff, donors or friends of UC San Diego, social networks should be brought into the mix. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are just the tip of the social media iceberg there are more applications out there and more to come, which means more ways for you to personally connect and engage with your constituents. The way people share information is changing the way we communicate with our target audiences. Every day, people watch hundreds of millions of hours of video on YouTube and upload more than 95 million photos and videos to Instagram. LinkedIn boasts an audience of 500 million and Twitter reports 330 million monthly active users, while a staggering 2 billion monthly active users flock to Facebook to connect. According to the Pew Research Center, 69% of adults now use social networking sites. Since the first social network site “Friendster” debuted in 2002, there has been a huge surge of individuals connecting online.

Linkedin social networking sites