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hesm 2020

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Princeton’s Top Social Media Moments of 2018

While 2017 was fueled with space, politics and puppies, messages of empowerment and perseverance resonated most with our social audiences in 2018. Whether it be a FLI student (first-gen, low income student) sharing their journey to Princeton or a campus visitor delivering words of hope and change, our social audiences craved inspiration.      

First-gen stories inspire our audiences to engage and share

Princeton is committed to finding the best and brightest minds from around the world regardless of their background or family income. Throughout 2018, our social media channels put a voice and conversation around these stories - in particular our #TellUsTigers series provided a platform for students to shed light on their journeys using 2,200 characters.

Facebook #1 most watched video: Ana Patricia ‘19

Facebook #2 most liked post: #TellUsTigers Lucy Chuang ‘21

Facebook #2 most reached post: #TellUsTigers Daniel Jose Navarrete ‘19

#Instagram #2 most commented post: #TellUsTigers Lucy Chuang ‘21 (below)

#Instagram #3 most commented post: #TellUsTigers Daniel Jose Navarrete ‘19

#Instagram #3 most reach: #TellUsTigers Lucy Chuang ‘21(below)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Princeton University (@princeton) on Nov 15, 2018 at 2:31pm PST

There’s nothing more exciting (or shareable) than when you find out you’ve been accepted to #PrincetonU

The Class of 2022 and the Class of 2023 sure know how to make a grand entrance on social.

Facebook #1 most commented post: 2023 early action announcement

Facebook #1 most reached post: 2022 regular decision announcement

Facebook #2 most clicked post: 2022 regular decision announcement

Facebook #3 most liked post: 2023 early action announcement

Instagram #1 most liked post: 2023 early action announcement (below)

Instagram #1 most commented post: 2023 early action announcement (below)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Princeton University (@princeton) on Dec 12, 2018 at 4:02pm PST

She Roars (and she’s social)

This year, Princeton hosted the She Roars alumni conference, the largest event in the University’s history held during the academic year which also made a splash on social media. The spirit of the conference lives on in an all new ”She Roars” podcast where change-making women discuss their career pathways and experiences at Princeton University. 

Facebook #2 most shared post: SCOTUS discussion

Twitter #2 most watched video: Asha Rangappa ‘96 podcast (below)

Twitter #3 most watched video: Frances Arnold ‘79 podcast

Messages from speakers extend beyond their visit to campus

From Senator Cory Booker to Ellie Kemper to Nobel laureate Frances Arnold, Princeton University hosted a range of guests throughout the year. Their words became some of the most engaged with content on our channels.

Twitter #2 most liked: 2018 Class Day speaker Cory Booker (below)

Twitter #2 most watched video: Asha Rangappa ‘96 podcast

Twitter #3 most retweeted: 2018 Class Day Speaker Cory Booker (below)

Twitter #3 most watched video: Frances Arnold ‘79 podcast

Facebook #2 most shared post: SCOTUS discussion

[princetonsocialmedia]

Social Media Sizing Cheat Sheet

In order to have high-impact, high-quality content on social media, it’s important to abide by each network’s image guidelines. A photo used on Instagram may not be as shareworthy on Twitter if it isn’t sized correctly.

At Princeton, we work with our creative and multimedia teams to develop assets that fit with the guidelines of each platform. Although it requires a little bit more time to customize individual assets, in the long run, our messaging comes across as clear and prevents us from running up against an “unable to upload” notification.

Here is a simple “cheat sheet” for the channels Princeton is active on that our team references for creative guidelines. It’s important to note that as devices and platforms evolve, so do guidelines, so be sure to update this document accordingly.

Additional information and resources:

“When I share a photo on Instagram, what's the image resolution?” - Instagram

“What are the dimensions of my Page's profile picture and cover photo?” - Facebook

“Video Views” - Facebook

“Image Specifications for Your Company Pages and Career Pages” - LinkedIn

“Advertiser creative specifications” - Twitter

“Customizing your profile” - Twitter

“Media Studio Support Page & FAQ” - Twitter

“Geofilter tips” - Snapchat

- Jessica Leontarakis (@jessicafill), Social Media Specialist

[princetonsocialmedia]

Princeton’s Top Social Media Moments of 2019

2019 was a year of celebrating and recognizing Princetonians who are changing the world and living out our informal motto of “In the nation’s service and the service of humanity.” 

Here are the stories and moments that surfaced to the top of our social media feeds.

Princeton’s James Peebles receives the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics

On October 8, 2019, the world woke up to the news that professor emeritus James “Jim” Peebles *62 had received the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics “for theoretical discoveries in physical cosmology.” Our team immediately took to social media to mark the occasion and give minute-by-minute updates as the University community celebrated Professor Peebles. Some of our social media coverage even made its way to a local news broadcast. When Professor Peebles traveled to Sweden in December to receive his Nobel, we were able to look back and re-share some of the great moments from October.

#1 most liked post on Facebook post

#1 post with the most reach on LinkedIn

#1 most viewed video on YouTube

#1 most liked post on LinkedIn

#2 most watched Facebook Live

#2 most commented post on Facebook 

#2 most liked post on Facebook

#2 most commented post on LinkedIn

#3 most shared post on LinkedIn 

#3 post with the most reach on Facebook

Princeton remembers Toni Morrison, Nobel-winning author and emeritus Princeton faculty member 

In 2019, we lost many notable Princeton faculty members including professor emerita Toni Morrison. After announcing that she had passed away, the University used social media to celebrate her legacy, her impact and beautiful words ... and the world listened and shared in the moment. (Photo credit: Sameer A. Khan/Fotobuddy)

#1 most watched video on Facebook

#1 most shared post on Facebook

#1 most shared post on LinkedIn

#1 most watched video on LinkedIn

#2 most liked post on Facebook

#2 most watched video on Twitter

#3 most commented post on Facebook

#3 most shared post on Facebook

#3 post with the most reach on Facebook

#3 most commented post on LinkedIn

#3 post with the most reach on LinkedIn

#3 most liked post on LinkedIn

Michelle Obama ‘85 gives video welcome message at Alumni’s “Thrive” Conference

Michelle Obama ‘85 surprised more than 1,200 Princeton alumni and guests at “Thrive: Empowering and Celebrating Princeton’s Black Alumni” with a video message. Immediately following the moment, we posted the video on social media for the rest of the world to watch. 

#2 most watched video on Facebook

#2 most shared post on LinkedIn

#2 most watched video on LinkedIn

#2 most shared post on Instagram

#3 most watched video on Twitter

Graduate student Xiyue Wang returns home after unjust imprisonment in Iran

In the summer of 2016, Princeton graduate student Xiyue Wang was detained by Iranian authorities while studying the Farsi language and doing dissertation research. Wang was charged with espionage, convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Ever since, the University community has been rallying in support of his release. On December 7, 2019, Xiyue Wang was released thanks to the United States government, the government of Switzerland, and the students, faculty and staff who continued to advocate for his freedom throughout this ordeal. (Photo credit: U.S. Embassy Switzerland)

#2 post with the most reach on Facebook

#2 most retweeted post

#2 most liked post on Twitter

#2 most liked post on LinkedIn

#4 post with the most reach on Twitter

#4 post with the most reach on LinkedIn

Looking ahead to 2020

Video continues to remain a dominate form of content for sharing our stories and messaging across platforms. However, we will continue to create content for specific channels and audiences - one piece of content does not fit all. Also, Twitter is not dead as we incorrectly predicted in 2017. Twitter has become an instrumental vehicle in adding Princeton’s voice to international conversations especially around climate change, innovation, and college access and affordability. Finally, LinkedIn is making a come back. This year, the top viewed video on LinkedIn was watched more than the top viewed videos on Twitter and Facebook. LinkedIn continues to be a platform of untapped potential especially as it continues to unveil new features.

Regardless of platform or features, authentic and timely content remains constant which we hope to continue to bring to our social media audiences in 2020.

- Jessica Leontarakis, social media strategist and Maddy Pryor, social media specialist

[princetonsocialmedia]

Meet Princeton’s New Weibo Intern: Jianing Zhao ‘20

In early 2015, Princeton Social Media committed efforts to our first Chinese-language social media platform, Weibo. Throughout the year, Jianing Zhao will help us share the full story of an academic year at the University with our Weibo followers. In addition to posting content similar to what we share with our English-language audiences in Mandarin, Jianing will share her own original updates, photos and blog entries targeted specifically to our Weibo audience. Without further ado, meet the new voice behind our Weibo account, Jianing.

This is Jianing, the social media intern for Princeton’s social media team! I manage Princeton’s official Weibo account (one of the most popular social media sites in China) and sometimes contribute posts to the University’s Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat accounts. At Princeton, I’m a sophomore concentrating in comparative literature and pursuing certificates in archeology, theater, and gender and sexuality studies. Outside of academics, I’m the head editor of “the Street” (Art & Culture) section of the Daily Princetonian, the president of the Russian Undergraduate Student Association, and I am currently directing a play for Princeton Chinese Theater.

As one who plans to go into communications and media for a future career, I’ve really enjoyed interning for Princeton’s social media team, as it not only has taught me how to frame content for different target audiences across different social media platforms, but also allowed me to get out of my comfort zone and interact with students across campus, which seems intimidating but turns out to be fun and rewarding! 

- Jianing Zhao, Social Media Intern

[princetonsocialmedia]

A Summer Snapchat Mini-Series

While many Tigers spend summer studying abroad or interning, some stay on campus to participate in the Keller Center’s Tiger Challenge. Using design thinking, students work on developing innovative solutions to some of society’s most pressing problems. This year’s cohort is working to address the following questions:

How might we design a better way to measure pulse and blood-oxygen levels in infants?

How might we help eliminate new cases of lead poisoning in Trenton, NJ?

How might we help Princeton town officials design a more participative and effective climate action planning process?

How might we help more refugees in NYC begin stable and fulfilling careers?

Throughout the 10-week program we are capturing student snaps in a Snapchat mini-series, “Tales of the Tiger Challenge,” and will air the story every Friday at 3 p.m. EST. Each week, viewers will get a glimpse as to how the students are grappling with their topics and making progress toward developing innovative solutions.

Be sure to follow princetonu on Snapchat and tune in Friday at 3pm EST to watch “Tales of the Tiger Challenge.”

- Jessica Leontarakis (@jessicafill), Social Media Specialist

[princetonsocialmedia]

Princeton University says “thank you” to its Instagram community, which grew to include 100,000 followers between 2012 and 2017.

[princetonsocialmedia]

When Community and Campus Come Together, Students Feel the Love

Finals week is one of the most stressful periods for students during college. Their focus shifts to studying, caffeination and trying to get enough sleep - all in that order. Sometimes it’s easy for students to lose sight of the bigger picture and how many people are there to support them. For Fall 2016 Finals Week, Princeton’s social media team wanted to leverage familiar faces and places around campus and the Town of Princeton in a video, wishing students good luck and to remind them of their wide-reaching support system. Our plan was to post the video on social media, but the project grew to be bigger than that and found its way onto the homepage of the University’s website.

Here are some of the secrets to our success:

Create buy-in through brainstorming. While this was a social media project, we sought out ideas and thoughts from colleagues outside of our immediate team. Because of their contributions, they were interested (and excited) to see the final video on the homepage.

Don’t over-plan. After we developed a list of places and people, we set out to interview whoever was willing to speak on camera - no Outlook calendar invites! We wanted the messages to be authentic and not over-rehearsed.

Think big. We were able to coordinate and record a message from the Mayor of Princeton thanks to an idea that surfaced during our brainstorm session.

Good audio makes for great video. While we filmed with an iPhone, we used an external microphone to record the interviews. This is one piece of equipment we highly recommend investing in for video and livestreaming. For additional branding (and fun), we used a microphone flag with our Snapchat Snapcode.   

Corporate can be considered community. While we wanted to highlight local businesses, we didn’t want to exclude the corporate staples in our community that students frequent. Sometimes this may take extra permissioning, but it’s worth it. For instance, Wawa employees, who may see Princeton students as often as their professors do, were excited to be featured but needed to notify their corporate offices. After a quick phone call, Wawa headquarters enthusiastically agreed to be a part of the video.

The overall video received nearly 40,000 views across our website and social. In fact, it garnered even more well wishes for students. Also among the comments we received, people shared businesses we need to include for *next time* - which we expect to do considering the outpouring of positive results and support of the campaign!

- Jessica Leontarakis (@jessicafill)