Focus on Social Media Preferences

Students’ Online Usage

QS TopUniversities.com 2013

Global Market Trends Report

About the report

The Students’ Online Usage: Global Market Trends Report is based on a survey of attendees at QS World Grad School Tour events during 2012-13.

A total of 918 surveys were completed at events held in 26 countries across Europe, Asia, Latin America, North America and Africa.

As well as coming from a broad range of locations, survey respondents were also diverse in terms of the variety of subject areas and study destinations they were interested in. They also varied in age (from 18 upwards) and in level of education and professional experience.

All were at the World Grad School Tour in order to gain information about graduate-level degree courses (both master and PhD programs) including applications advice, information about funding and visas and detail on specific courses.

The following report highlights some of the most interesting findings from this international survey, offering insights into internet usage trends of current and prospective students worldwide.

Three key areas covered in this report include:

• Time spent on line• Internet device usage• Global Social network preferences Download

the full report here

Social Networks

Social Networks: Usage by Age

Which social networks do you use ‘all the time’?

• Younger respondents more likely to report frequent use of YouTube and Pinterest; older more likely to be frequent LinkedIn users.

•Facebook slightly more used by younger group, Twitter relatively constant across ages.

Social Networks: Reasons by Age

What is the main reason for you to join a social network?

• Younger respondents more likely to be motivated by opportunity to ‘Have a say’, and older by opportunity to make ‘Useful connections’.

• Across all age groups, most common reason for joining is to ‘Keep up to date’.

Social Networks: Use by Region

Which social networks do you use ‘all the time’?

• In every region, more than 50% of respondents say they use each of these five key networks ‘all the time’. • Overall, Latin American respondents report highest use – most likely to report frequent use of Facebook,

YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn.• YouTube and LinkedIn most important networks for respondents in US & Canada; YouTube and Facebook most

important for respondents in Europe and Asia.•African respondents generally report lowest levels of use; exception is Facebook, for which US & Canada report

least frequent use.

Social Networks: English-Speaking/Non-English Speaking Regions

• A direct comparison of social network trends across native and non-native English language countries shows very little variation of usage.

Social Networks: Reasons by Region

What is the main reason for you to join a social network?

•‘Keeping up to date’ main motivation in all regions except Latin America, where ‘interest’ is key driver. • Respondents in Asia and Africa most likely to value chance to ‘Have a say’, Latin American respondents least likely.• Respondents in Africa most likely to value ‘Useful connections’.

Conclusions

Perhaps the most powerful message of this first edition of the Students’ Online Usage: Global Market Trends Report is simply to underline the huge and global significance of social media for current and prospective students. In all of the five world regions covered, more than 75% of respondents said they used Facebook not just sometimes but ‘all the time’ – and rates were almost as high for other popular networks. Even Pinterest (a relatively ‘young’ platform even by social media standards) gained ‘all the time’ responses from more than 50% of respondents in every region.

When compared across age groups, the social media trends shown here are fairly intuitive – younger respondents reported higher use of YouTube and Pinterest, older respondents were more likely to be frequent LinkedIn users, while Facebook and Twitter hold a more constant appeal.

Perhaps more surprising, especially in light of the high levels of social media use reported, is that the most commonly reported average time online per day was just 0-3 hours, with those in the highest age range being most likely to report five or more hours. (This older group were also more likely to be employed and presumably using the internet more for work).

In terms of device usage, the report confirms the continued importance of laptops – the most commonly reported ‘most-used’ device across all regions and ages – while also highlighting the emergence of both smartphones and tablets as primary online devices in many parts of the world. However, there is some significant variation both between regions and countries within the same region, which is likely to be of interest to organizations targeting specific markets.

Finally, for the many kinds of organizations investing in developing social media strategies, one of the most interesting aspects of the report will be the responses given for the question on reasons for social network use. Here, while there is again some variation depending on age and region, it’s clear that for all audiences, ‘keeping up to date’, ‘interest’ and ‘useful connections’ are all significant drivers of social network membership.

Download the full

report here

Report authors

Monica Vannozzi & Laura Bridgestock

A special thanks to Ben Sowter, Head of QS Intellingence Unit, for his valuable contribution to the data analysis, and to Louise O’Conor, TU Online Marketing Manager, who carefully supervised the project.

Thanks to all who contributed to the creation of this report and to all who answered our questionnaire at the QS World Grad School Tour.

QS Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd

QS connects prospective and current students with top universities and graduate schools worldwide, through online platforms and events such as the World Grad School Tour and World University Tour. TopUniversities.com seeks to aid students in making well-informed decisions about their future, covering the full spectrum of subjects, locations and educational levels. Annual QS publications and research include the Top Grad School Guide and QS World University Rankings.

For more information about this report, please contact onlinemarketing@qs.com.

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All information © QS Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd 2013