LinkedIn is the UG’s largest platform in terms of followers, with more than 200K subscribers (158K subscribers and followers in 2019 – a growth of 26%). The majority of our followers live in Groningen (38.7%), followed by Amsterdam (13.7%) and Utrecht (8.1%). Our followers on LinkedIn are mostly alumni and current staff members in mostly senior positions (33.47%) versus entry positions (33%). Most are employed in the sectors of education (12.7%), business development (10.7%), healthcare (8%), operations (7,1%) and research (6.3%). A majority of our followers work in large companies with 1,000-5,000 employees (21%) or in substantial companies (10,000+ employees).
We have increased the frequency of our posts, because we see that our subscribers appreciate the updates and we do gain hundreds of new followers every week.
Posts about UG research lead to high-level discussion. Comments on LinkedIn are mostly directed at the researcher, rather than the institution. Therefore, LinkedIn is a preferred channel for research content and corporate content. It is also an excellent platform to highlight the successes of our staff members and researchers.
In addition, we use LinkedIn to highlight our multidisciplinary partnerships, both with internal and external stakeholders and on a local, national, and international level.