A school as sprawling as NYU often finds its administration trying to keep its students engaged in new, unique ways. A big focus at NYU has been social media, a footprint that extends from engaging current students with Hashtag NYU and Twitter to engaging prospective students with Meet NYU and Facebook.

According to NYU’s website, there are more than 1,000 social media accounts across many social media platforms, including ones run by individual clubs and offices.

Manhasset High School junior Mattea Marcucci said that she is considering applying to NYU because the social media sites have quelled her anxieties about a big city and brought the enormity of NYU down to a more relatable level.

“I really like their Instagram because it shows how beautiful NYC is and all the various things you can do there,” Marcucci said. “It makes me feel like NYU isn’t that big since it’s in a larger city which feels nice and not too overwhelming.”

There are also many student-led Facebook groups and pages that attract students to NYU. The Class of 2019 Facebook group, created for accepted NYU students, drew CAS freshman Sabeen Shalwani to NYU because of the school spirit.

“People were really excited to go to NYU and talking about the different ways NYU is amazing, so it made me want to go here,” Shalwani said.

Among the NYU schools, Tisch School of the Arts and Stern School of Business have the largest Twitter and Instagram followings. For Stern, social media platforms Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Snapchat are integral to their marketing strategy, and they even created their own Snapchat geo-tag.

Beth Murray, Stern Chief Marketing Officer, said a key factor in the Stern social media brand relies on what current students say and like about campus events and activities.

“One of our key goals in building the NYU Stern brand is to provide a window into our world — the people and ideas that shape our community and make our school an extraordinary place,” Murray said. “Prospects are just as interested, perhaps more interested, in what their peers and current students are saying and liking about school events and activities, and social media is an excellent way to connect them with the real experience.”

Another social media venture, launched by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions this fall, is Meet NYU, which incorporates Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube with student contributions from student bloggers across the country.

Joey Schmit, Director of Marketing and Communications for the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, said Meet NYU’s goal is to engage prospective students with stories and answers from current students. Meet NYU is averaging a monthly increase in following of 25 percent across all of their platforms.

“For us, it’s a real opportunity to answer their important questions, connect them with students with similar backgrounds and interests, and highlight what makes NYU such an exceptional place to study,” Schmit said.

A version of this story appeared in the Monday, Dec. 7 print issue. Email Farhin Lilywala at [email protected].