OIA decides to stop using Twitter / X

The OIA has decided to formerly suspended its Twitter / X account and stop using the platform for the foreseeable future.

At the same time, the organisation has re-launched its YouTube channel as it moves towards more video-led content.

The decision by the OIA’s Senior Leadership Team to end its use of X follows a thorough evidence-based review which assessed:

• higher education providers’ and student bodies’ use of the platform
• use by other ombudsman schemes, 
• public sentiment, 
• academic research on changes to X since its purchase by Elon Musk, and 
• statistics related to our own account’s performance from the last seven years.

The review found that while a number of universities and colleges do still use X a larger proportion of the sample size did not. 

The OIA is an independent ombudsman service and the review other ombudsman schemes in England and Wales had a very low use of the platform.

Data from our own account showed a significant drop in reach of posts since the platform was renamed X by its current owner and paid for tools were implemented. This is common to many users of the platform. At the same time a comparison with our other social media channels showed a steady state or increased audience and engagement.

Adam Waddingham the OIA’s Chief of Staff, who is responsible for communications, said: “The way we communicate with our audiences and the trust they have in what we say is vital to our credibility, and so it was important to us to assess whether Twitter still provided an appropriate place for us to have a presence. 

“Rather than making an instinctive decision we carried out an evidence-based review which gives us the data to make an informed judgement. 

“The evidence showed the public had concerns about factual accuracy of material published on Twitter among other concerns and that our audience simply was not being served with our posts because of changes to how Twitter targets content to people. 

“With all this in mind we are clear in our decision that we will no longer use Twitter and will focus our social media activity where we can have a more meaningful relationship with people who choose to follow us.”

Peter Le Riche, Communications Manager at the OIA, who carried out the review, said: “We went into the review process with an open mind, being led by the evidence, but the result was clear. The decision means we’ll focus our social media presence on LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube. Using these platforms, we’re committed to creating content which is easy for our audiences to understand, which is useful to them and which is increasingly video based.

“We’re in the process of recruiting our first ever communications apprentice, so we’re looking forward to seeing how their learning and experiences influences the type and style of content we publish, alongside input from our existing team of experienced professional communicators.”