When billionaire businessman Warren Buffett drove around MBA students from the Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management earlier this year, the school didn’t just high-five the students when they returned to campus. It made sure the larger Owen community online could get an up-close view of what was happening as it unfolded.

Before the excursion, Owen turned its Instagram account over to a student to capture the event and share the experience. The account now has almost 1,400 followers.

The school also let a student post on Snapchat parts of a question-and-answer event with Buffett.

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Snapchat — a social media site that, like Instagram, is primarily used for sending and receiving photos and videos — is becoming a more popular space for Owen to connect with applicants.

“It’s a place where the next generation of students are,” says Brett Israel, the director of business news and communications at Owen.

As more video-based social media sites emerge, and schools join these sites, applicants can use the platforms to become more informed, learn about the institutions and interact with business school communities they hope to join, experts say.

“We primarily use social media to showcase student life,” says Erin Town, director of MBA admissions at the University of Washington Foster School of Business.

A student managing the school’s Instagram account, for example, may use it to capture students climbing the state’s Mount Rainier, she says.

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Periscope, which lets users live stream video content, is also a part of the social media strategy at some MBA programs.

“We are using Periscope and Facebook Live to live-stream talks and events featuring Stanford GSB faculty and guest speakers. This allows anyone around the world to watch, experience, and engage with the event as it’s happening,” wrote Karen Lee, the associate director, digital and social, for the Stanford Graduate School of Business, in an email.

When the University of Kansas School of Business opened a new facility for business students, the school held three separate Periscope tours, says Austin Falley, director of communications, for the school.

Business school applicants are also gravitating to social media in droves to learn about graduate education.

Of the 96 percent of prospective students who use social media, “67 percent use it for activities related to the pursuit of graduate management education, such as getting program information, learning about upcoming events, connecting with current students, alumni, or faculty, and researching graduate management education,” a May report from the Graduate Management Admission Council states.

Even as video platforms emerge, experts say Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook pages are also heavily used to share information about schools.

If applicants want to connect with MBA programs in ways other than liking, retweeting and commenting on content the schools post, experts recommend they keep three things in mind.

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1. Follow hashtags: Applicants interested in the Owen Graduate School of Management can learn about the school by following the hashtag, #owenlife, on different platforms, says Israel.

“They’re going to get a real engaging social media experience that shows off all the school has to offer,” says the Owen spokesman. “Students will use it when they’re out on the town, when they’re at a job interview, when they’re traveling.”

2. Watch videos to gauge how much you’ll like a school’s community: “Social media is a really great way for candidates to assess their own fit for a school,” says Town from Foster.

Seeing snapshots of students learning and networking can help prospective students get a better understanding what it’s like to attend a specific program.

When discussing Snapchat, Israel says, “It just shows off the students’ personality and the personality of the school.”

Smart applicants will also use social media to learn about a school’s culture, says Luke Peña, director of MBA admissions at Stanford.

“A school’s social media content reflects what is considered important and valuable within that community; take care to notice the words, voices, topics, and tone that emerge, and evaluate whether the underlying values align with the learning community you seek,” he wrote in an email.

3. Use videos to form sharp questions: “I would encourage students to take advantage of social media interactions to gain unique perspectives and substantive knowledge,” says Rob Schickler, associate director of admissions with the full-time MBA program at Owen and a 2014 MBA graduate of the school.

Applicants can ask about something they saw on social media when speaking with admissions staff or during an admissions interview to show that they’ve thoroughly researched a school, experts say.

“Demonstrate to us that you have some level of knowledge about either our school or a program and use it to ask substantive questions,” Schickler says. “That’s going to make a much more positive impression on the admissions team than someone who just reaches out for reaching out sake.”

As an MBA applicant, Schickler used LinkedIn to connect with business school alumni and learn more about recruitment and career services.

“It was pretty hit or miss,” he says, but “it was a place to start.”

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Smart Ways to Connect With Business Schools on Social Media originally appeared on usnews.com