Facebook and Twitter are no longer the only social media platforms on the Internet and, even if they are the biggest, colleges and universities are expanding beyond the two for what else, but recruiting prospective students.

Even the most dedicated social media manager can struggle to post on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Pintrest and even Google+. More schools are now beginning to rely on their "boots on the ground," so to say, the students using those websites, Inside Higher Ed reported.

With Facebook's tailored ads, it is easy for a college like Full Sail University to reach people who are roughly college age and into film, music, art and writing. The same goes for any school and the users who express an interest in whatever the school has to offer. That can only go so far.

Instagram is already three years old and is now available on the web and on all three major smartphone operating systems, meaning more people than ever are using the photo-sharing app. Its popularity lead to Facebook purchasing the company for a cool billion, four times what the Washington Post went for.

"Facebook is no longer the solo giant that everybody has to be on," Becca Ramspott, a communications specialist at Frostburg State University, told Inside Higher Ed. "Geographically people are looking for new places to exist."

The photo below is from Michigan's official Instagram account, which has nearly 23,000 followers.

For example, schools are finding success in reaching students - current, potential and alumni - on Instagram because it is mobile and has a specific purpose: photography.

"There's definitely been a decided shift to the more visual mediums," said Melissa Beecher Lesica, social media manager at Boston College. "Knowing that's where the students' eyes are right now has informed our strategy immensely."

At Frostburg, Ramspott said the school elected to hold off on creating an official account, but rather an official hashtag. She monitors any posts containing "#instafrostburg" and has seen results like fliers advertising campus events, athletic team shots and more.

Since anything posted to Instagram, Facebook or Twitter is nearly always public access, the school can use the photos for their website and other purposes.

"We wanted to learn how people were connecting with Frostburg before we launched our own account," Ramspott said. "The best way to determine whether some random marketing or branding thing is working is if people are taking ownership of it in ways you didn't originally use it."

At Boston College, Lesica said a "minimalist approach" is most effective. The school's Instagram account is one of the more popular ones among any institution of higher education, but they typically only post once a day.

"It's just a very organic back-and-forth, and that's a big part of it: It's not just posting the pictures," Lesica said. "Students really love the fact that Boston College liked their picture."