An analysis was performed to identify the key points for achieving effective strategic communication in universities via Twitter. An evaluation and comparison was made of how 263 universities used Twitter by looking at their followers, tweets, retweets, replies and hashtags. The main purposes for its use were identified as boosting communication among members of its community and disseminating institutional information. Many Latin American universities are active on Twitter, but they need community managers to manage their official profiles to optimise communication and to increase their reach by making the most of their users’ activity.