The SoMe Conference and Awards lifted the lid on Generation Y social media habits as Barclays won top prize for their graduate recruitment campaign.

The views of more than 1,350 students and graduates were presented to delegates from more than 60 companies at Dexter House in London followed by announcement of the awards in an evening ceremony on Thursday, January 12th.

Produced and presented by Milkround in association with AIA, the research revealed the top social media tools they use, why they used them and their online habits.

Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter and Google+ were found to be the most popular social media tools and a detailed breakdown of online habits for each will be discussed during the conference.

Key findings included almost 30 percent of student and graduates use Facebook to monitor graduate recruiter pages while nearly three quarters of those who follow a company on Facebook want them to present hints and tips to their social network.

More than 45 percent of respondents said they have a LinkedIn profile, but nearly half had never heard of LinkedIn Student Jobs. Twitter was used by less than half of the 1,350 respondents and of those who do use the micro-blogging site, 60 percent Tweet while the remaining 40 percent just follow.

Half of all respondents would use a mobile device to register for more details about a job, but less than a quarter would apply for a job via a mobile device.

Anne-Lise, Communications Executive, said: "Our survey revealed some telling results and I’m delighted to see social media is being used more widely as a recruiting tool by large brands to attract student and graduate jobseekers. The awards offered a unique insight into the perception of social media recruitment campaigns as part of the judging process was completed by the students themselves - it was interesting to see what the user experience is compared to the industry perception.

"I predict we will see social media recruitment campaigns realising their potential in the next year as we see more widespread use of social recruiting. I'm looking forward to the awards in 2013 already following this hugely successful inaugural year which has seen many companies shine."

SoMe Award winners in full:

General awards

The best use of blogger relations: Grant Thornton

The best use of a SoMe platform: Centrica

The best use of Twitter: Eversheds

The best use of video in a graduate recruitment campaign: Unilever

Grand Prix – best overall strategic use of SoMe tools in terms of reach, impact and innovation: Barclays

Jury Award for special achievement in social media: GCHQ

Industry-specific awards for best social media campaign:

Professional services: Ernst & Young

Financial services & banking: Barclays Capital

Public sector: British Army

Law: Allen Overy

IT, Engineering & Construction: Google

Charities/3rd Sector: Oxfam

Hospitality & Leisure: Camp America

Consumer Goods: Coca Cola