Role of social media community in strengthening trust and loyalty for a university

Abstract

As the increasing internationalization of higher education creates competition among the universities, many institutions are making use of social media communities to attract and retain students. We surveyed 215 users of the Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) Facebook page to investigate how it influences their identification with the university community and the university brand. We further investigate how this identification influences the trust and loyalty to the institution and leads to positive behaviors such as promoting the university to their peers as an active member of the university community. Our results show that the perceived strength of the Facebook community is related to the identification with the university community and the university brand which in turn are related to trust and loyalty. Higher loyalty is linked to citizenship behaviors such as increased contribution to the educational process labeled in-role behaviors and providing positive word of mouth about the university labeled extra-role behaviors. With the challenges of a diverse and global student body which is expected to continue increasing, universities can benefit from use of social media in developing identity, loyalty and trust.

Herramienta para evaluar cuantitativamente el proceso de formación informal que tiene lugar a través de una aplicación Facebook.

“…Adicionalmente, se verificó el registro académico de los estudiantes y se comprobó que existe una correspondencia entre los estudiantes con rendimiento más alto y los usuarios más relevantes en el uso de la aplicación, en consonancia con estudios que sugieren que hacer uso de las capacidades de colaboración a través de Facebook influye positivamente en el rendimiento estudiantil (Junco, 2015) (Nevzat et al, 2016) (Brech et al, 2016).…”

“…Sin dejar de reconocer las dificultades que enfrenta, estudios recientes defienden el potencial de Facebook para desarrollar la identidad estudiantil, fidelidad y confianza en la institución universitaria por parte de los educandos y enfatizan la importancia de hacer uso de los componentes de la herramienta que influyen positivamente en el rendimiento estudiantil (Junco, 2015) (Nevzat et al, 2016) (Brech et al, 2016).…”

Social Media as an Engagement Tool for Schools and Colleges of Pharmacy

“…[6][7][8] Additionally, college applicants are increasingly viewing the social media of their prospective schools and relying on information gathered via these networks to help inform their enrollment decisions. 6 A 2016 report found that half of all surveyed students were using social media for this purpose, and that about 80% took into account conversations with current students carried out through social media when making their final decisions.…”

“…Despite the need for further studies that can provide empirical, quantitative data to describe the exact impact of social media on marketing and recruitment efforts, student engagement, retention rates, and alumni giving, the existing literature along with anecdotal evidence and data trends strongly suggest that institutional use of social media is a prudent and valuable investment for achieving success in these initiatives. [6][7][8] Given the ubiquitous nature of social media today, simply having an online presence is unremarkable in business, and on its own, likely has no bearing on marketing and student-related…”

“…Given their pervasive nature, ease of use, and familiarity among adults of every age group in modern society, social networking sites lend themselves well to the marketing efforts of both corporations and higher education institutions. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8] If higher education can be viewed as a competitive market in which institutions are constantly competing for students, utilizing social media in a similar way that commercial businesses do to reach and connect with key stakeholders makes sense as a marketing practice. 2 In a 2016 survey conducted by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), almost 90% of the 1,100 respondents, including institutions of all types, agreed that social media is much more important in marketing strategy now compared to three years ago.…”