Influence of Social Media Marketing on the Brand Image of Higher Education Institutions: A Student Perspective

Abstract

The move to social media integration into educational marketing has fundamentally changed the way that higher education institutions (HEIs) work to build their brand image and market themselves to prospective students. This research on the effects of social media marketing (SMM) on the brand image of HEIs has been carried out from the perspective of Indian students. Employing a mixed-method approach using quantitative survey results alongside qualitative information, the data of 300 respondents  were analyzed using factor analysis method, t-tests, and ANOVA. The results of this chapter suggest that social media factors such as digital outreach, brand gratification, impact of SMS and Blogging, and institutional reliability have huge impact on the perceptions of brand image. Demographic variables such as gender, age and education level were found to have a moderating effect. Specifically, female students showed themselves to be more sensitive to brand than males concerning social media engagement, while older and better educated respondents showed differentiated responses to institutional credibility and outreach. The study, therefore, emphasizes growing need for HEIs to pursue integrated digital branding approaches for continuity of engagement as well as institutional reputation.