SOCIAL MEDIA METRICS AS AN INDICATOR OF UNIVERSITY RANKINGS AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE IN FOREIGN STUDENT ENGAGEMENT IN THE BALTIC COUNTRIES
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Published:
May 30, 2024
Abstract
Universities play an important role in expanding intellectual capital, particularly in the context of implementing international educational policies. Attracting international students is necessary for expanding educational opportunities and fostering expertise, innovation, and constructive partnerships. One effective method for attracting foreign students and enhancing engagement is the analysis of social media metrics. This research aims to determine whether the growth of social media fans and interactions, particularly on Facebook, correlates with an increase in foreign student enrollment and university rankings. The result of this research shows that social media metrics on Facebook can be categorized as stable and unstable. A stable metric, the “Fans” indicator, is dependent on university ratings, as evidenced by comparisons between leading universities with high numbers of foreign students and universities in the Baltic countries, regardless of the cluster. Unstable metrics, such as Page Performance Index, Follower Growth, and Post Interaction, do not correlate with the university rating and tend to be more volatile. To develop an effective social media promotion strategy for international students, universities must consider distinct categories of social media metrics.
How to Cite
Širjajeva, L., Kuznetsov, I., & Vozņuka, J. (2024). SOCIAL MEDIA METRICS AS AN INDICATOR OF UNIVERSITY RANKINGS AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE IN FOREIGN STUDENT ENGAGEMENT IN THE BALTIC COUNTRIES. Baltic Journal of Legal and Social Sciences, 2(2), 40-52. https://doi.org/10.30525/2592-8813-2024-2-2-4
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Keywords
Social media, foreign students, universities, metrics, marketing, the Baltic States
References
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6. Akar, E., & Topçu, B. (2011). An examination of the factors influencing consumers’ attitudes toward Socialmedia marketing. Journal of internet commerce, 10(1), 35-67. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332861.2011.558456
7. Appel, G., Grewal, L., Hadi, R., & Stephen, A. T. (2020). The future of social media in marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing science, 48(1), 79-95. http://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-019-00695-1
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11. Cao, D., Meadows, M., Wong, D., & Xia, S. (2021). Understanding consumers’ social media engagement behavior: An examination of the moderation effect of social media context. Journal of Business Research, 122, 835-846. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.06.025
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14. Dwivedi, Y. K., Ismagilova, E., Rana, N. P., & Raman, R. (2023). Social media adoption, usage and impact in business-to-business (B2B) context: A state-of-the-art literature review. Information Systems Frontiers, 1-23. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10796-021-10106-y
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16. Facebook Analytics. Retrieved June 20,2021 from: http://facebook.com
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18. Hyder, A. S., Lilja, A., & Paag, J. (2019). Is Social media necessary for recruitment of international students? In Message from the Conference Chairs (p. 94).http://doi.org/:10.1504/IJICBM.2020.10030520
19. Intan, O., & Balqiah, T. E. (2020). Advances in business, management and Entrepreneurship. Google Books. http://doi.org/ 10.1201/9781003131465
20. Jain, V., Mogaji, E., Sharma, H., & Babbili, A. S. (2022). A multi-stakeholder perspective of relationship marketing in higher education institutions. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/08841241.2022.2034201
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24. Maresova, P., Hruska, J., & Kuca, K. (2020, March 16). Social Media University branding. MDPI. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci10030074
25. Mariappan, N., & Md Saad, N. H. (2023). Exploring Facebook Marketing Strategy In Healthcare Retailer: Case Study Of Watson Malaysia. European Proceedings of Social and Behavioural Sciences. http://doi.org/10.5267/j.ijdns.2022.10.008
26. Mazzucchelli, A., Chierici, R., Di Gregorio, A., & Chiacchierini, C. (2021). Is Facebook an effective tool to access foreign markets? Evidence from international export performance of fashion firms. Journal of Management and Governance, 25(4), 1107-1144.
27. Olaleye, S., Ukpabi, D., & Mogaji, E. (2020). 8 Social media for universities’ strategic communication. Strategic Marketing of Higher Education in Africa. http://doi.org/10.4324/9780429320934-9
28. Paladan, N. N. (2018). Higher education institutions embracing digital & social media marketing: A case of top 25 universities in asia & africa. Available at SSRN 3347018. http://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1418
29. Pham, Hiep-Hung and Farrell, Kelly and Vu, Huyen-Minh and Vuong, Quan Hoang, (April 15, 2017). Using YouTube Videos to Promote Universities: A Content Analysis (Technics Technologies Education Management (TTEM), Vol. 12, No. 1, pp. 58-72, 2017, http://doi.org/10.1093/her/cyq063
30. Rekhter, N., & Hossler, D. (2019). Place, prestige, price, and promotion: how international students use SocialMedia to learn about Universities abroad. The Journal of Social Media in Society, 8(1), 124-145.https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010213
31. Sintani, L., Fransisca, Y., Anjarini, A. D., & Mulyapradana, A. (2021). Identification of the effectiveness of higher education marketing strategies using social media. International Research Journal of Management, IT and Social Sciences, 9(1), 1-9.
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36. Yu, S., Draghici, A., Negulescu, O. H., & Ain, N. U. (2022). Social media application as a new paradigm for business communication: the role of COVID-19 knowledge, social distancing, and preventive attitudes. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 903082. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.903082
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