Proceedings of the 7th World Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities
Year: 2024
DOI:
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Social Media in Higher Education: How Turkish Universities Use INSTAGRAM For Strategic Communications
Assoc. Prof. Dr. F. Senem Gungor
ABSTRACT:
Universities can use social media for strategic communications in the context of digitalization and technology adoption by interacting with their audience on sites like YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter. To highlight their knowledge and engaged community, they ought to showcase their academic achievements, breakthroughs in science, and campus activities. Amidst heightened competition, Turkish universities have realized that social media can be a vital instrument for promoting their programs and elevating the education sector. While it is acknowledged that maintaining a consistent university brand throughout all communications to interested parties is crucial to drawing in and keeping students, not much research has been done to pinpoint the exact kind of content that should be featured in a school’s social media campaign or to ascertain how frequently such content should occur. This study used content analysis to look at Instagram postings from ten universities in Ankara, Turkey and the comments made by their supporters during the fall semester of 2023–2024. Furthermore, the kind of media and the frequency of posts are elements that influence engagement. This study provides information regarding the use of social media in Ankara, Turkey’s higher education system by evaluating the various objectives and potentials that state and private universities can accomplish with social media use. In addition to outlining potential consequences for university involvement on social media, the research also identifies best practices for academic institutions looking to enhance their social media communication strategies.
keywords: Higher Education, Digital Communication, Networking, Social Media, Strategic Communication