Universities with a strong social media presence enjoy greater loyalty from students and potential applicants. As a result, better communication in this area could help their recruitment and retention drives, new research has found.

In a study of more than 200 users of a Northern Cyprus university¡¯s Facebook page, researchers from Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) found that the strength of the institution¡¯s social media community was related to the ¡°identification with the university community and the university brand which in turn are related to trust and loyalty".

The paper ¨C "Role of social media community in strengthening trust and loyalty for?a university", published in the journal?Computers in Human Behavior ¨C adds that ¡°higher loyalty¡± was linked to an ¡°increased contribution¡± from current students to the university¡¯s educational mission, helping to ¡°improve the educational experience and engagement¡±, while ¡°positive word of mouth about the university¡± can aid with ¡°recruiting new students¡±.

¡°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,¡± the paper concludes.

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Cem Tanova, one of the authors of the article and vice-rector of EMU in charge of international relations and promotion, said that the research should not be that surprising because students ¡°check Facebook as soon as they wake up¡±.

¡°If you can get into that part of their life, then you are developing an awareness for the student, candidate or parent,¡± he told Times Higher Education. ¡°They will see more of the activities in the university and they will interact by sharing or by liking or by commenting. They¡¯re becoming part of that community, part of that process.¡±

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Raziye Nevzat, co-author and institutional communication, social media and web office coordinator at EMU, added that universities with a strong presence on social media platforms that also provided ¡°instant interaction¡± would see a significant boost to students¡¯ and applicants¡¯ trust and loyalty.

¡°Rather than being busy with telephone calls or emails, [applicants] will write to us and get an instant response,¡± she said. ¡°Digital natives¡¯ attention span is about 10 to 12 seconds, if you don¡¯t answer [quickly] they tend to click on another page. But if you answer them instantly they stay with you.

¡°We try to attract students by using different tools: we see that Facebook and Instagram are very popular, so we share photographs, we interview them. We talk about ¡®human interaction¡¯ rather than news dissemination.¡±

Ms Nevzat believes ¡°every HEI should apply social media management to their higher administration, as part of a marketing tool or public relations¡±, despite the ease with which harmful material can be disseminated on social media. A ¡°strong brand and presence¡± can help to prevent crises, she said.

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Professor Tanova said that this was one of the advantages of ¡°real interaction¡±.

¡°You may get comments you don¡¯t like, people may share a piece with comments you¡¯re not happy about, but this is the reality of social media, it¡¯s not a one-way street,¡± he said. ¡°The way universities operated in the past, reputation had to be built over centuries. Therefore it was very difficult for new entrants to be considered as a viable alternative. Through technology you can be noticed.¡±

john.elmes@tesglobal.com