Social media marketing tools among Polish public higher education institutions

Abstract

This paper analyzed deployment of the most significant social media marketing tools among public and Polish higher education institutions. This paper aims to define a level of implementation of these tools among subjects. The methodological approach was designed and prepared in line with the list of social media and public higher education institutions in Poland. Therefore, dissemination of each tool by institutions was analyzed to validate the findings. Research included various statistical data describing institution activity and their clients‟ responses. This was further comparatively analyzed to identify institutions with the highest level of social media marketing tools dissemination. The findings of this study present the current state of social media marketing in that area. Some of analyzed services are well spread, while others are just gaining popularity or aren‟t favored at all. Among the most important findings, the growing acclaim for visual content marketing services can be noticed. Still, for some part of researched population, social media marketing tools are not implemented in their communication process or there is a lack of cohesive strategy noted. The originality and the value of this research is that it includes all public higher education institutions in Poland and this is the first kind of research conducted in the country which analyzes within this sector according to social media marketing. Results can be used by these institutions to improve strategies and discover the potential of social media during communication with their consumers. Also private higher education institution and other schools can benefit from findings. This research furthermore will contribute to other countries with the findings that were illustrated in this research within a Polish education sector which may bring an improvement in their performance.

Keywords

• Social media marketing,Web 2.0,internet,Higher Education Institutions,Poland

References

1. Ananda, A.S. (2015), “Social Media Marketing Strategy – A Case Study of an Italian SME Fashion Brand” in 2nd Annual Edim Ph.D. Conference On Management Engineering, At Milan, Italy.
2. Atwong, C. (2015), “A Social Media Practicum: An Action-Learning Approach to Social Media Marketing and Analytics”, Marketing Education Review, Vol. 25 No 1, pp. 27–31, DOI: 10.1080/10528008.2015.999578.
3. Ayankoya, K., Cullen, M. and Calitz, A.P. (2014), “Social media marketing in politics”, in International Marketing Trends conference, At Venice, Italy, DOI: 10.13140/2.1.1099.1043.
4. Azad, N. and AliAkbar, S.M.S. (2016), “Factors stimulating content marketing”, Management Science Letters, Vol. 6, pp. 109–114, DOI: 10.5267/j.msl.2016.1.002.
5. Boon-Long, S. and Wongsurawat. W. (2015). “Social media marketing evaluation using social network comments as an indicator for identifying consumer purchasing decision effectiveness”, Journal of Direct Data and Digital Marketing Practice, Vol. 17 No 2, pp.130–149, DOI: 10.1057/dddmp.2015.51.
6. Booth, N. (2011), “Mapping and leveraging influencers in social media to shape corporate brand perceptions”, Corporate Communications: an International Journal, vol. 16 No 3, pp. 184–191, DOI: 10.1108/13563281111156853.
7. Bosker, B. (2012). "Vic Gundotra, Google's Social Chief, Explains What Google+ Is (But Not Why To Use It)", available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/10/vic-gundotra-google-plus_n_1336601.html (accessed 24 May 2016).
8. Calder, B.J., Malthouse, E.C. and Schaedel, U. (2009), “An experimental study of the relationship between online engagement and advertising effectiveness”, Journal of Interactive Marketing, Vol. 23 No 4, pp. 321–331, DOI: 10.1016/j.intmar.2009.07.002.

9. Cox, A.M. (2008), “Flickr: a case study of Web2.0”, in Aslib Proceedings, Vol. 60 No 5, pp. 493–516, DOI: 10.1108/0001253081090821.
10. De Vries, L., Gensler, S. and Leeflan, P.S.H. (2012), “Popularity of brand posts on brand and pages: an investigation of the effects of social media marketing”, Journal of Interactive Marketing, Vol. 26 No 2, pp. 83–91, DOI: 10.1016/j.intmar.2012.01.003.
11. Du Plessis, Ch. (2015), “An Exploratory Analysis of Essential Elements of Content Marketing”, in 2nd European Conference on Social Media, At Porto, Portugal, DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.1485.5121.
12. Evans, D. (2008), Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day, John Wiley & Sons Inc., Indianapolis, IN.
13. Go-Eun Choi, S., Hutchinson, K., Bolan, P. and Mitchell, R. (2015), “Exploring the Key Factors of SME Social Media Marketing: Initial Findings and Reflections”, in Academy Marketing, At Limerick, Vol. 1, DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.4363.2487.
14. Guillet, B.D., Kucukusta, D. and Liu, L. (2015), “An Examination of Social Media Marketing in China: How do the Top 133 Hotel Brands Perform on the top four Chinese Social Media Sites?”, Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, DOI: 10.1080/10548408.2015.1064337.
15. Hanna, R., Rohm, A. and Crittenden, V.L. (2011), “We’re all connected: The power of the social media ecosystem”, Business Horizons, Vol. 54 No 3, pp. 265–273, DOI: 10.1016/j.bushor.2011.01.007.
16. Hickey, A. (2015), “Fail Your Way to Content Marketing Success”, EContent, Vol. 38 No 10, pp.14–15. Hipwell, K. and Reeves, M. (2013), “How to use content to grip your audience like a broadcaster”, Journal of Brand Strategy, Vol. 2 No 1, pp. 63–75.
17. Holliman, G. and Rowley, J. (2014), “Business to business digital content marketing: Marketers’ perceptions of best practice”, Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, Vol. 8 No 4, pp.269–293, DOI: 10.1108/JRIM-02-2014-0013.
18. Holm, O. (2006), “Integrated marketing communication: from tactics to strategy”, Corporate Communications: an International Journal, Vol. 11 No 1, pp. 23–33, DOI: 10.1108/13563280610643525.
19. Jabłońska, M. R. (2015), “Narzędzia Web 2.0 w komunikacji B2C na rynku energii”, Rynek Energii, Vol.1 No. 116, pp. 90-97.
20. Jacobson, J. L. (2009), 42 Rules of Social Media for Small Business, Happy About, Silicon Valley, California, CA.
21. Joel, J. and Taiminen, H. (2015), “Harnessing marketing automation for B2B content marketing”, Industrial Marketing Management, Vol. 54, pp. 164–175, DOI: 10.1016/j.indmarman.2015.07.002.
22. Kaczmarek-Śliwińska, M. (2006), Witryna internetowa uczelni jako świadomy instrument public relations, Zarządzanie przedsiębiorstwem, Opole, Poland.
23. Kasavana, M. L., Nusair, K. and Teodosic, K. (2010), “Online social networking: Redefining the human web”, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, Vol. 1 No 1, pp. 68–82, DOI: 10.1108/17579881011023025.
24. Kaplan, A.M. and Haenlein, M. (2010), “Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media”, Business Horizons, Vol. 53 No 1, pp. 59–68, DOI: 10.1016/j.bushor.2009.09.003.
25. Kee, A.W.A. and Yazdanifard, R. (2015), “The Review of Content Marketing as a New Trend in Marketing Practices”, International Journal of Management, Accounting and Economics, Vol. 2 No 9, pp. 1055–1064.
26. Khang, H., Ki, E. and Ye, L. (2012), “Social media research in advertising, communication, marketing and public relations”, Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Vol. 89 No 2, pp. 279–298, DOI: 10.1177/1077699012439853.
27. Khuong, M.N. and Huong, T.T. (2016), “The Influence of Social Media Marketing on Vietnamese Traveller’s Purchase Intention in Tourism Industry in Ho Chi Minh City”, Journal of Economics, Business and Management, Vol. 4 No 4, pp. 280–285, DOI: 10.18178/joebm.2016.4.4.404.
28. Kietzmann, J.H., Hermkens, K., McCarthy, I.P. and Silvestre, B.S. (2011), “Social media? Get serious! Understanding the functional building blocks of social media”, Business Horizons, Vol. 54 No 3, pp. 241–251, DOI: 10.1016/j.bushor.2011.01.005.
29. Knoblich, S., Martin, A., Nash, R. and Stansbie, P. (2015), “Keys to success in Social Media Marketing (SMM) - Prospects for the German airline industry”, Tourism and Hospitality Research, DOI: 10.1177/1467358415610415.
30. Koumpouros, Y., Toulias, Th.L. and Koumpouros, N. (2015), “The importance of patient engagement and the use of Social Media marketing in Healthcare”, Technology and health care: official journal of the European Society for Engineering and Medicine, Vol. 23 No 4, pp. 495–507, DOI: 10.3233/THC-150918.
31. Leibtag, A. (2013), The Digital Crown. Winning at Content on the Web, Elsevier, Waltham, MA. Lipsman, A. (2012), “The Network Effect: Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter & Tumblr Reach New Heights in May”, available at: http://blog.comscore.com/2011/06/ facebook_linkedin_twitter_tumblr.html (accessed 23 May 2016).
32. Mangold, W.G. and Faulds, D.J. (2009), “Social media: the new hybrid element of the promotion mix”. Business Horizons, Vol. 52 No 4, pp. 357–365, DOI: 10.1016/j.bushor.2009.03.002.
33. Martin, C. (2012), “Social Networking Usage and Grades Among College Students”, available at: http://www.unh.edu/news/docs/UNHsocialmedia.pdf (accessed 23 May 2016).
34. Nadaraja, R. and Yazdanifard, R. (2013), “Social media marketing: advantages and disadvantages”, Social Media Marketing, Centre of Southern New Hempshire University, pp. 1–10.
35. Oikarinen, E-L., Järvinen, M. and Ahola, H. (2015), “Understanding opportunities and challenges of unconventional humour usage in digital content marketing. Case Varusteleka”, in 23rd Nordic Academy of Management Conference NFF2015-Business in Society, At Copenhagen, Denmark.
36. O'Reilly, T. (2005), “What Is Web 2.0. Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software”, available at: http://www.oreilly.com/pub/a/web2/ archive/what-is-web-20.html?page=1 (accessed 20 May 2016).
37. Park, J. and Oh, I-K. (2015), “A Case Study of Social Media Marketing by Travel Agency: The Salience of Social Media Marketing in the Tourism Industry”, International Journal of Tourism Sciences, Vol. 12 No 1, pp. 93–106, DOI: 10.1080/15980634.2012.11434654.
38. Rohm, A. (2014), Herding Cats: A Strategic Approach to Social Media Marketing, Crittenden, V.L. (Ed.), Business Expert Press, New York, NY.
39. Rowley, J. (2008), “Understanding digital content marketing”, Journal of Marketing Management, Vol. 24 No 5/6, pp. 517–554, DOI: 10.1362/026725708X325977.
40. Sigurdsson, V., Sørensen, H., Menon, V., Foxall, G. and Fagerstrøm A. (2016), “Identifying and Classifying Reinforcing Content in Social Media Marketing Using the Behavioral Perspective Model: A Case From the Aviation Industry”, in ABAI 42nd Annual Convention, Chicago, United States of America.
41. Springer, R. (2015), “What Do Your Employees Think About Content Marketing?”, EContent, Vol. 38 No 10, pp. 6–7.
42. Sterling, G. (2007), “Happy Birthday, Flickr: Web 2.0 Pioneer Turns Three”, available at: http://searchengineland.com/happy-birthday-flickr-web-20-pioneer-turns-three-10620 (accessed 24 May 2016).
43. Todua, N. and Jashi, Ch. (2015), “Some Aspects of Social Media Marketing (Georgian Case). World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology”, International Journal of Social, Behavioral, Educational, Economic and Management Engineering, Vol. 9 No 4, pp. 1160–1163, DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.1140.5529.
44. Vollero, A. and Palazzo, M. (2015), “Conceptualizing content marketing: a Delphi approach”, Mercati E Competitività, Vol. 1, pp. 25–44, DOI: 10.3280/MC2015-001003. Wankel, C. (2011), Higher Education Administration with Social Media, Emerald Group Publishing, Bingley, UK.
45. Wasserman, T. (2013), „Report: Google+ Visitors Spent an Average of About 7 Minutes on the Site in March”, available at: http://mashable.com/2013/05/10/google-has-20-million-u-s-monthly-mobile-users-report-says/ (accessed 24 May 2016).
46. Weinberg, B.D. and Pehlivan, E. (2011), “Social spending: managing the social media mix”, Business Horizons, Vol. 54 No 3, pp.: 275–282, DOI: 10.1016/j.bushor.2011.01.008.
47. Wong, A. and Yazdanifard, R. (2015), “The Review of how Sales Promotion Change the Consumer’s Perception and Their Purchasing Behavior of a Product”, Global Journal of Management and Business Research: E-Marketing, Vol. 15 No 1, available at: https://globaljournals.org/GJMBR_Volume15/4-The-Review.pdf, (accessed 20 May 2016).
48. Yadav, M. and Rahman, Z. (2015), “Social Media Marketing: Literature Review and Future Research Directions”, International Journal of Business Information Systems, available at: http://www.inderscience.com/info/ingeneral/forthcoming.php?jcode=ijbis (accessed 22 May 2016).
49. Zhu, Y-Q., Chen, H-G. (2015), “Social media and human need satisfaction: Implications for social media marketing”, Business Horizons, Vol. 58 No 3, pp. 335–345, DOI: 10.1016/j.bushor.2015.01.006.
50. Electronic sources: I. http://www.artsci.com/studentpoll/0913/index.aspx (accessed 23 May 2016).
51. II. http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Presentations_Whitepapers/2011/it_is_a_social_world_top_10_need-to-knows_about_social_networking (accessed 23 May 2016).
52. III. http://www.internetlivestats.com/watch/facebook-users/ (accessed 01 June 2016).
53. IV. http://www.fanpagekarma.com (accessed 24 May 2016).
54. V. http://www.benzinga.com/news/earnings/15/04/5452400/twitter-mau-were-302m-for-q1-up-18-yoy (accessed 24 May 2016).
55. VI. http://www.retweetrank.com/view/about (accessed 24 May 2016).
56. VII. http://media2.pl/internet/96187-Google-400-mln-uzytkownikow-Googleplus.-Filmy-z-Fox-w-YouTube.html (accessed 24 May 2016).