A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF A UNIVERSITY’S COMMUNICATION CAMPAIGN AND WORD-OF-MOUTH COMMUNICATIONS AMONG FACEBOOK USERS
Keywords:
: Higher education branding, Brand communications, Brand campaign, Social media, Facebook, Content analysisAbstract
The objectives of this research are to investigate the videos in Mahidol University’s brand communication campaign, “The Cancer Campaign” during June and July 2017, and to identify the types of communications by the university and among the audience. This research employed inductive content analysis to identify content types from 36 videos, 299 comments, and 155 shares. The data were collected in September 2017 from the ‘Mahidol Channel’ Facebook page. The authors identified three types of videos, namely, ‘experts’, ‘patients’, and ‘participants’, and 17 types of comments and shares. From the findings, ‘answer and ‘question are the two most common types of comment, whereas ‘approval’ is the most common type of share. Although it is commonly known that social media allow users to interact with one another, there is no thorough study on how users communicate with one another on social media in the higher education brand communications context. This research sheds light on this topic by identifying various types of tertiary communication. In conclusion, the authors suggested that HEIs ensure that their brand communications on social media are credible, relevant, clear, and vigilant.
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40. Yamane, T. (1973). Statistics: An introductory analysis.
2. Alessandri, S. W., Yang, S.-U., & Kinsey, D. F. (2006). An integrative approach to university visual identity and reputation. Corporate Reputation Review, 9(4), 258-270.
3. Arpan, L. M., Raney, A. A., & Zivnuska, S. (2003). A cognitive approach to understanding university image. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 8(2), 97-113.
4. Balmer, J. M., & Gray, E. R. (1999). Corporate identity and corporate communications: creating a competitive advantage. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 4(4), 171-177.
5. Baxter, P., & Jack, S. (2008). Qualitative case study methodology: Study design and implementation for novice researchers. The qualitative report, 13(4), 544-559.
6. Chapleo, C. (2011). Exploring rationales for branding a university: Should we be seeking to measure branding in UK universities? Journal of Brand Management, 18(6), 411-422.
7. Chapleo, C. (2015). Brands in Higher Education: Challenges and Potential Strategies. International Studies of Management & Organization, 45(2), 150-163.
8. Chapleo, C., Carrillo Durán, M. V., & Castillo Díaz, A. (2011). Do UK universities communicate their brands effectively through their websites? Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 21(1), 25-46.
9. Constantinides, E., & Zinck Stagno, M. C. (2011). Potential of the social media as instruments of higher education marketing: a segmentation study. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 21(1), 7-24.
10. Constine, J. (2017, 27 June 2017). Facebook now has 2 billion monthly users… and responsibility. Retrieved from https://techcrunch.com/2017/06/27/facebook-2-billion-users/
11. Curtis, T., Abratt, R., & Minor, W. (2009). Corporate brand management in higher education: The case of ERAU. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 18(6), 404-413.
12. Cvijikj, I. P., & Michahelles, F. (2013). Online engagement factors on Facebook brand pages. Social Network Analysis and Mining, 3(4), 843-861.
13. David, C., Leiter, M. G., & Loch, M. A. (1999). Brand leverage. The McKinsey Quarterly(2), 100.
14. Dekay, S. H. (2012). How large companies react to negative Facebook comments. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 17(3), 289-299.
15. Elo, S., & Kyngäs, H. (2008). The qualitative content analysis process. Journal of advanced nursing, 62(1), 107-115.
16. Hansson, L., Wrangmo, A., & Solberg Søilen, K. (2013). Optimal ways for companies to use Facebook as a marketing channel. Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society, 11(2), 112-126.
17. Ho, C.-W. (2014). Consumer behavior on Facebook: does consumer participation bring positive consumer evaluation of the brand? EuroMed Journal of Business, 9(3), 252-267.
18. Huang, Z., & Benyoucef, M. (2013). From e-commerce to social commerce: A close look at design features. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 12(4), 246-259.
19. Ivy, J. (2001). Higher education institution image: acorrespondence analysis approach. International Journal of Educational Management, 15(6), 276-282.
20. Jang, Y.-T., Chang, S. E., & Chen, P.-A. (2015). Exploring social networking sites for facilitating multi-channel retailing. Multimedia Tools and Applications, 74(1), 159-178.
21. Judson, K. M., Aurand, T. W., Gorchels, L., & Gordon, G. L. (2008). Building a university brand from within: University administrators' perspectives of internal branding. Services Marketing Quarterly, 30(1), 54-68.
22. Kang, J., Tang, L., & Fiore, A. M. (2014). Enhancing consumer–brand relationships on restaurant Facebook fan pages: Maximizing consumer benefits and increasing active participation. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 36, 145-155.
23. Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media. Business horizons, 53(1), 59-68.
24. Kietzmann, J. H., Hermkens, K., McCarthy, I. P., & Silvestre, B. S. (2011). Social media? Get serious! Understanding the functional building blocks of social media. Business horizons, 54(3), 241-251.
25. Klassen, M. L. (2002). Relationship marketing on the Internet: the case of top-and lower-ranked US universities and colleges. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 9(2), 81-85.
26. Lombard, M., Snyder‐Duch, J., & Bracken, C. C. (2002). Content analysis in mass communication: Assessment and reporting of intercoder reliability. Human communication research, 28(4), 587-604.
27. Mahidol Channel. (2017). Mahidol Channel. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/user/mahidolchannel/about
28. Mahidol University. (2017). Our History - Mahidol University. Retrieved from https://mahidol.ac.th/en/history.html
29. Mangold, W. G., & Faulds, D. J. (2009). Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix. Business horizons, 52(4), 357-365.
30. Manthiou, A., Tang, L. R., & Bosselman, R. (2014). Reason and reaction: the dual route of the decision-making process on Facebook fan pages. Electronic Markets, 24(4), 297-308.
31. Maringe, F. (2006). University and course choice: Implications for positioning, recruitment and marketing. International Journal of Educational Management, 20(6), 466-479.
32. Martinez, E., & De Chernatony, L. (2004). The effect of brand extension strategies upon brand image. Journal of consumer marketing, 21(1), 39-50.
33. Rutter, R., Lettice, F., & Nadeau, J. (2016). Brand personality in higher education: anthropomorphized university marketing communications. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 1-21.
34. Rutter, R., Roper, S., & Lettice, F. (2016). Social media interaction, the university brand and recruitment performance. Journal of Business Research, 69(8), 3096-3104.
35. Segrave, J., Carson, C., & Merhout, J. W. (2011). Online Social Networks: An Online Brand Community Framework. Paper presented at the AMCIS.
36. Taecharungroj, V. (2017). Higher education social media marketing: 12 content types universities post on Facebook. International Journal of Management in Education, 11(2), 111-127.
37. Tanomkitti, K. (2017). Mahidol Channel: Thriving university media that transforms difficult knowledge and research to easy contents. Retrieved from https://www.adaymagazine.com/interviews/dialogue-67
38. Wæraas, A., & Solbakk, M. N. (2009). Defining the essence of a university: Lessons from higher education branding. Higher education, 57(4), 449-462.
39. Whisman, R. (2009). Internal branding: a university's most valuable intangible asset. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 18(5), 367-370.
40. Yamane, T. (1973). Statistics: An introductory analysis.
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2019-02-26
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