IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i9p3619-d1383248.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Navigating the COVID-19 Crisis: Higher Education Institutions and the Three Shades of Social Media Communication

Author

Listed:
  • Anna Maria Górska

    (Human Resources Department, Kozminski University, 03-301 Warszawa, Poland)

Abstract

This study analyzed the social media communication of six higher education institutions (HEIs) in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic within the context of university social responsibility (USR). The study used a mixed-method approach, conducting both quantitative and qualitative analyses of 5547 social media posts published by HEIs on their official Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube accounts. The analysis identified three rhetorical strategies that were used by HEIs during the pandemic: Business as Usual , We are Great !, and We are Together . The study found that when compared to posts not related to COVID-19, the posts concerning the pandemic achieved higher interaction and broader reach on social media platforms. Facebook and Twitter emerged as the most frequently utilized platforms for crisis communication. This study thus underscores the role of social media as a vital tool for HEIs to use to fulfill their USR by actively engaging with stakeholders and fostering community solidarity and education during crises. The findings also advocate for using HEIs to harness social media not merely for information dissemination, but also as a platform for active stakeholder engagement and community support, both integral to their social responsibilities during challenging times.

Suggested Citation

  • Anna Maria Górska, 2024. "Navigating the COVID-19 Crisis: Higher Education Institutions and the Three Shades of Social Media Communication," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-16, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:9:p:3619-:d:1383248
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/9/3619/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/9/3619/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Shamima Raihan Manzoor & Jessica Sze Yin Ho & Abdullah Al Mahmud, 2021. "Revisiting the ‘university image model’ for higher education institutions’ sustainability," Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(2), pages 220-239, July.
    2. Isabel Sörensen & Silke Fürst & Daniel Vogler & Mike S. Schäfer, 2023. "Higher Education Institutions on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter: Comparing Swiss Universities’ Social Media Communication," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 11(1), pages 264-277.
    3. Chris Chapleo & Helen O’Sullivan, 2017. "Contemporary thought in higher education marketing," Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(2), pages 159-161, July.
    4. Kristine de Valck & Roberts V. Kozinets & Andrea C. Wojnicki & Sarah J.S. Wilner, 2010. "Networked Narratives: Understanding Word-of-Mouth Marketing in Online Communities," Post-Print hal-00458424, HAL.
    5. Melissa Clark & Monica B. Fine & Cara-Lynn Scheuer, 2017. "Relationship quality in higher education marketing: the role of social media engagement," Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(1), pages 40-58, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Choo Yeon Kim & Seong Soo Cha, 2023. "Effect of SNS Characteristics for Dining Out on Customer Satisfaction and Online Word of Mouth," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(3), pages 21582440231, September.
    2. Carmela Milano, 2015. "Democratization or else vulgarization of cultural capital? The role of social networks in theater’s audience behavior," Working Papers CEB 15-004, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    3. Yucheng Zhang & Zhiling Wang & Lin Xiao & Lijun Wang & Pei Huang, 2023. "Discovering the evolution of online reviews: A bibliometric review," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 33(1), pages 1-22, December.
    4. Faiz Muhammad Khuwaja & Waheed Ali Umrani & Sanober Salman Shaikh & Ammar Ahmed & Sanaullah Shar, 2019. "University Markor: A Context-Specific Scale to Measure Market-Orientation in Universities," SAGE Open, , vol. 9(2), pages 21582440198, June.
    5. Rydén, Pernille & Ringberg, Torsten & Wilke, Ricky, 2015. "How Managers' Shared Mental Models of Business–Customer Interactions Create Different Sensemaking of Social Media," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 1-16.
    6. Carmela Milano & Sandra Rothenberger, 2018. "Democratization or Vulgarization - The Impact of Facebook on Cultural Capital," Post-Print CEB, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles, vol. 5(1), pages 129-144, February.
    7. Inyoung Chae & Andrew T. Stephen & Yakov Bart & Dai Yao, 2017. "Spillover Effects in Seeded Word-of-Mouth Marketing Campaigns," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 36(1), pages 89-104, January.
    8. Yadav, Manjit S. & de Valck, Kristine & Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten & Hoffman, Donna L. & Spann, Martin, 2013. "Social Commerce: A Contingency Framework for Assessing Marketing Potential," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 311-323.
    9. Sebastian Schneider, 2022. "Price-related consumer discussions in China and the United States: a cross-cultural study investigating price perceptions and word-of-mouth transmission," Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 21(3), pages 274-290, June.
    10. Gerrath, Maximilian H.E.E. & Usrey, Bryan, 2021. "The impact of influencer motives and commonness perceptions on follower reactions toward incentivized reviews," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 531-548.
    11. Wee-Kheng Tan & Ching-Hsiang Lin, 2021. "Why do individuals word-of-mouth destinations they never visited?," Service Business, Springer;Pan-Pacific Business Association, vol. 15(1), pages 131-149, March.
    12. Schau, Hope Jensen & Dang, Yan Mandy & Zhang, Yulei Gavin, 2017. "Learning to navigate the American retail servicescape: Online forums as consumer acculturation platforms and consumer gift systems," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 178-188.
    13. Bastos, Wilson, 2020. "“Speaking of Purchases”: How Conversational Potential Determines Consumers' Willingness to Exert Effort for Experiential Versus Material Purchases," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 1-16.
    14. Wang, Kai-Yu & Ting, I-Hsien & Wu, Hui-Ju, 2013. "Discovering interest groups for marketing in virtual communities: An integrated approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(9), pages 1360-1366.
    15. Maise Soares Pereira & Ivan Lapuente Garrido & Celso Augusto de Matos, 2015. "Firm-Created Word-of-Mouth Recommendation: is it Also Worthwhile?," Brazilian Business Review, Fucape Business School, vol. 12(3), pages 91-118, May.
    16. Yap, Kenneth B. & Soetarto, Budi & Sweeney, Jillian C., 2013. "The relationship between electronic word-of-mouth motivations and message characteristics: The sender’s perspective," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 66-74.
    17. Zahra MajlesiRad & Abdol Hamid Haji pour Shoushtari, 2020. "Analysis of the impact of social network sites and eWOM marketing, considering the reinforcing dimensions of the concept of luxury, on tendency toward luxury brand," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 1-19, December.
    18. Lena Steinhoff & Denni Arli & Scott Weaven & Irina V. Kozlenkova, 2019. "Online relationship marketing," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 47(3), pages 369-393, May.
    19. Christophe Alaux & Laura Carmouze & Vincent Mabillard & Martial Pasquier, 2024. "Place Attractiveness and Image. A research agenda," Post-Print hal-04667643, HAL.
    20. Zheng Shen, 2024. "Shall brands create their own virtual influencers? A comprehensive study of 33 virtual influencers on Instagram," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-14, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:9:p:3619-:d:1383248. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.