Effects of University's Social Media Presence on Students' Organizational Media Use and Loyalty

Nonprofit and public sector organizations increasingly rely on social media platforms to strengthen their relationships with key stakeholders. Prior research, especially in the for-profit marketing field, indicates positive effects of customers' engagement with brand-related social media content on their loyalty toward the brand. The present paper examines these effects in the experientially rich and transformative context of higher education institutions (HEI). Our conceptual model also comprises new potential antecedents relating to the specific context. The results from the structural equation modeling, based on responses from 764 students at a Swiss HEI, indicate significant yet small positive effects of students' social media engagement (SME) on their loyalty. Positive word-of-mouth behavior and loyalty intentions are primarily influenced by identification with the university. Attitude toward the published content, perceived organizational reputation, and student integration significantly influenced SME, whereby the latter two antecedents showed only a weak effect. In conclusion, SME as a behavioral construct seems to be another expression of existing student loyalty rather than an effective tool to foster loyalty.