Today’s educational landscape is characterized by the rapid development of technology and the growing role of social media as key communication and promotional tools. Higher education institutions, including those with a business focus, are increasingly turning to advanced marketing strategies to attract prospective students, increase engagement with the academic community and strengthen their position in the competitive education market. One of the most popular tools in this context is video marketing, which allows complex information to be communicated in an attractive and accessible way, while building an emotional connection with the audience.

This study examines the effectiveness of video marketing activities undertaken by the top Polish business universities and their impact on audience perception and engagement. The qualitative research used the case studies of five leading Polish business schools, benchmarking them against the practices of London Business School, one of Europe’s leading business schools.

The findings may be useful for universities aiming to improve their operating strategies. The article also includes practical recommendations for measures to improve the effectiveness of marketing communication efforts within educational institutions.

2. Literature review

Defining an organization’s goals in relation to customer and market needs, rather than focusing solely on the organization itself, has now become more important than ever. Marketing, as the mechanisms for achieving such alignment, has been empowered by a powerful tool: the Internet. The Internet not only facilitates the dissemination of information but also acts as a means for collaboration and interaction among users (Królewski & Sala, 2021; Berman, 2014).

E-marketing is defined as a set of informational activities aimed at meeting the needs of individuals as well as collective needs within the electronic market, using information technology to gain a competitive advantage and increase profits for businesses operating both online and offline (Chmielarz, 2007; Reed 2010). Modern e-marketing encompasses much more than just a company website and email, it also includes instant messaging platforms, blogs, online advertising, search engines, and social media (Kotler & Armstrong, 2022).

Social media marketing is a rapidly evolving branch of e-marketing that combines various elements of marketing communication, such as content marketing, user engagement, relationship building with customers, advertising, website traffic, sales promotion, video marketing, viral marketing, and public relations (Hill, 2023; Butov at al., 2020). Social media is an increasingly diverse space that encompasses categories of tools such as discussion forums, widgets, wiki pages, podcasts, blogs and digital magazines, email newsletters, crowdsourcing, photo-sharing sites, voting platforms, live streaming, presentation-sharing services, and virtual worlds (Turner & Shah, 2011; Kopera 2022). Social media platforms, with their speed and relevance of communication, stimulate innovation in companies and enable them to fully understand the needs and desires of consumers (Kotler & Armstrong, 2022; Cheung, 2019). This, in turn, allows companies to enhance their communication efforts and increase consumer engagement and activity (Grębosz at al., 2016; Hess at al.2016). Social media platforms enable companies to build dialogue with potential customers, sponsors, and investors, create brand awareness, increase sales, and provide opportunities for gathering feedback from the market (Świerczyńska-Kaczor, 2012).

One prominent trend within social media marketing is video content. The video format engages users on social media platforms and responds to the content consumption style of today’s audience (Stawarz, 2017). Video marketing can be simply described as any marketing activity conducted using the video format (Daniłoś, 2016; Tarczydło 2017). More specifically, video content marketing refers to the creation and publication of video content on a website aimed at effectively promoting a brand, product, or service (Syska at al., 2018).

An essential feature of social media, and consequently of communication through video content, is interaction – encouraging users to engage in dialogue and build relationships (Verhoef, 2021). Video marketing focuses on creating and distributing content that is useful and valuable to users, fostering close relationships with both potential and current customers (Stępowski, 2017).

The main benefits of using video for marketing purposes include the following:

• Video content is much easier for Internet users to remember.
• Video helps in building brand image.
• It can attract supporters to the brand, increasing its recognition.
• Video materials support the development of lasting relationships with customers.
• The viral nature of video allows for reaching a wide audience.
• It increases user engagement.
• It facilitates interaction between the brand and the customer.
• It generates significant traffic (Tobiasz & Szymański, 2016; Reed, 2010).

The most popular platforms for video marketing currently include Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. Depending on a company’s goals, the video format can be harnessed in various ways to showcase products or services and increase brand recognition. To differentiate advertising formats in online video advertising, various classifications can be applied. Key factors determining the categorization of online video ad formats include the placement of the ads, the surrounding context, and the timing of the broadcast (Reed, 2010).

The trends that are shaping the future of video marketing in the coming years include the following (Skwarek, 2022):

• Short videos, such as those on TikTok, Instagram, or Twitter, are gaining increasing popularity. Users often have limited attention spans, making shorter videos more engaging and attention-grabbing.
• Real-time video, or live streaming, is becoming more popular as a tool for direct audience engagement. Companies can host live broadcasts for events, product showcases, Q&A sessions, and various other interactive formats.
• User-generated video content, created and shared by internet users themselves, has the potential to build authentic engagement and trust. UGC (user-generated content) can be useful for showcasing customer testimonials, product reviews, and creating a community around a brand.
• Personalization is a key aspect of effective video marketing. Brands will increasingly strive to create video content tailored to specific target groups, which may include personalized messages, offers, or product recommendations.
• Interactive videos that engage viewers in an active way provide an advantage over passive viewing materials. Technologies such as 360-degree video, viewer-selected video options, and video quizzes allow content creators to produce more engaging and interactive films.

These trends highlight the increasing importance of video marketing as an effective tool for reaching customers, building engagement, and strengthening brand presence. Given that technology and audience preferences continue to evolve, further innovations in the field of video marketing can be expected. The current education market is marked by rapid transformations driven by technological innovations and shifting societal demands. Within this landscape, educational marketing is essential for shaping the reputation of higher education institutions and drawing in prospective students. Innovative communication methods, particularly video marketing, are emerging as highly effective promotional tools (Miller, 2011; Flannery 2021).

3. Methodology

This study investigates the effectiveness of video marketing activities undertaken by Polish business universities and their impact on audience perception and engagement.

The research problem addressed herein concerns the use of video marketing by Polish business universities in the context of strengthening their position on the higher education market. The following research questions were formulated: 1) How do Polish business schools use video marketing in their communication strategies? 2) What are the key elements of effective video marketing activities in an educational context? 3) What impact do video marketing activities have on audience perception and engagement?

The aim of the research is to identify and evaluate the video marketing activities undertaken by Polish business schools and to assess their effectiveness in terms of image building and audience engagement. The following research methods were used: a literature review to formulate the research problem and research questions, comparative analysis of case studies concerning five leading Polish business schools, and benchmarking with London Business School, one of Europe’s leading business schools.

The findings may be useful for higher education institutions aiming to improve their operational strategies. The article also proposes practical recommendations for measures to improve the effectiveness of marketing communication efforts within educational institutions.

4. Selected universities benchmarked

This study analyzes the video marketing activities of five leading Polish business universities:

1. Warsaw School of Economics (SGH)
2. Kozminski University (ALK)
3. Krakow University of Economics (UEK)
4. Wroclaw University of Business and Economics (UEW)
5. Poznan University of Economics and Business (UEP)

To provide an international perspective, a benchmarking exercise was conducted with a sixth higher educational institution – London Business School, one of Europe’s leading business schools. This comparison highlights how these institutions in Poland compare against an internationally renowned competitor in terms of the effectiveness of the video marketing strategies used. The business universities analyzed and their social media platforms activity are presented below.

The aim of the analysis is to identify how these institutions use video marketing as part of their marketing strategies on social media platforms. By comparing marketing activities, this study seeks to identify best practices and areas for improvement, which can ultimately serve as a valuable resource for universities seeking to optimize their video marketing strategies.

The following sections of this article will discuss the marketing activities of each of the selected universities, with a particular focus on their specific approach to video marketing. This examination will not only shed light on the individual strategies employed by these institutions, but also seeks to capture wider trends and challenges in the use of video for social media marketing in the education sector.

5. Evaluating the video marketing performance of selected universities

In the context of universities and colleges, video marketing serves several functions. First and foremost, it allows for effective presentation of the educational offerings, infrastructure and academic life to prospective students. In addition, it enables the university to project an image as a modern and dynamic institution capable of meeting the challenges of the contemporary educational market. Beyond recruitment, video marketing is also an important tool in building emotional ties with current students, alumni and business partners.

To provide a structured analysis, four main aspects of video marketing activities have been selected for benchmarking: 1) presentations of the campus and infrastructure, 2) interviews with lecturers and students, 3) recordings of cultural and scientific events and 4) short promotional videos presenting the unique features and advantages of the university.

5.1. Campus and infrastructure presentations

Campus and infrastructure presentations are a key element of video marketing, as they allow prospective students and other stakeholders to experience the physical environment of the university. Showcasing the ensemble of campus facilities, lecture theatres, laboratories and recreational spaces can increase the attractiveness of the university and influence decisions on where to study.

As the comparative analysis shows, most of the Polish business universities examined, including SGH, UEK, UEP and UEW, actively use video marketing to present their campuses and infrastructure. All these universities regularly update their video materials, which is crucial to maintaining an up-to-date image in the eyes of prospective students. However, only SGH offers virtual tours, which distinguishes it from other universities (suggesting an opportunity for the latter to further develop their online presentation tools).

In terms of interactivity and professionalism of production, all the universities exhibit a commendable level of quality, but SGH, KU and UEW stand out for the particularly advanced interactivity of their materials. Multilingual video content is available from most of the Polish universities, although CUE could broaden its global reach by incorporating this feature. London Business School, although it does not offer virtual tours or videos with aerial shots, compensates for this with very advanced interactivity of materials and a high level of professionalism in production, which puts it at the forefront in terms of global video marketing standards.

In sum, while all the business universities analyzed do use video marketing effectively, features such as advanced interactivity, professional production and the availability of materials in various languages determine their effectiveness on the global educational market. The Polish business universities have a strong position, but they can still benefit from further optimization of their strategies, drawing inspiration from institutions such as London Business School.

5.2. Interviews with lecturers and students

Interviews with lecturers and students are an effective video marketing tool, focusing on the human side of the university. Such videos highlight not only scientific and teaching achievements, but also personal experiences and stories. Such content can build emotional bonds with current and future students and increase the university’s credibility and appeal.

This comparative analysis indicates that all the business universities analyzed – both the Polish institutions and London Business School – regularly publish interviews with faculty members and students. Such interviews effectively highlight both scientific achievements and student experiences, a common element that helps to build the image of the university as an academic institution of high standards.

Here again, London Business School clearly stands out in terms of content quality and the multilingual nature of its interviews, which contributes to its global success and wide reach. Polish universities, such as SGH, ALK, and UEW, are also well-rated, especially in terms of content quality and the availability of interviews in English, which helps them attract international students. UEK and UEP have room for improvement, particularly in terms of enhancing content quality and expanding their reach by publishing interviews in additional languages. Integrating these elements could strengthen their position on the international stage.

In summary, although Polish business universities demonstrate solid foundations in video marketing, there is still room for improvement in terms of content and language, which could bolster their competitive position in the global educational environment.

5.3. Recordings of cultural and scientific events

Recordings of cultural and scientific events are essential for building a university’s image as a dynamic and active academic center. Coverage of conferences, open days, festivals, and other events allows the university to be showcased in the context of its activities beyond strictly educational ones, which can increase interest from students, staff, and external partners.

This comparative analysis shows that all the analyzed business universities analyzed – both the Polish institutions and London Business School – actively participate in organizing and documenting conferences, open days, student festivals, and cultural events. All the universities conduct live broadcasts and provide online recordings of these events, which increases their accessibility and reach. London Business School and most Polish universities, including SGH, ALK, UEK, and UEW, actively participate in such campaigns, which strengthens their global presence and attracts international students. UEP, although active at the local level, does not engage in international campaigns, which may limit its reach and impact in the global education market. This shows that while UEP operates effectively at the national level, its development on the international stage may require additional efforts.

5.4. Short promotional videos highlighting the unique features and advantages of the university

Short promotional videos are an important tool in video marketing as they allow for the quick and effective presentation of a university’s unique features and advantages. They can effectively capture the attention of prospective students by showcasing the educational offerings, scientific achievements, and alumni successes in an appealing way.

Comparative analysis of this data indicates that all the business universities analyzed – both the Polish institutions and London Business School – effectively use video marketing to highlight their unique features, while maintaining consistency with the university’s image and dynamic narrative. However, differences emerge in terms of effectiveness in reaching a wide audience.

LBS yet again stands out significantly in terms of number of impressions, scoring very high, indicating its strong global position and reach. Among Polish universities, ALK achieves the highest number of impressions, suggesting that its video marketing strategy is more effective than those of SGH, UEK, UEP and UEW, which score only medium numbers of impressions.

In terms of the number of shares and community engagement, all of the universities analyzed, including LBS, have relatively low levels of engagement, which may indicate a need to better tailor video content to viewers’ preferences and expectations. The Polish business universities, in particular, could focus on improving the appeal of content to better engage viewers and encourage them to interact and share videos.

6. Conclusions and recommendations

Overall, this comparative analysis of video marketing at five leading Polish business schools and the London Business School (LBS) offers certain conclusions about the effectiveness of these activities and highlights areas for further development.

First, all of the universities analyzed make effective use of video marketing to showcase their campus, infrastructure and recreational spaces, which is key to building their image and attracting prospective students. SGH differentiates itself from other Polish universities by offering virtual walk-throughs of the campus, which increases accessibility and allows students to get an in-depth look at the university without being physically present. This approach is particularly attractive to international students, who can remotely tour the campus and learn about its facilities. London Business School, while not using virtual walk-throughs or bird’s-eye shots, focuses on using advanced technology and dynamic narratives in its videos. This strategy allows LBS to capture viewers’ attention on a global level and highlight its position as one of the world’s leading business schools.

Secondly, in terms of interviews with faculty and students, all universities regularly publish this kind of content, which is an important part of building relationships with audiences and showcasing academic achievements and student experiences. London Business School stands out for the highest quality content of these materials, which underscores its global prestige. In addition, LBS publishes interviews in multiple languages, which makes them more accessible to an international audience and allows it to attract students from different parts of the world. In Poland, SGH, ALK and UEW also offer interviews in English, which increases their international appeal. However, UEK and UEP only publish interviews in Polish, which may limit their global reach and prevent them from reaching a wider range of prospective international students.

Third, coverage of cultural and scientific events is well developed at all the universities analyzed. Both LBS and the Polish institutions analyzed provide live broadcasts of these events and ensure the availability of online records, which allows them to reach a wider audience, including those who could not attend live events. This practice increases the involvement of the academic community and highlights the university’s activity in organizing various cultural and scientific initiatives. It is also worth noting that participation in international campaigns is an important part of London Business School’s marketing strategy, which contributes to building its global brand and attracting students from all over the world. In Poland, SGH, ALK and UEW are also involved in such campaigns, which strengthens their international reach and prestige. However, UEP, while active at the national level, does not participate in international campaigns, which may limit its reach and ability to reach the global academic community. In the long term, this could affect its competitiveness in the international market and limit its ability to attract international students and partners.

Fourth, in terms of numbers of subscribers and social media reach, London Business School definitely stands out as a global leader, which is a testament to its effective marketing efforts and strong position in the education market. LBS effectively uses a variety of communication channels to reach a wide audience, which translates into very high results in terms of both the number of subscribers and reach. In Poland, ALK and UEW also score high in these areas, which demonstrates their ability to run effective marketing campaigns and build an engaged community around their brands. SGH, UEK and UEP, on the other hand, are performing at an average level, suggesting the need to intensify promotional activities in social media. Better content targeting and more intensified campaigns could help increase audience reach and engagement, which could consequently improve their position in the market.

Importantly, Polish universities such as UEK and UEP should consider publishing video materials in English and other foreign languages to increase their international reach. Increasing the number of multilingual materials could help attract more international students and partners. Additionally, UEP, which does not participate in international campaigns, could strengthen its international presence by engaging in such initiatives. Developments in this area could help increase the university’s visibility in the global marketplace and build its prestige. The other Polish universities, such as SGH, ALK and UEW, should continue their activities while intensifying their social media promotion, which would allow them to achieve better results in terms of number of subscribers and reach. Strengthening their online presence and increasing audience engagement could further increase their appeal in the international market. Developing these areas is crucial for strengthening the position of Polish universities in the global education market and for increasing their competitiveness in attracting international students and academic partners.

To further enhance the effectiveness of the video marketing efforts of Polish business universities, some key strategies are recommended:

1. Introducing more interactive content, such as live Q&A sessions, could significantly increase audience engagement. Interactive content allows direct communication with prospective students, answering their questions and concerns in real time, which can increase their engagement and trust in the university.
2. Regularly publishing new video content is key to keeping the academic community and college applicants interested and engaged. Updating content, especially in the context of rapidly changing market and technological conditions, keeps audiences informed of the university’s news and achievements.
3. Expanding reach by working with educational influencers and promoting video content on international social media platforms can help increase the university’s global visibility. Educational influencers can effectively promote the university to their many followers, which increases the reach and impact of marketing efforts. International social media platforms, such as YouTube and Instagram, allow a wide and diverse audience to be reached, which is especially important for recruiting international students.
4. Creating personalized video content targeting different audiences, such as college applicants, current students, alumni and business partners, can significantly improve the effectiveness of marketing communications. It would be worthwhile to expand video marketing efforts with prominent alumni and business leaders, hailing from the business university and co-creating its brand. Personalizing content allows the message to be better tailored to the specific needs and expectations of different audiences, which increases their engagement and satisfaction.

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Social media is a phenomenon that has modified the ways people around the world interact and communicate (Edosomwan et al., 2011). More than half of the world’s population (59.4%) use social media, making a total of 4.76 billion users, while in Poland it is 66,3% of the total — 27.5 million residents (DataReportal, 2023).

What has made social media so popular among users is convenience, enjoyment and access to information (Chai & Kim, 2012). Social networking sites (SNS), such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc., are an integral part of social media and one of the fastest-growing uses of the Internet today (Omar et al., 2014). Society uses social networks for entertainment, to create and maintain relationships, to connect with others with similar interests or hobbies, or to fill free time (Marino et al., 2016; Ryan et al., 2016). Nowadays, in many cases, social media are replacing traditional forms of communication such as calling or e-mailing (Sigurdsson et al., 2021). The data also show that social media are engaging users around the world, who spend an average of 2 hr and 31 min a day, while for Polish residents, it is 2 hr and 2 min (DataReportal, 2023). Social media users use their favourite platforms because they want to stay in touch with relatives and friends, fill their free time, read news, find interesting content and be up to date. Alongside these reasons, they indicate a desire to find shopping inspiration or just to make purchases (DataReportal, 2023). One of the tools used to respond to users’ purchasing needs is influencer marketing-an extremely popular type of advertising that uses an opinion leader-an influencer. It was chosen to concentrate on this form because 66% of consumers say they trust shopping recommendations from family, friends or influencers. At the same time, only 33% trust brand recommendations (Celestino, 2023).

Moreover, it is decided to focus on the beauty industry, because beautyrelated content is one of the biggest and fast-growing industries across all social media platforms (Van Kessel et al., 2019). Also, an analysis was performed on two-of the most relevant-social media platforms for the beauty field:

• YouTube, because according to the data, beauty-related videos (about makeup and cosmetics) are the most popular content category for females on YouTube (Petrov, 2023).
• Instagram, because there is the second largest number of beauty influencers on this platform (after those addressing lifestyle topics; Statista, 2021). Moreover, Instagram is one of the fastest-growing platforms with the highest engagement from social media users (Phua et al., 2017).

Furthermore, on both Instagram and YouTube, 'makeup’ is the most used hashtag, which also indicates a huge interest in beauty topics (Geyser, 2022). Also, Instagram and YouTube are the most common combination of platforms for beauty influencers. The majority of beauty influencers are active on both platforms (Industry Report — Beauty Brands, n.d.). Taking into consideration, the aforementioned information and the literature review, the objective of the article was formulated, which is to compare consumers’ preferences towards activities and content, published by beauty influencers on Instagram and YouTube platforms.

To achieve the objective, the paper was based on primary and secondary sources. The former was obtained through an empirical study, using a survey method, of a sample of 146 individuals. The latter included a review of scientific articles from the SCOPUS database, industry reports and articles.

Literature Review

Influencer marketing is a form of marketing that allows brands to have commercial partnerships with selected social media influencers, thereby addressing the influencer’s community and the collaborating brand’s content (Lou & Yuan, 2019). Influencer marketing has become an indispensable part of digital marketing strategy that enables reaching out to target customers (Kim & Kim, 2021). According to the Influencer Marketing Hub report, the market of influencer marketing reached $16.4 billion in 2022, an increase of $2.6 billion (so 19%) compared with the previous year.

Influencers are individuals who are active on social media and influence their audience, fans, etc. through the content they add on social media platforms (Vodák et al., 2019). Beauty influencers focus specifically on creating beauty content and promoting beauty products or brands. Tran, Rosales and Copes define a beauty influencer as an aesthetic expert who provides teaching on topics of enhancement (life, health, style, etc.) and beautification practices (Tran et al., 2020).

Beauty influencers are eager to use social media platforms to share the content they create and to promote many of their own products as well as brands that collaborate with them. The beauty industry itself is worth a lot of money, and it is expected to increase from $420 billion in 2018 to $716.3 billion by 2025 (Roberts, 2022). The beauty industry on YouTube has grown, thanks to interesting personalities who engage their audiences. In 2019, there was an important event for the beauty industry when two popular beauty influencers, Jeffree Star and Shane Dawson, created a documentary series of beauty videos titled 'The Beautiful World of Jeffree Star’, which achieved 152 million views on YouTube. The series resulted as the most significant customer engagement and the largest product launch in e-commerce history (Cowburn, 2022) with 2 million users queuing on the website to purchase the products promoted in the series (Weinlich & Semerádová, 2022). Another example is Instagram beauty influencer Kylie Jenner, who released her first product-lipsticks-called 'LipKits’-and sold them out in minutes after announcing the launch on Instagram (Duboff, 2015). Kylie Jenner, who is the biggest beauty influencer in the world, is also in the second place (after Christiano Ronaldo) in terms of the number of followers on Instagram with 378 million (Instagram, January 2023).

Based on the mentioned examples, beauty topics are particularly popular and engaging for social media users. Researchers are also paying a lot of attention to the topic of social media (265,987 publications can be found in the SCOPUS database alone). However, considering the purpose of the article and the research gap, it was decided to narrow down the search results.

Table 1 presents a literature review based on the SCOPUS database. In order to search for relevant results, it was decided to use the following keywords: ((’beauty influencer’ OR 'beauty content’) AND 'social media’). Initially, 18 results appeared. Then the results were reduced by branch criteria. Articles belonging to the categories of Business, Management and Accounting or Social Sciences were filtered out. Eventually, 14 articles were included for further analysis.

In the available literature, it is noticeable that the authors address the topic of influencer marketing in the beauty industry on social media in different contexts. Some researchers have concentrated on word-of-mouth marketing as a strategy for promoting brands (Fitriati et al., 2022; Yones & Muthaiyah, 2022), others as a potential determinant of SME resilience and competitiveness (Konstantopoulou et al., 2019). Some researchers concentrated on the influence of electronic word-of-mouth and perceived quality on purchase intention of beauty products (Rosara & Luthfia, 2020). Other papers focused on aspects of gender, such as exploring the topic of beauty in the context of plastic surgery for trans women (Zhang, 2022) or the level to which influencers show themselves in a sexualized manner in various roles (Devos et al., 2022). Previous studies have also examined the impact of beauty content on purchase intentions (Pangaribuan et al., 2019). Others have examined the level of consumer engagement with products (Rutter et al., 2021) or the reasons why users follow influencers (Tran et al., 2022). There was also a concentration on how the attitudes of beauty influencers influence repeat purchase decisions (Ayuaspharalinda & Tanuwidjaja, 2021). The authors also focused on ethical topics, examining transparency while influencers disclose information about advertised products and brands (Lee et al., 2022).

Several articles did not concentrate on a specific platform at all. The studies were conducted in the context of social media in general (Ayuaspharalinda & Tanuwidjaja, 2021; Tran et al., 2022; Zhang, 2022). One article focused its considerations on TikTok platform (Yones & Muthaiyah, 2022). Others approached the research only in the context of Instagram (Devos et al., 2022; Fitriati et al., 2022; Konstantopoulou et al., 2019; Pangaribuan et al., 2019; Rutter et al., 2021) or only on YouTube (Bishop, 2019; Dekavalla, 2022; Lee et al., 2022; Rosara & Luthfia, 2020). However, they did not put both platforms in one study. The exception was the research of Sokolova and Kefi’s (2020) who focused on those two, previously mentioned platforms; however, the paper concentrates on examining the para-social interaction (PSI) that the audience creates with an influencer online and how this influences purchase decisions. To do this, the authors based their study on four beauty influencers who are popular in France. The survey considered not only beauty but also fashion influencers. Also, all the studies have been conducted in foreign markets, mostly in Indonesia (Ayuaspharalinda & Tanuwidjaja, 2021; Fitriati et al., 2022; Indrawati et al., 2022; Pangaribuan et al., 2019; Rosara & Luthfia, 2020).

The literature review helped to reveal that the Instagram and YouTube platforms have not been studied in terms of consumer preferences for the preferred beauty content shared by influencers and the product categories that they are most interested in. Moreover, neither the study focused on the Polish market and addressed the topic of the behaviour nor preferences of Polish consumers in terms of the beauty industry. This lack of information indicates a research gap, which prompted the authors, to conduct the following study.

Research

Methodology

To fulfil the objective of this paper, a research design was prepared according to the following research questions:

RQ1: What are consumers’ preferences for content, published by beauty influencers on Instagram and YouTube?
RQ2: What are the respondents’ preferences for beauty products recommended by beauty influencers on Instagram and YouTube?
RQ3: How do respondents perceive beauty influencers on Instagram and YouTube and how does it affect followers’ purchasing decisions?

Procedure

The study was conducted using a diagnostic survey method, with a questionnaire as the research tool, hosted on Microsoft Forms and distributed via the Internet. The process of collecting responses lasted from December 2022 to January 2023. The selection of individuals for the survey sample was based on a purposive selection scheme, in which the categories were the use of social media, particularly the Instagram and YouTube platforms. A total of 151 questionnaires were collected; however, due to not meeting the criteria, 5 questionnaires were rejected. Thus, a total of 146 questionnaires were taken into further consideration. Responses were given anonymously.

The questionnaires were divided into three parts. The first part is general questions directed at active social media users. The second part involved questions related to the Instagram platform for respondents who declared that they use it, and a sub-category of this part-question related to beauty influencers on Instagram. Analogous to the previous one was the last part, concerning the YouTube platform and then the perception of beauty influencers.

Sample characteristics

Most of the participants in the survey were women (73.5%). The largest group are the respondents who were aged between 19 years old and 27 years old (76.8%), followed by young people between 12 years old and 18 years old (13.2%), then people who were aged between 28 years old and 42 years old (6.6%). The smallest group are the respondents who were aged between 43 years old and 57 years old (33%). In terms of occupational status, the survey mainly involved those declaring themselves to be university or school students — 91.4% and the rest were people who work. The sample was dominated by respondents who lived in large cities, with over 500,000 residents (536%). The others lived mainly in villages (172%) and mediumsized towns with a population between 50,001 and 200,000 (126%). The fewest number of respondents lived in small towns with a population of up to 50,000 residents (93%) and those who lived in large towns with a population between 150,001 and 500,000 residents (73%).

Results

The first question, in the general part of the questionnaire, required to identify the one social media platform that respondents use most frequently. The largest group chose Instagram (36.4%), followed by TikTok (19.9%) and Facebook Messenger (19.2%). The others indicated YouTube (14.4%), Facebook (5.5%) and WhatsApp (1.4%) as their favourite platform. The rest chose the answer 'other’, indicating Twitter, Telegram and Snapchat here (0.7% each of additional responses).

The second question asked respondents to estimate how much time they spend on average on social media per day. The average was 3 hr and 38 min (SD = 1.96).

The next question allowed respondents to indicate their three favourite social media topic categories. The study found that it was mainly lifestyle (39%), entertainment (38%) and beauty (32%).

The next question referred to the Instagram platform. Thus, only people who use it participated in this part (n = 136). Instagram users declare that they use Instagram an average of 12.8 times per day (SD = 17.77) and spend on average 1 hr and 42 min on the app each day (SD = 1.22).

About 87% said they follow influencers on Instagram. Those who do were asked if they follow beauty influencers. A total of 100 respondents declared that they follow beauty influencers on Instagram.

Respondents, who are active on YouTube, were asked the same questions as with Instagram. Only those who use YouTube answered questions about this app (n = 131). YouTube users say, they use the platform 4.6 times a day (SD = 5.33) and spend an average of 2 hr and 10 min on it daily (SD = 3.36). About 91.6% of respondents said they follow influencers on YouTube. Those 120 people who gave a positive answer were asked if they also follow beauty influencers on YouTube. About 84.1% answered affirmatively. Therefore, 102 people answered further questions about the YouTube platform.

Table 2 presents the preferred types of content published by beauty influencers on Instagram and YouTube. Respondents were asked to rank this content in the order from 1 (most favourite) to 10 (least favourite). They had the following types of content to choose from when ranking:

A – Tutorial videos
B – Product reviews
C – Shopping haul
D – Unboxing
E – Testing products of various brands
F – Comparison of the same products from different brands
G – Videos with invited guests
H – Review of the latest products
I – Promotional videos of own-brand products
J – Promotional videos about the products of the brands the influencer works with

Then a weighted mean value was calculated showing the degree of importance of each quantity, according to the respondents’ preferences.
The lower the value of the measure, the more the respondent prefers a particular type of content. The results are presented in Table 2.

Most respondents mainly prefer to view product reviews on Instagram (2.82%) and then tutorials (4.13%). On the other hand, the fewest number of respondents are interested in promotional videos of the influencer’s own products (7.47%) or a collaborative brand (8.66%) as their favourite type of content. In terms of respondents’ favourite content viewed on the YouTube platform, similar to Instagram, were product reviews (2.95%) and next tutorial videos (3.54%). Again, most consumers were least likely to indicate promotional videos about the products of the brands the influencer works with (8.23%) and videos about influencers’ brands (7.56%).

In the next section, respondents again ranked, but in this case, they decided which beauty products were their most (1) and least (7) favourite in content posted by beauty influencers on Instagram and YouTube. Respondents had the following types of content to choose from when ranking:

A – Makeup products
B – Facial care cosmetics
C – Body care cosmetics
D – Hair care cosmetics
E – Hair styling cosmetics
F – Nail products
G – Beauty accessories

Then, similarly to the previous question, a weighted average value was calculated showing the degree of importance of each quantity according to the respondents’ preferences. The lower the value of the measure, the more the respondent prefers a particular type of content. The results are presented in Table 3.

Favourite beauty products in consumers’ feeds on Instagram are primarily facial care products (2.17%). Slightly fewer respondents indicated makeup products (2.44%). The last choice for consumers on Instagram were beauty accessories (5.43%) and nail products (5.43%). For the YouTube platform, respondents primarily pointed to makeup products (1.93%). The second most popular product category was facial care products (2.50%). As with Instagram, beauty accessories were the least popular.

The final part of the survey attempted to explore how respondents perceive beauty influencers on Instagram and YouTube. For this purpose, a 5-point Likert scale has been applied, with which consumers could assess the extent to which they agree with the given statement. Table 4 compares the two platforms: Instagram (IG) and YouTube (YT). Only Instagram users responded to the statements (n = 100), and the same is the case of YouTube (n = 102).

Over half of Instagram users say they trust their favourite beauty influencers on Instagram (55.2% trust and 5.7% definitely trust). By contrast, on YouTube, 42.6% say they trust influencers and 18.5% say they definitely trust them. On Instagram, 9.2% do not trust their favourite beauty influencers, and 5.6% simply do not trust them. Overall, slightly more than one-fifth of respondents do not trust influencers on YouTube (14.8% of viewers disagreed with the statement in Table 4, and 5.6% strongly disagreed).

In the second affirmative given in Table 4, the audience was asked if they agreed with the statement that beauty influencers are the first source of information when they want to purchase a product. About 43.7% of Instagram users agreed with the statement, while 5.7% strongly agreed. In contrast, Instagram users answered rather positive (42.6%) and strongly positive (18.5%). Very similar results were noted in the case of negative attitudes to the given statement, for 9.2% of Instagram users and 9.3% of YouTube beauty influencers are definitely not the first source of product information, and for 29.9% Instagram and 25.9% YouTube consumers are rather not.

Another statement focused on purchasing issues, specifically whether beauty influencers influence followers’ purchasing decisions. The study found that for both platforms they do. About 46% of Instagram viewers declare that beauty influencers rather influence their purchasing decisions, and for 11.5% they definitely do. In the case of YouTube audiences, 35.2% of respondents are rather under the influence and 16.7% definitely are affected by influencers when it comes to purchasing from beauty influencers’ recommendations.

Responses to the last statement were quite divided. About 34.5% of Instagram users tend to agree with the statement: 'beauty influencers on Instagram are credible’. In contrast, 25.3% think quite the opposite, while 28.7% have a neutral opinion on the issue. Meanwhile, in the context of trusting beauty influencers on YouTube, 29.6% rather trust them, 24.1% rather do not, and 27.8% do not particularly have an opinion.

Discussion

The objective of the paper is to compare consumers’ preferences towards activities and content, published by beauty influencers on Instagram and YouTube platforms. The study showed similarities between consumer preferences for content. On both Instagram and YouTube, consumers are most likely to watch product reviews, and secondly tutorials. On the other hand, they least prefer advertising content, such as product promotional videos of brands the influencer works with and promotional content of his own products. This may be because promotional content is increasingly associated with advertisements, and consumers realize that such videos are aimed at profit and selling specific products. Reviews, on the other hand, respond to the needs of consumers, who see value in these videos for themselves, they might get an opinion on a product they are interested in, e.g., some particular cosmetics.

Meanwhile, taking into consideration the product preferences of respondents, some differences were noted between the platforms discussed. Favourite products in the beauty category for Instagram users are primarily facial care products and secondarily makeup products. These two categories are also the most popular on YouTube, with the difference being that makeup products were the primary choice and facial care the secondary choice. Given the high popularity of tutorials and makeup products, it can be assumed that Internet users are learning how to apply makeup from beauty influencers.

The survey also showed that both Instagram and YouTube users perceive beauty influencers rather positively. In both cases, most of the consumers trust their favourite influencers, but they do not always feel the same way about beauty influencers in general. In this case, opinions were mainly spread between rather negative, neutral and rather positive. Respondents also mostly declared that influencers on both Instagram and YouTube are the first source of information when they want to purchase a beauty product, and most often the mentioned influencers later affect their purchasing decisions. Such results show that influencers are opinion leaders and have a real impact on consumers’ purchasing decisions.

Conclusions

The study fulfilled the purpose of the article and answered the research questions. However, the conducted survey had some limitations, such as non-random nature of respondent’s selection and a relatively small sample size. Therefore, it is difficult to generalize the results of this research. Nonetheless, it is hoped that the presented article can expand the knowledge of buyers’ perception towards influencers. In the future, it would certainly be worthwhile to overcome these limitations. Moreover, future research could focus on other social media platforms, such as TikTok, which has recently become incredibly popular, especially among teens and young adults.

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The transition of the 20th into the 21st century is a period of many significant and often revolutionary changes related to or initiated by the spread of information technology. The main carrier of these changes was the emergence of the Internet and the possibility of direct, single- or multi-person communication and direct interaction. The digital economy is changing the realities of marketing communications, its forms, the palette of available tools and subsequent breakthroughs in the areas of elationship building, sales and advertising. These challenges are considered in numerous academic publications (Mazurek & Tkaczyk, 2016; Gregor & Kaczorowska-Spychalska, 2018; Bartosik-Purgat, 2019; Wiktor & Sanak-Kosmowska, 2021). With the emergence of social media, Internet participants gained the opportunity for creative expression, exchange of experiences, and creation of original content, with almost no restrictions.It follows that users familiar with the usage of Internet-based technologies were the main source from which the newly emergent Internet-based business models at the time derived their principal utility and value, and in particular the emergence of the advent of social-media-based marketing gave rise to a new generation of businesses that typically channelised a significant portion of their revenue from avid social-media users. Internet users, especially on social media, became both receivers and creators of the offered value. Their influence on consumer decisions remains unquestionable today-from simple decisions related to choosing a restaurant, a book to read or a museum worth visiting in a given location, or booking a specific destination for a business trip or family vacation; to decisions that change economic, social and political reality, such as shaping beliefs and decisions in parliamentary or presidential elections. Creators using the Internet have thus become another source of information, competing for consumers’ attention with professional information services, trade media and the so-called 'reliable sources of information’. This is due to the premises mentioned above, namely dissemination and development of digital technologies, including mobile technologies. In addition, the opportunity to contact and learn about the opinions and experiences of people similar to oneself, i.e. ordinary people constituting users of the Internet and social media, possibly from one’s own or a related interest group, has gained importance (Kaczorowska-Spychalska, 2020).

Regulatory Forces in a Creative Environment

User-generated content (UGC) is typically created voluntarily. In other words, it is not paid for by its creators. Creative expression can take many forms, given the available and growing opportunities to share knowledge, news, creativity and activities of all kinds. Digital creators express themselves mainly through photos/images on platforms such as Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat; and through video formats using TikTok, YouTube and Vine. They publish their advice, opinions, comments and analyses not only in virtual spaces dedicated to longer forms, such as blogs, but also in the form of shorter statements and updates on commonly visited social networking sites, such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or Quora. The mentioned activities do not exhaust all possible forms of expression. In the area of content creation, it is also worth mentioning the publication of reviews, e.g. on Amazon or TripAdvisor, comments and content within sharing platforms such as Uber or Airbnb, crowdfunding activities, e.g. on the Kickstarter platform, or contributing to the content forming part of Wikipedia. The quality of posted content is increasingly subject to scrutiny, although it is essential to keep in mind that both the subject matter and the medium’s specifics will influence the message’s final reception. However, as previous studies have shown, reviews posted online by independent community members are usually consistent with expert opinions (Luca, 2015). It is worth noting that the Internet environment, especially the space allowing for the creation of independent content by individual creators, is increasingly subject to the activities of companies, politicians and other centres wishing to exert influence through the mass formulation of opinions. This involves not only activities that stimulate interest in a given issue, company or politician, such as generating posts or comments on request, and paying for promotional activities using, for example, influencers or influential experts, but also unethical activities of these entities such as fake reviews. Their scale may be difficult to estimate. A study by Luca and Zerwas (2016) analysed over 316,000 reviews of restaurants operating in the Boston area using an algorithm developed by Yelp. They identified 16% of the reviews flagged as suspicious by the algorithm. This takes on particular significance because previously published content influences subsequent publications and their tone. A study by Muchnik, Aral, and Taylo (2013), which analysed content published on a platform with the ability to rate articles by voting, showed that information with positive votes increased the likelihood of attracting subsequent positive votes by 32% (Luca, 2015). On the other hand, we have all kinds of 'distortions’ in the visibility of published content resulting from the content sharing algorithm imposed by social media platforms. The algorithm and the criteria that are taken into account play a key role in selecting the content displayed and ultimately determining what content among all the content published will be seen by the users of the platforms (Skorus, 2020). According to Instagram’s Head of Product, only half of the content published by profiles, including brand profiles, is visible to those who follow those profiles (https://influmarketing.pl/ algorytm-instagrama-2021-duzo-nowej-wiedzy-od-samego-instagrama/, 2022). Additionally, often the exact workings of the algorithm are not made public, other than what areas of publishing activity are considered in the construction of the algorithm. In June 2021, the Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, published an article that closely examines how content display mechanisms work on Instagram. The article begins with the sentence, 'It’s hard to trust what you don’t understand.’ (Mosseri, 2021). Changes in the display of content on the Instagram platform are presented in Table 1. Raychoudhury (2022), Meta’s Vice President and Head of Research, argues-in his article published on Meta’s corporate portal-against the growing voices that have pointed out that social media algorithms exercise a significant, and even predominant, influence on the already-ascendant polarisation of society and the formation of information bubbles. The article emphasises that the contribution of social media to the phenomena described is much more complex, and the mainstream media play a more significant role in disinformation. A 2019 study conducted by Nielsen on a sample of more than 25,000 respondents found that only 9% of consumers are confident of the impartiality of the algorithms behind the so-called social media feed (Cigionline.org, 2020).

Is Influencer Marketing a Solution?

Since doubts prevail widely concerning the veracity of the information made available through social media platforms in particular and the Internet in general, several areas of the economy and multiple facets of its operation, especially businesses whose primary marketing modus operandi involves using an online mode of information propagation, are faced with the crises of loss of trust, and credibility being called into question; such a situation poses a significant challenge that could be potentially overcome by running an online campaign explaining 'things from the enterprise’s point of view’. (Pasek, 2018). In their case, effective communication is one of the critical factors in building brand awareness on the market, and reliable information is also a tool to build a true identity of the company. Companies exposed, on the one hand, to the activities of unfair competition and demanding customers and, on the other hand, to difficult-to-predict changes in algorithms affecting the visibility of published content began to see the benefits of working with influencers. These are individuals who, as a result of their activity on the Internet, have gained the trust of their observers, thus becoming influential persons, especially about purchasing decisions and attitudes of buyers towards brands, or more broadly defined, ideas. These are known as influencers because they are people who formulate specific opinions and influence their recipients with the content they create, typically through selected channels on social media. The idea of brand ambassadors is nothing new. The first-known ambassador was Queen Charlotte, who represented the Queen’s Ware line of Wedgwood brand back in the 18th century. Recommendations from well-known and respected personalities have effectively influenced consumer choices for centuries. The turn of the 20th century, ushering in the development of technology, introduced the possibility of mass communication; and the advantages of television, radio and newspaper advertising addressed at a large audience became a much more practical solution for entrepreneurs, with regard especially to the wide-range of communication possibilities offered by these new media. It was not until the advent of the Internet and a turn away from traditional media, especially among the younger generation, that companies again began to see the potential of non-standard solutions, including the potential of influencers who combined all the features of former brand ambassadors with the high reach of mass media. It is worth noting that 2021 in Poland was characterised by the advantage of online advertising over TV advertising, amounting to 42.7% and 42.4%, respectively. The remaining 14.9% of the advertising market consisted of radio advertising (7.4%), outdoor advertising (3.8%), magazines and dailies (total 3.1%) and cinema advertising (0.6%) (https://interaktywnie.com/biznes/newsy/biznes/rynek-reklamowy-wpolscewiekszy-niz-przed-pandemia-na-czele-reklama-online-261981, 2022). If we additionally consider the activity of Internet users in blocking online ads and the phenomenon of the so-called banner blindness (https://www.emarketing.pl/reklama-internetowa/slepota-banerowa-dlaczego-internauci-ignoruja-reklamy/, 2022), then influencer marketing seems to be an attractive solution for the institution of an effective mechanism for brand propagation.

The estimated value of the influencer marketing market in 2022 will reach $15 billion. Considering the 2019 market value of $9 billion, there is a great interest in this kind of activity in the world (https://raportstrategiczny.iab.org.pl/raport/influencer-marketing/, 2022). Also, in Poland, cooperation with influencers is becoming increasingly popular. The LTTM network paid out US$ 42 million to influencers, and the estimates of the value of the influencer market in Poland on the Instagram platform increased from US$ 18.7 million in 2019 to US$ 22.7 million in 2020 (https://raportstrategiczny.iab.org.pl/raport/influencer-marketing/, 2022). Unfortunately, the influencer marketing market in Poland is not researched in terms of advertising expenses dedicated to cooperation with influencers, and thus it is difficult to say what percentage of the advertising pie these activities represent. It is especially worth emphasising that brandrelated activities and recommendations of influencers enjoy a maximum of 71% trust so far as consumers are concerned, whereas trust above 80% is only achieved by recommendations of friends (89%) and by the brand’s website (84%). On the other hand, advertising activities on the Internet do not enjoy a high level of trust among Internet users. Banner ads are distrusted by 38% of them, social media and search engine ads are distrusted by 36% of respondents, 34% of Internet users consider ads on mobile devices to be untrustworthy and 33% of Internet users consider online videos to be untrustworthy (https://annualmarketingreport.nielsen.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/pdf/full_report_1649855483_4140011690.pdf, 2022). In addition to the issues of trust and changes in media consumption, including traditional media, mainly among the young audience, who typically tend to belong to generation Z, significant is the phenomenon of the emergence of solid ties between the influencer and his audience. According to the Nielsen report, especially in the last 2 years, a period associated with the pandemic and very often the need to physically restrict social contact, the relationship between influencers and their followers has grown significantly, and influencers themselves began to be seen as one of the most reliable sources of information about brands and sales channels. Indeed, the source of this success, particularly the bonds built, is the perception of influencers as 'people from the neighbourhood’. Influencers who do not belong to the category of 'celebrity influencers’ are usually ordinary Internet users who share their passions and daily choices and regularly report on events in their lives. What is particularly attractive is that the influencer market is very diverse, making it possible to choose a specific influencer in terms of the desired topic and the reach or number of followers. Any brand can work with an influencer, even brands with small advertising budgets. The popularity arising from the results achieved is not only mega influencers with several million followers or celebrity influencers with similar reach but also micro or nano influencers who are followed by a smaller audience. According to Omnicore data, for every $1 invested in influencer marketing activities on Instagram, marketers reach $5.20 (https://www.omnicoreagency.com/instagram-statistics/, 2022). It makes this marketing activity worth considering and including in the brand’s promotional mix. Of course, influencers can only influence their audience if they can both gain and maintain their attention (Hearn & Schoenhoff, 2015).

Methodology

In order to identify the impact of algorithms on the freedom and effectiveness of social media communication, it was decided to conduct a narrative literature review. In addition to the methodology of a systematic literature review, a narrative review of the literature is applied, especially in cases where there are few scientific papers on the topic under study (Rozkwitalska, 2016). Establishing the state of knowledge in the research subject up to the present time is important for conducting empirical studies and creating new knowledge (Czakon, 2015). It should be mentioned that by effectiveness, the author means the message’s visibility to the social media user and not its persuasive function. For this purpose, the Web of Science database was searched using the words and phrases 'algorithm’ or 'algorithms’ or 'filter bubble’ or 'algorithmic power’ and 'Instagram’ and 'marketing’ and 'social media’ and 'influencer’, considering all search fields. The decision to choose the words 'marketing’ and 'Instagram’ was dictated by the specificity of the analysed issue, which should refer to marketing activities using the most popular influencer marketing platform. Research shows that most marketers (89%) and consumers (65%) indicate the Instagram platform as the most popular choice for influencer marketing activities and influencer followings (https://www.fourstarzz.com/post/instagram-influencer-marketing, 2022). Instagram is also indicated as the platform of choice by 78% of marketers worldwide for influencer marketing activities (https://www.tractionwise.com/ wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Industry-Report-2021-Final.pdf, 2022). The author then narrowed the results to articles in peer-reviewed journals in behavioural sciences, communication, business and economics and narrowed the date range from 2016, when Instagram abandoned the chronological display of content, to the present. The results were then narrowed to publications in English, yielding 12 articles. As a result of the content analysis, eight articles were rejected due to the lack of references to the Instagram platform and lack of relevance to the issue under study.

Discussion

The final analysis was conducted on four articles. In them, the authors draw attention to the invisible influence of algorithms on social media activities (Cotter, 2019) and the peculiar game that content creators seem to be playing, in which identifying the 'rules’ of algorithms is fundamental. Cotter (2019) calls this the 'visibility game’ while pointing out the significant role of influencers in working out visibility rules, which can guide brands and help identify behaviours that improve publication visibility. Algorithms significantly impact the visibility of communications and mainly influence the structure of experiences and social realities on social media, although not necessarily user behaviour (Cotter, 2019). Influencers, as people who care about visibility and reaching their followers, place great importance on collecting information about how algorithms work: they read expert blogs, participate in discussions and collect examples of actions. Research by Cotter (2019) shows that influencers are mainly interested in two areas of information: information that reveals what influences the visibility of communication (such as the choice of hashtags, ideas for building engagement or the times and frequency of publication) and what are the acceptable boundary behaviours (such as what is perceived as spam, or what tools are acceptable to use by the Instagram platform). It includes the phenomenon of shadowbanning, which involves limiting the visibility of posts due to violating the platform’s rules, virtually blocking the reaching of new audiences and expanding the reach of posts (Cotter, 2021). Certainly, influencers, for whom visibility is one of their primary activities, based on their experiences, see in advance and recognise signals of censorship, discrimination or unequal application of policies (Cotter, 2021). Gaenssle and Budzinski (2019) refer to the algorithm as part of effectively serving advertising messages to the most tailored audience. The authors show the algorithm discussed so far in a different context as a supportive tool for optimising corporate advertising spending. They emphasise the importance of experience in dealing with algorithms that determine the visibility of content for web developers. They also point out that experience resulting from time spent on the platform and constant experimentation to improve content visibility become factors that build an influencer’s expert position and create a barrier to entry for new creators. Gaenssle and Budzinski (2019) refer, like Cotter, to the notion of a 'game’ while emphasising that winning (in this case with an algorithm or a recommender system) can create a snowball effect and improve the visibility of a given influencer. O’Meara (2019), on the other hand, refers to the problem of algorithms influencing the working conditions of digital creators by identifying 'worker resistance’ activities. As an example, he gives bottom-up constituted groups, providing each other support by giving likes, shares, mentions and comments, which are measures of engagement. Engagement is a crucial element of the algorithm on the Instagram platform. Unlike Cotter, who presents a 'game’ approach to visibility that assumes a rather individual and even expert dimension, the author sees visibility efforts on the platform as a collective effort by a specific community. One of the effects achieved by influencers by engaging in 'engagement pods’ is also the professional building of an audience base that attracts brands interested in cooperation and improves the influencer’s negotiating position when establishing the terms of advertising cooperation with an interested company. However, these activities also face criticism from influencers who see them as fraud (O’Meara, 2019).

Conclusion

There are still many open questions and issues in the field of influencer marketing that need to be explored or verified. The social impact of the content generated by Internet users, especially by influencers, is gaining importance. Influencers are becoming a kind of 'creative enterprise’ by transforming their activity and presence on social media platforms into a product consumed by the acquired audience and as an advertising medium for advertisers (O’Meara, 2019). To what extent can activities using social influence enter the canon of marketing tools and contribute to generating recognisable and comparable effects? Indeed, by observing the activities of social platforms, we can see efforts being made to impose specific rules for publishing and serving content that is shared not only by brands but also by digital creators. The shift from chronological publishing of materials shared by profiles to mechanisms serving photos and videos according to a planned scheme is supposed to, on the one hand, improve the visibility of valuable content, but, on the other hand, it introduces many conditions to be met. Additionally, the visibility of observed profiles was reduced by serving in the news not only content published by observed profiles but also ads and sponsored content. Considering the time users spend browsing Instagram, published posts compete for attention with advertising and sponsored posts. A review of the changes that took place in the algorithm and content ranking mechanisms on Instagram, especially the changes introduced after 2020, further indicates the great importance of creating thoughtful and consistent content. In this dimension, better results can be observed by influencers with a clearly defined profile of activity. Influencers whose activity is diverse may face difficulties in reaching a broad audience. The issue under discussion and the method used have some limitations. Changes related to algorithms are being made all the time, and information about them is not widely available. The literature analysis conducted also has its limitations. A review of other databases could identify additional scientific publications for analysis. The number of articles referring to the issue in question remains small and raises the need for further research that could provide answers to additional questions. To what extent does the visibility of content moderated by algorithms affect aspects of consumer perception and behaviour and brand image? How can knowledge of algorithms among influencers determine their negotiating position with brands?

What are the implications of the above considerations for brand owners? Online marketing is one of the technology trends impacting marketing and online sales (Trzmielak & Zehner, 2018). Advertised and suggested posts appearing in the news can be successfully used to improve the visibility of the brand profile or promoted content. On the other hand, openly reaching out to the community of influencers and presenting the brand as a perpetually improving continuum that has arisen and is being maintained as an outcome of cooperation between its creators and the providers of feedback on the various digital platforms is a chance to build engaging content and context in which to display the brand among an interested audience. However, bearing in mind the limitations described above, when deciding to work with an influencer, it is worthwhile to pay attention to the profile of their activity, especially its consistency and uniformity, in addition to several essential criteria such as reach, audience profile, engagement of followers and authenticity of the influencer. It would help if managers also considered to what extent the cooperation with an influencer will be an essential element of the brand’s promotional mix.

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With increasing prevalence, social networking platforms are being used by consumers for two-way communication, not only to connect with their friends and family but increasingly to connect with brands. This gives rise to a need for research enabling us to better understand consumers’ motives for engaging in social media communication, exploring why people like fanpages and write comments and posts on social media sites. Research is also needed to examine the various opportunities brands have to understand and possibly influence consumers’ behavior and actions. Much of the existing research has focused on understanding the impact of social media usage on consumer buying behavior (Nash, 2018; Hollebeek & Solem, 2017; Naylor & Lamberton, West, 2012; Erkan & Evans, 2016a; Gunawan& Huarng, 2015; Park, Lee& Han, 2007) with a particular emphasis on eWOM (Chu & Choi, 2011, Erkan & Evans, 2016b; Wolny & Mueller, 2013; Wang, Yu & Wei, 2012). While it is undoubtedly useful for brands to know this, it should be of interest to both academics and practitioners to gain a better understanding of what motivates consumers to engage in communication activities on social networks, and how brands can encourage or discourage such behaviors, which may later lead to purchase.

Social media platforms are nowadays one of the most important communication channels utilized by clothing brands (Bruhn, Schoenmueller & Schafer, 2012; Mangold & Faulds, 2009). This is primarily due to their popularity, the possibility of two-way communication (interacting directly with customers) and the ability to communicate using visual content. The last factor is particularly important for the fashion industry. It has been said that social media has become the most important runway for the fashion industry (Apparel Industry, 2010). The power and influence of social media on fashion industry is undoubted (Ahmad, Salman & Ashiq, 2015). Social media has become one of the most popular tools which creates a link between fashion brand and the consumer. This link not only gives a boost to purchase intentions but also increases two-way communication (Thackeray et al., 2008; Sashi, 2012). Social media platforms are also very valuable tools for consumers. Customers from the clothing industry use social media in their purchase process in several ways. They observe, add clothing brand profiles to friends, gather information about products, look for discounts and information about new collections and trends (Rajapaksha & Dk, 2019). They treat social media as a source of information and recommendations on clothing products (Chu & Kim, 2011). Opinions of other people and other consumers published in social media are one of the most important sources of information about clothing products.

Social media are particularly important in the context of young consumers belonging to „Generation Z” — the digital generation that lives simultaneously online and offline, spending about 4 hours daily online, mostly on social media platforms (Stachowiak-Krzyżan& Ankiel, 2019; Nask, 2019). Generation Z is one of the most numerous and active groups of social media users, they are called 'digital era leaders’ (Berg, 2017). Young people belong to the target group of many clothing brands in the fast-fashion segment. The fast-fashion phenomenon has revolutionized the clothing industry over the past decade (Gabrielli, Baghi& Codeluppi, 2013). Fast-fashion consumption is predicated on a desire for instant gratification and affordable items with short product life cycle (McNeill & Venter, 2018). Research suggests that this phenomenon is particularly salient amongst young female consumers, who have little awareness of the social impact of their fashion consumption, but exhibit the highest levels of demand for new fashion products (Morgan & Birtwistle, 2009). Young people through their outfit express meanings about oneself and create an identity (McNeill & Moore, 2015). Fashion is psychologically central to teenagers in their self-evaluation and fashion facilitates social inclusion and avoidance of bullying and self-confidence (Isaksen & Roper, 2012). For young people personal appearance and body image are crucial (Ceballos & Bejarano, 2018; Jurgensen & Guesalaga, 2017). Young consumers demonstrate a desire to keep abreast of the latest product and brand trends. Generation Z have noteworthy purchasing power (Su & Tong, 2018; Parker, Hermans & Schaefer, 2004). Their purchasing decisions regarding clothing are often influenced by influencers or idols (Majkrzak & Salerno-Kochan, 2016).

The purpose of this article is to analyze consumers’ interactions with fast-fashion brands on social networking platforms, focusing on consumers’ motives for engagement in fashion brands communication activities realized in social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Youtube. We use Principle Component Analysis to identify the critical factors determining the involvement of Polish representatives of Generation Z in clothing brand profiles, the main assumptions held by the survey participants regarding the clothing brands’ motives for being present and active on social media platforms, the types of the „best” social media activities conducted by clothing brand.

Conceptual background

Consumer involvement in fashion

The starting point for the development of the concept of customer engagement was the concept of relationship marketing, based on satisfaction and loyalty and building long-term relationships (Baird & Parasnis, 2011; Sashi 2012). Consumer involvement is perceived as consumer activity in relation to the company (Kumar et al., 2010; Brodie et al., 2011; Vivek, Beatty, Morgan 2012). If the consumer’s relationship with the given company is satisfying and based on emotional ties, this leads to the higher level: consumer commitment. The roots of the concept of consumer involvement should be sought in the psychology and theory of organizational behavior (Hollebeek, 2011; Brodie et al., 2013).

Consumer involvement is a multi-dimensional concept. Most often, in the literature, it is presented as a measure of the company’s activity (Kumar et al., 2010; Brodie et al., 2011; Vivek, Beatty & Morgan, 2012). Customer activity is considered in terms of purchases made, incentives directed to the customer, customer conversations about the brand (e.g. in social media) and feedback from the consumer to the company, containing suggestions for changes, in order to improve the level of services provided or product improvement (Zomerdijk, Voss 2010).

Kumar and Pansai (2017) see consumer involvement as a mechanism of influence in the process of creating added value for the company by the customer via his or her direct or indirect participation. Direct participation of the consumer in the creation of added value for the company consists of purchases made by customers, while indirect participation consists of recommendations, consumer conversations about the brand as well as customer feedback and suggestions for the company.

Fashion involvement may be understood as an attachment between consumer and fashion clothing or a relationship between consumer and brand (Su & Tong 2018). Fashion clothing is commonly considered a highinvolvement product category (Su & Tong, 2018; Naderi, 2013; Vieria, 2009; O’Cass, 2004), because of its symbolic, expressive or emotional meaning (Miller-Spillman, Reilly, Hunt-Hurst, 2012; O’Cass, 2000).

Fashion involvement refers to the extent of interest in fashion products and the amount of time, money, and attention spent on fashion products (Park, Kim & Forney, 2006). Fashion involvement can be defined by the combined impact of several important fashion-related behaviors: fashion innovativeness and time of purchase, fashion interpersonal communication, fashion interest, fashion knowledgeability, fashion awareness and reacting to changing fashion trends (Tiger, Ring & King, 1976). Fashion involvement is stronger when a product can satisfy valuable utilitarian and hedonic goals, and generate interest, enthusiasm and excitement (Khare, Mishra & Parveen, 2012). Research has shown that consumers differ in their level of involvement in fashion consumption, with younger consumers exhibiting a higher level of fashion involvement than older consumers (O’Cass, 2004). This causes them to perceive fashion consumption as highly substantial to their self-worth; moreover, they are often fashion innovators or opinion leaders among their peers (O’Cass, 2000; Ogle, Hyllegard & Yan, 2014).

Social media as a tool to engage consumers

Social media is defined as a group of online and offline applications that allow for the exchange of user-generated content including the exchange of knowledge and opinions (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). There is a variety of such online information-sharing social media platforms, including social networking platforms (e.g. Facebook), content-sharing platforms (e.g. YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, Tik-Tok), collaborative websites (e.g. Wikipedia) and microblogging platforms (e.g. Twitter, Tumblr) (Yannopoulou at al., 2019). Nowadays, almost every single company promotes its products or services on social media in some way.

Facebook brand pages have become one of the first channels through which consumers are able to interact with brands in a direct way, by liking, sharing or commenting on brands’ posts and messages (Machado, Antunes & Miranda, 2018). With the emergence of new social networking platforms (e.g. Youtube, Instagram, Pinterest, Tik-Tok, Snapchat and others), their importance in the context of building customer engagement grew (Niyonkomezi & Kwamboka, 2020; Weitz & Einwiller, 2018;

Miranda, Antunes & Machado, 2016). The like, share and comment features of social media allow anyone to easily interact with a brand. A single brand post can receive thousands of comments from social media sites users all over the world who interact with the brand and other users, providing a platform for dialogue from which information and feedback can be easily obtained. Social-media-using consumers can increasingly integrate and act as co-creators of brand messages. They have a great opportunity to engage and actively participate in communication on the brand’s pages on social media. These actions strengthen consumers’ ties with brands, turning them into committed fans (Niyonkomezi & Kwamboka, 2020).

More and more research is being done in the context of consumer engagement in social media. Previous studies in the field of customer engagement in brand communities have focused mostly on the consequences of engagement, including concepts of satisfaction (Bowden 2009), commitment and emotional attachment to the brand (Chan & Li, 2010), empowerment (Cova & Pace, 2006; Fuller et al., 2009), consumer value (Gruen et al., 2006; Schau et al., 2009), trust (Casalo et al., 2007; Hollebeek, 2011) and loyalty (Andersen, 2005; Casalo et al., 2007). Currently, various measures are used to explore and gauge consumer engagement. Most often, researchers use the likes, shares and comments index (Vries, Gensler & Leeflang, 2012; Cvijiki & Michahelles, 2013).

The main aim of this study, therefore, was to identify the role and importance of content published on social media platforms on the purchasing decisions made by young consumers (Generation Z) in the fastfashion clothing market in Poland. More specifically, we set out to study the activity of Generation Z in social media in the context of decisions to purchase clothing, in particular:

• what activity representatives of Generation Z display on the profiles of clothing brands in social media;
• key determinants of Generation Z’s involvement in the profiles of clothing brands in social media;
• key assumptions held by Generation Z representatives regarding the presence of clothing brands in social media.

Study and methods

We empirically examined the behavior of young consumers of Generation Z in the context of their use of social media in making purchasing decisions in the fast-fashion market in Poland, using the facetoface interview method, in the period from June 2017 to January 2018. After an initial assessment, 1,000 correctly completed questionnaires were accepted for further analysis. The research tool was an interview questionnaire prepared and verified in piloting. The measuring instrument consisted of 24 questions, including 6 demographic questions. The survey was anonymous and primarily consisted of closed-end, matrix and ranking questions. In addition, the interview questionnaire contained questions requesting information about the responders’ demographic, economic and social characteristics (including sex, age, place of residence, material status, education). The survey was conducted among consumers who declared that they systematically purchase fast-fashion products. The detailed breakdown of the research sample is presented in Table 1.

Nominal and ordinal scales were used in the questionnaire, including the Likert scale, i.e. a bipolar interval scale. The nominal scales were multiple and single choice. The reliability of the construction of the questionnaire was verified by the Alpha-Cronbach test (the coefficient alpha oscillated between 0.7–0.9). In the process of empirical data analysis, the IBM SPSS Statistics tool was used to analyze the results in terms of statistical description, correlation analysis, and factor analysis.

Result and discussion

Activity of Generation Z on the profiles of clothing brands in social media

One of the goals of the study was to identify the activity of Generation Z on the profiles of clothing brands in social media. The vast majority of the surveyed consumers of Generation Z in Poland are active in social media on the profiles of clothing brands in the fast-fashion segment. Detailed results of the study in this area are presented in Table 2 and 3 and in Figure 1.

As Table 2 shows, half of the respondents declared that they „liked” (or, depending on the nomenclature of the specific platform, that they „observed”/”subscribed to” their friends) from 6 to 10 profiles of clothing brands on various social networks. Every fourth respondent was not able to indicate or did not remember how many such profiles they liked. Taking into account gender, it turns out that women like more of such profiles than men. This may be due to the fact that women are usually more interested in fashion and trends, which are topics of interest, passions and hobbies for many women. In addition, there are more clothing brands on the market that offer women’s fashion than those with products intended for men, and therefore women have a wider range of brands that they may like.

Another interesting research issue is what motives drive the representatives of Generation Z in Poland when using profiles of clothing brands in social media.

Among the most important reasons why respondents click like on the fanpage of a clothing brand or follow it on Instagram or subscribe on YouTube, the following can be distinguished: eagerness to use a discount coupon ( = 3.4), which is usually only available to fans or friends of a given brands, the desire to be up to date, follow the offerings of a given clothing brand ( = 3.28) and, importantly, becoming a fan of a clothing brand is a reaction to respondents’ satisfaction with the purchased clothing products of a given brand ( = 3.18). The least important factors included a desire to participate in the discussion ( = 2.04) and to express an opinion about a clothing brand or its products ( = 2.4). This means that young people are more likely to draw upon the opinions of other people, read their recommendations regarding specific products, and at the same time are not eager to publicly express their own reflections and experiences.

In general, women are more active on clothing brand profiles than men. Women contact clothing brands much more often and more eagerly through private messages, in which they may be looking for support from the service department, information about products, the materials used, their availability, etc. Perhaps when choosing this form of contact, women do not want to make their activities, opinions or purchasing decisions public, they do not want any of their friends to notice their activity. On the other hand, as the survey results show, men are more likely to make public their opinions about clothing products and to interact with other users of social networking sites. Women’s activity is less „public” and visible.

The critical factors determining the involvement of the Z generation in clothing brand profiles

In order to identify the key determinants of survey participants’ involvement in the profiles of clothing brands in social media, factor analysis was used. In accordance with the procedure for verifying the correctness of the application of this method, Bartlett sphericity tests were carried out and the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin index was calculated (Table 4).

The obtained KMO value is 0.679, which indicates that the sampling was adequate for using exploratory factor analysis (it can be assumed that in this case the level of correlation between the factors is high).

Factor analysis was conducted using the method of Principal Component Analysis. Based on Cattell’s scree test (a scree plot), three groups of factors were created. Then, adopting a factor loading level of 0.5 as a cut-off point, all the factors were assigned into specific groups (Table 3). The three factors combined explain nearly 57% of common variance: the first one explains 29%, the second 15% and the third 13%.

The results of factor analysis shown in Table 5 allow us to identify the following key determinants of young consumers’ involvement in the profiles of clothing brands in social media:

Factor 1: active involvement in the clothing brand profile (the opportunity to express one’s opinion, the opportunity to participate in the contests, the possibility of systematic tracking of the clothing brand’s offerings);

Factor 2: observation for measurable benefits (possibility of obtaining a discount, searching for information on clothing brands);

Factor 3: brand loyalty (the opportunity to participate in the discussion, attachment to a clothing brand).

In summary, for young consumers, the main reasons for liking clothing brand profiles is the desire to be actively involved in the clothing brand profile. Secondly, young consumers are involved in clothing brand profiles because they see additional benefits, e.g. discount coupons. Thirdly, young consumers are involved in clothing brand profiles to show their loyalty to the clothing brand, which may be the result of positive experiences with the clothing product.

The critical factors determining assumptions about clothing brands’ motives for their social media presence and activity

Another research goal was to identify the key assumptions held by the Generation Z representatives participating in the survey about the clothing brands’ motives for being present and active in social media. For this, we again used factor analysis. The procedure was the same as described in section 3.2. First, the results were subjected to Bartlett’s sphericity test and the KMO (Kaiser-Mayer-Olkin) measure was calculated. Again, both the obtained measurements confirmed the adequacy of the sample for performing factor analysis (Table 6).

Then the analysis was again conducted using the method of Principal Component Analysis. Based on Cattell’s scree test (a scree plot), two groups of factors were created. Then, adopting a factor loading level of 0.5 as a cut-off point, all the factors were assigned into specific groups (Table 7). The two factors combined explain nearly 52% of common variance: the first one explains 34% and the second 18%.

The results of factor analysis included in Table 7 allow to identify the following key factors underlying participants’ assumptions about clothing brands’ motives for their social media presence and activity:

• Factor 1: image/sales goals (working to ensure the brand image, boosting product sales, acquiring new customers);
• Factor 2: cognitive goals (imitating/following the competition, obtaining information about clients, looking for new employees).

In the opinion of young consumers surveyed, the main motives assumed to be driving the presence of fast-fashion clothing brands in social media are image and sales goals, i.e. striving to improve sales results, to attract new customers or to care for and project the brand image. The second important type of assumed motive are cognitive goals, manifested in the desire to look for employees or obtain information about their clients.

The critical factors determining the best clothing brand activities in social media

The last goal was to identify factors which determine the best clothing brand activities in social media. Once again, the procedure was the same as described in section 3.2 and 3.3. Firstly, Bartlett’s sphericity test and the KMO (Kaiser-Mayer-Olkin) measure were calculated. Again, both measurements confirmed the sampling adequacy for performing factor analysis (Table 8).

Next, Principal Component Analysis was applied. Based on Cattell’s scree test (a scree plot), two groups of factors were created. Then, adopting a factor loading level of 0.5 as a cut-off point, all the factors were assigned into specific groups (Table 9). The two factors combined explain nearly 46% of common variance: the first one explains 28%, the second 18%.

The results of the factor analysis listed in Table 9 identify the following key determinants behind the presence and activity of clothing brands:

• Factor 1: entertainment activities (posting information from the clothing industry, conducting contests, providing games and applications);
• Factor 2: information activities (announcing new clothing collections and new products in the assortment, announcing special offers
  (discounts, sales, coupons), publishing photos and video materials about products and clothing brand).

For young consumers, the most interesting activities undertaken by clothing brands in social media are entertainment activities, including conducting contests and providing games and applications. The second group of valuable activities are information activities, consisting in providing information about new clothing collections as well as special offers and sales.

Conclusions

Social media platforms are a key channel of marketing communication for clothing companies from the fast-fashion segment, in the process of the purchasing decisions made by young consumers. Research has shown that social media platforms are used by young consumers at different stages of the decision-making process. They not only generate needs, but also constitute a valuable source of inspiration at the stage of searching for opportunities to satisfy a need. Our results indicate that women add more clothing brand profiles to their lists of friends than men do. In addition, women are more active on the profiles of clothing brands in social media, are more likely to make use of discount coupons, more often like and comment on published content and share it, take part in contests, add posts with inquiries and send private messages. In turn, men are more likely to express their opinion about products and enter into discussions with other users of social media. Gender also differentiates the opinions of the respondents towards the profiles of clothing brands in social media. Women, despite the fact that they treat these profiles as another advertising medium, evaluate them positively, as useful and interesting. Social media platforms alter the roles of buyers and sellers and the relationships between them.

The use of social media allows fans to connect and interact with other users, increasing mutual satisfaction and advocacy for brands. Seeking insight into customers’ involvement, our study analyzed the influencing factors in terms of Generation Z’s involvement on the social media profiles of fashion brands. From the point of view of companies in the clothing industry, customer engagement turns customers into fans. They become brand ambassadors, more attractive, more profitable and regular customers. Customers play an important role in the value-adding process as co-creators of content and value. Customer involvement is essential to brands for retaining them and turning them into loyal customers. On the other hand, from the point of view of customers, their commitment displayed in social media can be the result of several reasons: personal motives, a desire to achieve additional benefits and as an expression of loyalty to a fashion brand.

The results of this study may serve as a valuable source of information for brand managers who are responsible for designing and implementing brand communication activities in social media. The findings may help fashion brands to better understand how to influence peer-to-peer communications and how to engage their fans on social media. Moreover, the results of this study may lay the foundation for developing a strategy to increase customer satisfaction. Marketers should continually strive to learn more about what representatives of Generation Z — both in Poland and elsewhere — expect and what content they desire.

Limitations and future research directions

This study has several limitations. Firstly, the sample is limited. The results cannot be generalized to Polish consumers overall, due to the study population being limited to young people. Although this particular group of consumers is playing an important role in the clothing market, the results do not provide a comprehensive description of consumer engagement. Therefore, further research should also be carried out to include other consumer groups and other generations.

Secondly, the test results cannot be generalized to all clothing brands on the market from various segments. The survey covered the fast-fashion clothing segment, a segment which has its own distinctive traits. For this reason, the survey results should not be generalized to other segments of the clothing market.

It should also be noted that the study reported herein only considered selected social media sites popular in the clothing industry, which are often used by young people in Poland (Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Youtube and Pinterest). It would be interesting to continue the study, examining the communication activities of clothing brands on individual, specific social networking sites, taking into account their distinctive aspects, which would allow better insight to be gained into consumer involvement. Moreover, it would be very interesting to conduct a similar study considering the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on consumer behavior.

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Promotion has been one of the key elements of higher education management practically since the beginning of the changes initiated by Poland’s democratic transition. Every year, demand for educational services is declining, limited on the one hand by the generally decreasing numbers of those aspiring to attend university and on the other by the generally increasing numbers of higher education institutions providing programmes adjusted to the changing reality. Universities are quickly trying to respond to these challenges by adapting their programmes and educational services to the needs of the job market and the changing economic landscape.

Higher education institutions are therefore forced not only to analyse selected factors behind demand, but also to take into account the challenge posed by competitors. Declining birth rates have prompted universities to engage in strategic promotional planning, necessitating a search for various measures aiming to encourage potential students to explore the opportunities offered by higher education. Tools used by universities to enhance their competitive position include public relations, understood as the art of conducting dialogue with one’s environment and fostering relations within an organization and outside of it (Tworzydło, 2017). Essentially, the purpose is to present a consistent image of an educational institution in keeping with its strategy and to facilitate proper communication between the institution and its environment (KaczmarekŚliwińska, 2006). One important distinguishing feature of public relations is two-way communication, which seeks understanding, acceptance, and cooperation between the organization and its environment (Gawroński, 2006). Bearing in mind the need to actively expand their knowledge about their environment and engage in professional communication, universities do not ask themselves if they need public relations, but perform broad analyses of the quality, professionalism, and effectiveness of the measures they take to convey information, build up their image, and promote their education services and the best practices in this field (Walkiewicz, 2005). In the context of the image of a higher education institution, we should consider such factors as information about its condition, the public image of its faculty members, students, and graduates, its involvement in the communities in which it operates, its relations with the media, the use of owned media (Kaczmarek-Śliwińska, 2013), and a range of other factors that impact on how the institution is ultimately perceived. As Waszkiewicz (2011) notes, „the image of a higher education institution depends on the overall perception of its functioning in terms of the roles it plays as a teacher, a creator of science and culture, a moral authority, an employer, a financially supported entity, an investor, and a means of transmitting power, together with the interpreted meaning of such perception and the resulting beliefs and attitudes”. In addition, the image of a higher education institution is considered through the prism of its protection, especially in the context of potential crises that may threaten the stable functioning of the institution. Therefore, preparing for and adequately reacting to crises becomes crucially important for many organizations (Tworzydło, 2019).

The purpose of this paper is to identify online tools used by Polish universities and analyse to what extent these tools are used for imagerelated, communication, and marketing purposes. Since these activities impact directly on the reputation of every university, it appears crucially important to raise awareness of their importance, especially among those who are involved in higher education communication and marketing.

Since the arrival of the digital era, websites have been one of the first and most important tools for building the image of universities in their external and internal environment. A website serves not only as a university’s online business card, but also as an interface facilitating various multidirectional interactions between the university and its environment (Szyfter, 2005). As a result of the rapid development of the Internet and the growing popularity of online communication, universities feel the need to highlight their online presence in a relevant way. It is no longer enough to have a basic website that has been designed for potentially interested members of the public and features very general content, often without regular updates. Growth in the number of Internet users has forced universities to ascribe greater importance to websites as channels of professional communication and design them as platforms for dialogue with their environment.

Universities are aware of the need to respond to the emergence of new tools and technological advancements and to explore the related opportunities, but also to assess the risks associated with such rapid development. The World Wide Web offers access not only to information about universities from all over the world and their programmes, but also to knowledge. Increasingly advanced technologies have made it possible not only to teach classes and carry out other important academic activities but also to create a network of connections with potential students and to convince them that they should choose a specific university as one that will guarantee the quality of education they expect. For higher education institutions, the new reality poses challenges in the area of not only education, but also other basic services they offer, in particular scientific research and research and development for the economy and the region (Hope, 2005). Necessitated by these new circumstances, the transformation of higher education institutions has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which almost immediately forced many organizations, including universities, to take adaptive measures. The pandemic has led to changes in education, including teaching classes and handling relations with students as well as conducting research and promoting the effects of scientific work. Such changes would not have been so rapid if it had not been for the impulse provided by the outbreak of the pandemic, global lockdown measures, and local constraints.

However, using modern online tools and staying on top of modern trends and technologies gained significance in response not only to the pandemic but also to the findings of earlier analyses conducted by higher education institutions. University students are among those Internet users who test and use the latest solutions. This is one of the reasons why higher education institutions must to be present in the places frequented by its potential customers, and this also pertains to social media. Several of them are particularly relevant in this context. Among the Internet users, as many as 92% of those aged 18–24 declare that they maintain a presence in at least one form of such media (Feliksiak, 2016). The booming popularity of certain social media platforms has caused corporations, small businesses, non-government organizations (NGOs), and schools at various levels to notice the need to use such channels and the related benefits. In particular, social media support marketing activities, facilitate direct communication, and help shape one’s public image (Buchnowska, 2013). They can be divided into six main categories: collaborative projects (such as Wikipedia), blogs and microblogs (such as Twitter), content communities (such as YouTube), social networking sites (such as Facebook), virtual game worlds (such as Warcraft), and virtual social worlds (such as Second Life) (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010; as cited in: Falahah & Rosmala, 2012). From the perspective of their usefulness, the first four of these categories are by far the most attractive for universities. The popularity of such media continues to grow, for reasons that include: the possibility of reaching out to existing and future students, graduates, and employees, immediate feedback to the information posted and issues raised, the low cost of reaching recipients, and the possibility of surveying the views and opinions of those interested in or linked to a specific university.

Materials and methods

For the purposes of this paper, we conducted a study in 2020 to analyse the activities carried out by selected universities using available online tools, the press offices of such universities, and their social media activity and websites, including video trends and direct communication (e.g. through online chats). In conducting our research, we used such tools as the SimilarWeb platform (https://www.similarweb.com). We identified and compared image-related measures taken by selected Polish universities. In order to highlight a clear difference in trends, we extended our analysis to cover some of the world’s best universities, selected based on the Webometrics ranking (Ranking Web of Universities). We identified changes taking part in the model of managing the image of a higher education institution. In addition, we assessed the impact of generational changes and image-related activities on the choice of a university and presented the role of e-learning as a tool and modern form of communication and education.

In the main part of our project, we ultimately analysed 52 universities in Poland and 10 from other countries in Europe and in the world. The study therefore encompassed a total of 62 official websites of higher education institutions.

Using the method of website content analysis, we classified them based on the following variables: the number of ranking points, statistics on the number of visits and the time spent on a website, shares of direct and referral traffic, and the presence of the universities on specific social media. We also identified mobile applications operated by universities. Relevant calibration of the data allowed us to perform statistical analysis. The principal analytical axis was formed by correlation analyses performed using the Pearson correlation coefficient. We also performed a classical frequency analysis with a percentage frequency distribution. Additionally, analysing the time spent on a website implied the necessity of implementing the procedure of comparing means. It was assumed that significant differences would exist for the p-value of less than 0.05 (based on ANOVA).

Results

Modern-day universities use numerous tools allowing them to reach out to selected target groups. Social media currently rank among the most powerful of such tools. Importantly, having a profile on such a platform as Facebook is as natural as having a website. In turn, having a website and updating it regularly is beyond dispute. In this case, the analysis of the collected research material showed that the number of points that universities in Poland had in the „Perspektywy Ranking” (the country’s most prestigious such ranking — Perspektywy Education Foundation, 2019) correlated strongly with the number of website visitors. The value of the Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.774, and the correlation was positive. In other words, the more points a university had, the more visits to its website were recorded.

Importantly, Polish universities could obtain a maximum of 100 points in the Perspektywy Ranking. Since the lowest result was around 39 points, we could divide the sample into three proportional groups: the universities with a low level of points (between 39 and 59.3 points) accounted for 79% of the sample, those with a moderate level of points (between 59.4 and 79.7 points) constituted 15% of the sample, and finally those with a high level of points (between 79.8 and 100 points) comprised 6% of the higher education institutions under analysis. In this context, we can talk about a considerable disproportion in the points-based assessment (most universities ranked low in terms of points) with a clear dominance of the three highest-ranking universities: the University of Warsaw, the Jagiellonian University, and the Warsaw University of Technology. In 2020, the situation was very similar, with the same three universities claiming the top three spots in the Perspektywy Ranking — the only difference being that the Jagiellonian University ranked first.

Bearing in mind the data obtained in the course of our research, we analysed the frequency of website visits, among other things. We arrived at the general conclusion that the number of Internet users visiting the websites of Polish universities had grown steadily in the six-month period under study.

The statistics were collected in June 2020 and covered the months from December 2019 to May 2020. We observed a downward trend for only three universities (6% of the sample), namely the Medical University of Łódź, the University of Agriculture in Kraków, and the University of Life Sciences in Lublin. Importantly, one in five universities from the Perspektywy Ranking recorded a rise of at least 30% in the number of visits (19.6% of the sample). This resulted from the changes in the overall situation in the world, including the approach to searching for and using information. People are growing increasingly likely to use the Internet and explore the opportunities offered by modern technologies — higher education institutions also react to such changes. Those responsible for marketing at universities realise that this trend will continue and know that for higher education institutions the future of promotion is online. A website is therefore not merely a window to the world. Content posted on websites and the ways in which it is presented must meet the ever-growing requirements of today’s world, with the rising complexity of the information shared by universities with their environment highlighting the need for its relevant visualization and presentation.

Our research shows that users spent an average of nine minutes when visiting the website of a university listed in the Perspektywy Ranking (mean = 9.04 min). Based on the time values, we did not observe increases or decreases in the time spent on a website depending on such variables as the number of points in the ranking or the number of visitors. From the perspective of the given university, of course, the time spent on its website is an important parameter. The longer a potential candidate stays on the website, the more likely this person is to find the content of this website useful. We can therefore assume that as the time spent on a website grows, so does the knowledge of its visitors and the chance that they will retain information that will later influence their decisions, for example regarding their ultimate choice of university.

Based on a detailed analysis of the datasets, we found no correlation between the number of visitors and the number of pages they viewed. This may also mean that the Internet users visiting university websites know exactly what they are looking for and do not waste their time on general browsing. Also, it can be assumed that potential recipients go directly to the information they are searching for. Examples may include admissions (for potential students) and job vacancies (for potential employees). This only serves to confirm the significance of a clear and logical layout of the websites of the universities under study. On the other hand, as we have already stated, the average time spent on a website is fairly long, which may mean that visitors read the content posted there relatively carefully.

When analysing the data we had obtained, we noted an interesting correlation: the more points a university had in the Perspektywy Ranking (Perspektywy Education Foundation 2019), the larger the share of visits by users from countries other than Poland (r = –0.329; p = 0.018; n = 51). This means that having a good reputation enables a university to attract the attention of not only Polish, but also foreign visitors, who browse the content posted on its specific pages. To follow this line of thinking, we should note that the highest-ranking universities actively reach out to such candidates or indirectly attract the interest of those planning to study in Poland. On the other hand, the number of users visiting the websites under study correlates positively with the share of direct traffic. This means that the higher the number of visits, the larger the share of direct visits resulting from users typing the website’s URL into a browser (i.e. not via any referring website) (r = 0.347; p = 0.012; n = 52). The universities that take up the top spots in the Perspektywy Ranking are sufficiently recognizable, and this recognizability is strong enough for users to find the websites of such universities directly, without using for example the Google search engine. This points to the proper positioning of these universities, but also indicates that they have worked very hard for years to build their image and online presence.

Growth in the number of visits to the websites of the Polish universities featured in the Perspektywy Ranking also correlates strongly with the number of pages per visit. We noted that the higher the percentage increase in the number of visits in the six-month period under study, the higher the average number of pages per visit (r = 0.592; p = 0.001; n = 51). If Internet users choose to type the website’s URL directly into a browser (direct traffic), the average number of pages per visit changes significantly. We observed that the higher the percentage share of such direct traffic, the higher the average number of pages per visit (r = 0.749; p = 0.001; n = 52). Here, we can talk about informed visitors who type in the address of a website they know and then browse it carefully. On the other hand, the higher the percentage share of referral traffic, the lower the average number of pages per visit (r = –0.323; p = 0.019; n = 52). Here, we can talk about more random visitors, which should not be taken to mean that they are less important. In the context of the websites under analysis, we can generally conclude that informed visitors outnumber greatly random visitors (the average share of the former group is around 47%, compared with less than 2% for the latter group). Informed visitors determine the percentage rise in the number of visits over the six-month period under study. The higher the percentage share of type-in traffic, the greater the aforementioned percentage increase (r = 0.427; p = 0.002; n = 51).

In general, one group of Internet users consists of those who type in the address of the website directly into a browser (representing a 47.4% share of the whole sample). Here, the relatively largest share was recorded for the Medical University of Gdańsk and the smallest for the SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Warsaw (74% and 24%, respectively). The second most frequent group of visitors is formed by those who find university websites using search engines (representing a 44.1% share of the whole sample). The largest share was noted in the case of the Adam Mickiewicz University’s website (72%), while the lowest share was recorded for the Medical University of Gdańsk (18%). An average of 5.4% users reach the websites of Polish universities via their social media profiles. Here, the top position is occupied by the Adam Mickiewicz University (19%), while the relatively lowest result was achieved by the University of Białystok (2%). Internet users accessing websites through various types of referring websites account for 1.9% of all visitors (as many as 13% access the website of the Warsaw School of Economics in this way). Other sources of traffic account for a marginal percentage share of all the results obtained.

For 49% of the universities in the Perspektywy Ranking, the Internet users visiting their websites are dominated by those who type the website addresses directly into their browser address bars. An equally large share of Internet users (51%) rely on search engines. The former group visits a significantly higher number of pages per visit (an average of 8.6 compared with 6.2 for those using search engines) (ANOVA, where F = 14.918; p = 0.001). The average time spent on a website by users typing that website’s address directly into a browser is 9 minutes and 15 seconds. For those who access the website from search engine results, this period is comparable (9 minutes and 11 seconds). Likewise, we found no significant differences in terms of the number of points in the Perspektywy Ranking (56 points for universities whose websites are dominated by direct traffic, compared with 53 points for the search engine group).

Finally, it is worth noting the distribution of countries (other than Poland) from which Internet users visit the websites of top Polish universities. The leader in this respect is Ukraine (21.6% of all cases), followed by Germany and the United States (11.8% each), Belarus and Sweden (7.8% each), and finally Spain and the UK (3.9%).

Leading Polish universities against world universities

We extended our analysis to include a comparison of Polish universities against top five universities in the world and in Europe, treating them as a reference group. One of the world’s most popular university websites is the website of Harvard University (https://www.harvard.edu), which was visited in the peak month (October 2020) by over 55 million users. It is followed by the websites of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (https://www.mit.edu) with 49.04 million users and Stanford University (https://www.stanford.edu) with 24.34 million users. During the period under analysis, we noted significant differences in terms of website reach. During the first six months of 2020, interest in the website of the university widely regarded as the world’s best (Harvard) dropped by nearly 17.5% (see the table below), only to return to its previous level a few months later. This fact is linked not only to the academic year, but also to the period of the coronavirus pandemic, which necessitated remote learning.

Statistics for Polish universities show a somewhat different trend. While the number of visits to the websites of the world’s top universities fell, Polish websites gained in popularity. With an average rise of 20.16%, the universities that recorded growth in the number of visits included the Medical University of Gdańsk, the Medical University of Lublin, and the Medical University of Silesia (their popularity increasing by 50%). Importantly, the universities that reported the highest growth are associated with education in various areas of medicine, which may point to the emergence of a trend among those deciding on their future education.

Universities in social media and their communication activities

A study conducted in 2012 showed that „universities have noticed not only the possibility but also the necessity of using social media in the process of scientific communication. Some of these institutions, especially those regarded as the most active, understand the need to diversify their communication channels” (Kulczycki, 2012). This leads us to the conclusion that universities have been working for years to achieve their current position, not only by conducting observations and performing analyses but also by actively responding to changes, including those taking place in communication technologies. Social media can be used not only as a communication platform, but also as a gateway to the places where the attention of the audience can be drawn for longer, namely websites. The analysis of the data we collected shows that the traffic generated by social media varies between 2.04% and 11.54% (an average of 5.4%). One exception is the Adam Mickiewicz University — as much as 19.12% of referrals to the university’s website come from social media, but no further and detailed data are available in this respect.

Analyses show that all Polish universities have profiles on both Facebook and YouTube, and a vast majority of them have both official and unofficial accounts, in addition to running private groups. Students themselves also have private groups and use instant messengers, chiefly Messenger and WhatsApp. Both modern trends and the popularity of websites prompt universities to explore new tools that offer growing possibilities for acting effectively and supporting students and lecturers.

Facebook is by far the most popular social medium used by universities, generating an average of 70% of referrals from social media. YouTube ranks second with an average of 24.92%. However, we should note that the discrepancies are much greater here because some universities use this tool only to a small extent, whereas in the case of other universities, such as the Częstochowa University of Technology, the University of Gdańsk, and the Medical University of Gdańsk, YouTube generates 40–45% of all traffic from social media to the university website. Fewer than twenty universities have decided to set up accounts on LinkedIn, but the traffic generated in this way is essentially negligable (around 1%, +/–0.5%), the only exception being the Lublin University of Technology (9.01%). If we look at this situation from the perspective of the changes taking place in the use of this tool in communication, especially in business communication, we may both presume and assume that universities will be further exploring this communication channel, in particular by looking for opportunities to communicate information about such projects as postgraduate or MBA studies.

The statistics related to the use of Twitter as a microblog, or a medium focused on presenting the latest political, sports, business and other news, are extremely interesting. One may conclude that compared with global universities, Polish higher education institutions neglect Twitter in terms active use of this tool. This may be because they have failed to properly assess its potential. Among the 52 universities included in the study, 60% have Twitter profiles. However, the use of this tool is noticeable and fairly regular only in the case of the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences (12.53%), the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (7.67%), the University of Szczecin (6.51%), and the Medical University of Łódź (5%). For the websites of the remaining universities, the traffic generated by Twitter ranges between 0% and 3.44% (an average of 0.7%). Such results are very low compared with the popularity of the profiles of the world’s best universities, which proves that Polish universities are only starting to notice the need for active presence on Twitter. Among education profiles, the most popular ones (in terms of the number of visits) are those run by British universities, specifically the University of Cambridge (19.98%), the University of Oxford (19.71%), and University College London (19.43%), as well as by Harvard University (17.56%) and Stanford University (16.25%). Eight of the universities we studied use Research Gate, but only the University of Zielona Góra (6.51%) does so in a noticeable way. Most of the universities also have their own IT systems for managing education processes, studies, and communication with students, typically a USOS or another system designed to meet specific requirements or needs.

To complement our research project, we performed a detailed analysis of the websites of the eight highest-ranking universities in the Perspektywy Ranking (Perspektywy Education Foundation, 2019) in terms of their communication activities. All of these universities have promotion offices, as well as press rooms, but the latter are not always properly visible. We observed that the materials for journalists vary in terms of quality and characteristics. In fact, only one university designed its press kit professionally and in keeping with the recommendations of public relations experts. Most of the information materials are available to all users of the university websites and form integral parts thereof. Photographs and videos are made available to the media as links or downloadable resources. Only three of the universities we analysed offer a newsletter only for journalists.

Importantly, all the higher education institutions we analysed have dedicated units responsible for communication. Most of them are headed by a press officer or the rector’s plenipotentiary for communication or media relations. However, only one of the press officers has an official social media account, and one runs an official expert blog. On the other hand, all universities offer newsletter subscriptions to users of their websites. Websites feature attractive downloadable content, including logos, as well as links to social media, including less popular ones such as Flickr, Pinterest, and Goldenline (a Polish business-oriented social networking website). Despite many positive actions and activities of Polish universities, there are still many areas in which public relations and promotion could be addressed more professionally.

Conclusions

It is evident that the universities we analysed understand the potential that lies inherent in the Internet, and some of them draw their inspiration from foreign universities. However, they are as yet unable to fully respond to the measures being successfully taken by the world’s most renowned universities. Observing the trends and processes taking place in the global education market is an important element of evolution and active participation. Changes in the sphere of promotion have been sped up by the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing universities not only to reflect on what is the norm for reputable universities interested in promotion but also to respond swiftly to changes in this field.

The changing market necessitates a comprehensive approach to promotion in higher education institutions. For reasons related to the widespread use of Internet tools, it is crucial not only to analyse the potential and opportunities created by technological advancements but above all to open up to novel solutions. Universities may benefit more from the effects of this approach if they engage to a greater extent in addressing promotion issues and exploring related opportunities systematically and openly. Systematically here refers to taking steps based on operational and strategic planning, while openness describes the approach to the implementation of new solutions and communication technologies. No university can afford to neglect to perform relevant analyses and implement the conclusions to be drawn from their findings. The websites of Polish universities prove to be a key element of their strategic and operational communication in the online world, in addition to being one of the most effective tools for building and fostering good relations between universities and their environment and for shaping their public image (Jędrych, 2015). Polish university websites vary greatly in terms of appearance, functionality, and content, which demonstrates their original approach to website design. Since Internet users visiting such websites look for relevant and appropriately profiled data, universities additionally need to devote more attention to information quality and website navigation. Equally importantly, Polish universities should seek to attract the attention of those interested in studying in Poland. Such markets undoubtedly include Ukraine and other countries of the former Eastern Bloc. Universities must therefore focus on creating content tailored to the information needs of those who may be interested in the educational services they offer.

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Currently social media play a key role in businesses marketing communications. Companies use them to achieve various communication goals, mainly of a long-term nature, such as building customer loyalty and satisfaction, maintaining constant and direct contact with clients, constantly informing them about a change in the offer, creating a positive image of the company or implementing the concept of socially responsible marketing (see Smith, Wollan & Zhou, 2011; Mergel, 2013; Klososky 2011; Thomas & Barlow, 2011).

This is because these communication channels are gaining popularity around the world. As of January 2019, 3.4 billion people in the world had active social media accounts, representing 45% of the world’s population. Compared to the same period of the previous year, this number increased by 288 million (9% increase). The largest number of users in the world are on Facebook (2,271 millions of users) (Global Digital Report, 2019). In August 2019, more than 16 million Polish users were registered on this social network (i.e. 42.3% of the total population), of which 53.5% were women and 46.5% were men. Officially, people who are at least 13 years old can be registered on Facebook. In Poland, the largest group consists of people aged 25–34 (28.6%; including women — 14.9% and men — 13.7%), the second group consists of people aged 35–44 (21.8%; women — 11.8%, men — 10%), third group — people aged 18–24 (20.5%; women — 10%, men — 10.6%), fourth — people in ages 45–54 (11%; women — 6.2%, men — 4.8%) (NapoleonCat, 2019). All generations have their representatives on Facebook. This is a great business potential for companies (and other organizations) that increasingly use Facebook in their marketing activities to achieve their goals. These types of actions can be referred to as Facebook marketing.

There are many studies on Facebook marketing (Carter, Levy & Levy, 2012; Dunay & Krueger, 2009; Hansson, Wrangmo & Solberg Soilen, 2013; Haydon, Dunay & Krueger, 2012; Holzner, 2008; Levy, 2010; Ramsaran- Fowdar & Fowdar 2013; Treadaway & Smith, 2012; Zarrella & Zarrella, 2010). Most of them are practical guides on how to conduct marketing on Facebook. However, there is a lack of in-depth research on how to use Facebook’s potential in marketing activities. Currently, Facebook (as well as other social platforms) provides many marketing tools. These include primarily paid advertising.

In Poland, the share of expenditure spent on advertising in social media within the expenditure dedicated to online advertising was 16.7% in 2018. It was an increase of 22% compared to the previous year. Social media ads industry is growing extremely dynamically, it is one of the fastest growing sectors of online advertising (IAB Polska, 2018). According to the Stelzner (2019) marketing specialists most often regularly use the Facebook platform (72%), as well as Instagram (38%) for social media ads. In the B2C sector, Facebook ads (76% B2C vs. 65% B2B) and Instagram (43% B2C vs. 30% B2B) are more often used. In the B2B sector, advertising on LinkedIn is more popular (24% B2B vs. 9% B2C) (Ibid). Facebook is the world’s second major global digital ad seller. As of February 2019, its net digital ad revenue was USD 67.37 billion. Only Google was ahead of it (USD 103.73 billion) (eMarketer, 2019).

Running an advertising campaign on Facebook is conditioned by having one’s own fanpage, which consists in setting up an official organization profile on this social network, publishing various types of content on it by administrators and other users, and gathering community in the form of page likes and page followings. This is the main form of marketing activity on Facebook and the most popular by far. However, it has some limitations, mainly related to the fact that published posts have limited organic reach (i.e. unpaid). This means that the content provided by the organization on its Facebook page reaches only a small percentage of its fans. To increase the reach, companies need to purchase an ad.

Another marketing tool on Facebook are groups. They are relatively little explored by researchers (Holzner, 2008; Levy, 2010; Xia, 2009). According to Levy (2010, pp. 60–61) „Facebook Group” is „a real-life interest group to declare an affiliation or association with people and things”, where one can create „a community of people and friends to promote, share and discuss relevant topics” (Ibid). Each Facebook user can set up their own group or groups. This also applies to organizations. Groups can be associated with a fanpage. Their main advantage is that they have relatively large organic reach. One can say that they are in original form of social media, they provoke discussions and content exchange. Therefore they have the potential to boost engagement among users.

Moreover, one can set up three different types of groups on Facebook: open groups (anyone can join them), closed groups (user has to request to join the group and it must be approved by the administrator) and secret groups (user must be invited into the group and the group is not shown in any searches) (Levy, 2010, p. 61). In result, groups can be used for various marketing purposes, e.g. they can be dedicated to anyone interested in a given topic, or only for an elite group, e.g. customers or employees.

Groups on Facebook usually have their own regulations, defining e.g. rules for publishing posts, rules for marking them (e.g. an order to use certain hashtags), or e.g. rules for communication (e.g. prohibiting the use of invectives). Failure to comply with the regulations may result in the user being thrown out of the group by the administrator. It is worth noting that sometimes post moderation takes place before the content is published on the group’s page (first the administrator must approve it before it is published).

Each group has its own specific purpose. On the example of the wedding industry, they can be:

• groups dedicated to specific issues (e.g. inspiration for future brides),
• groups of members from specific locations (e.g. bringing together future brides from a given location, city, etc.),
• groups of „advertising column”, where everyone can place their own advertisement (for example, „I will give …” / „I will exchange …” / „I of fer …” / „I search …”, etc.),
• strictly sales groups — these are groups with additional options, such as: price (marked in green with the possibility of raising and lowering it), name of the sold product, the ability to place its photos, the ability to set the location — the place of receipt, etc.

All these features of Facebook groups make them a very effective marketing tool which can be used in various ways.

In conclusion, Facebook provides many marketing tools for companies and other organizations. Activity on this social network does not have to be limited to running a fanpage and buying ads. Groups that are characterized by relatively larger organic reach than fanpage and often also greater audience involvement provide more opportunities.

Methodology

The aim of the research is to determine the use of Facebook groups as a marketing tool on the exemple of wedding industry as well as to investigate the forms of using Facebook groups in marketing.

The following research problems are adopted:

1. What is the marketing potential of Facebook groups on the exemple of wedding industry.

a. How often do posts from Facebook wedding groups reach respondents?
b. To what extent are the respondents involved in the content published on Facebook wedding groups?
c. What is the role of the Facebook wedding groups in making purchasing decisions related to the wedding according to respondents?
d. What is the activity of the wedding industry companies on Facebook wedding groups in the opinion of respondents?

2. What are the forms of using Facebook groups in marketing?

As a research method author used survey. The survey questionnaire consisted of 16 questions regarding the attitude of respondents to the role of the wedding group on Facebook in making purchase decisions related to the wedding. In addition, the questionnaire contained 5 metrics questions about age, education, marital status, the period from which the respondents are members of the Facebook wedding group and when their wedding is to take place. Author used purposive sampling. To distribute the questionnaire was used a Facebook ad tool targeted at Polish women, who are planning a wedding or are shortly after it. The questionnaire could only be completed by people who are members of Facebook wedding groups.

The research sample included 175 people. Respondents were women (100%). They were mainly aged 24–27 (60%). Every fourth surveyed person was at the age of 20–23 (25.7%). Other researched people were 28–31 (11.4%) and 32–35 (2.9%) years old. Half of the respondents (54.3%) have higher education and 40% have secondary education. Other people have vocational education (5.7%). Most respondents are unmarried (62.9%). Every third surveyed person is a married woman (37.1%). Most respondents have been a member of the wedding group on Facebook for a long time: 28.6% from 1–2 years, 22.9% from 6 to 12 months, 14.3% from 4 to 6 months, and 11.4% — over 2 years. Only 14.3% of respondents are members of a wedding group on Facebook for 1 to 3 months, and 8.6% — less than a month. The research was carried out in September 2019.

Findings

The aim of the research was among others to determine the use of Facebook groups as a marketing tool using the case study of the wedding industry. To achieve it, respondents were asked about various aspects of their membership in the Facebook wedding groups. The results are shown below.

First, a question was asked about the reason why respondents joined the wedding groups on Facebook. It turns out that many of them are looking for general practical advice on how to organize a wedding (e.g. what to avoid, what to buy, etc.) (34%), but also specific advice, e.g. what wedding hall to choose, what DJ or a band is worth choosing, etc. (20%). Many group members want to advise others on the various problems they face when organizing a wedding (20%), and become familiar with the current wedding trends (14%) (Figure 1). This already shows the huge marketing potential of Facebook groups.

Users only sometimes (26%) or rarely (very rarely — 26%, rather rarely 17%) comment on posts published on the Facebook wedding groups they follow. Very rarely (34%) they also publish their own content on such groups. This shows that the vast majority of Facebook wedding groups are passive members in terms of commenting and publishing their own content. It is rather in line with the general trends of communication in social media (most of us rather remain passive readers).

As mentioned, respondents often expect specific help regarding the organization of the wedding. It turns out that 48.6% of them often receive such help. This shows that Facebook wedding groups can play a very important role in brides’ preparations for the wedding. Future married women find there a lot of valuable information that they use in practice. Often, these can be suggestions for purchasing specific products or services.

Research shows that the vast majority of respondents (74.3%) assess the usefulness of a Facebook wedding group in organizing a wedding very well (Figure 2).

The research also aimed at determining the role of Facebook wedding groups in making purchasing decisions related to the wedding. Admittedly, the respondents themselves rarely recommend products or services of a specific company on the Facebook wedding group (20% — rather rare, 17% — sometimes, 17% — very rare). On the other hand, they themselves are often faced with recommendations of someone’s product or services of a company on the Facebook wedding group (37% — very often, 37% — rather often). Therefore, since respondents are unlikely to recommend products or services to other people and they are often exposed to them at wedding groups on Facebook, it can probably be a sign of high activity of companies that use word-of-mouth marketing and thus try to encourage group participants to buy their products or services.

Sometimes someone on a Facebook wedding group recommends to respondents some products or services of a company related to the wedding (26% — sometimes, 20% — rather rare) (see Figure 3) and respondents sometimes buy them. Only 23% of respondents said that they never use such recommendations. This shows how important Facebook groups marketing activities can be for companies.

In result of recommendations on Facebook wedding groups, respondents bought many different products or services related to wedding (Figure 4). They were mainly: decorations for the wedding hall or church (eg lanterns, letters, etc.) (34%), accessories for the bride (eg veil, garter, etc.) (26%), wedding invitations (26%) and music band or DJ services (11%).

Moreover, they were rather successful shopping: 26% of respondents rated them rather good, and 23% — very good. No wonder, then, that product and service recommendations on a Facebook wedding group enjoy rather high trust among respondents (43%). Many companies are rather aware of the marketing potential of wedding groups on Facebook. The surveyed respondents quite often (37% sometimes, 31% very often) meet on a Facebook wedding group with the fact that some company offers their products or services related to the wedding there (Figure 5).

Respondents sometimes get interested in a service or product that some company offers at a wedding group (34.3%), however they relatively rarely buy them (23% sometimes, 23% very rarely, 11% rather rare) — see Figure 6 and
Figure 7.

Comparing this with previous conclusions, it can be stated that direct recommendations (direct sales / direct promotion) of companies on Facebook wedding groups enjoy less interest than the recommendations of ordinary group members. This means that word-of-mouth marketing will be more effective on Facebook groups. At the same time, the presented research results confirmed the great marketing potential of Facebook groups.

The aim of the research was also to investigate the forms of using Facebook groups in marketing. Research has shown that Facebook groups can be used for marketing purposes in at least several ways:

• a company can set up its own Facebook groups and gather a community centered around interests related to the business; it may carry out various marketing activities on Facebook groups, e.g. promotion of other groups in exchange for promoting their group;
• a company can do word of mouth marketing on groups that already exist or on groups that it has created; word of mouth marketing can be supported by direct sales (direct promotion);
• a company may sell directly on groups that already exist or on groups that it has created; direct sales (direct promotion) can be supported by word of mouth marketing;
• a company may carry out marketing activities on other groups that already exist in the form of, for example, the promotion of their group.

The above-mentioned forms of using Facebook groups in marketing activities are illustrated on Figure 8.

Conclusions

The research allowed to achieve the research goal, which was to determine the use of Facebook groups as a marketing tool on the example of the wedding industry, as well as to investigate the forms of using Facebook groups in marketing. Based on the example of the wedding industry, it was found that the content of Facebook groups has large reach and boost high involvement of their participants. Members of Facebook wedding groups often take into account the recommendations they find on these groups when making wedding related purchasing decisions. Companies often take advantage of this by using word of mouth marketing or direct sales (direct promotion), with word-of-mouth marketing being more effective. Companies can also create their own groups on Facebook, gathering the community around interests related to their business and conducting various promotional activities on them.

References

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Zmiany obserwowane w otoczeniu społeczno-gospodarczym kraju, globalizacja oraz dynamiczny rozwój nowoczesnych technologii w znacznym stopniu implikują zarówno działalność uczelni wyższych, jak również wpływają na zmiany zachowań i model decyzyjny kandydatów na studia (Michalak i Mruk-Tomczak, 2018). Atrakcyjna oferta edukacyjna, odpowiednio zakomunikowana przyszłym studentom, może stanowić o przewadze konkurencyjnej szkoły wyższej w zmiennym otoczeniu (Hall i Witek, 2016). Obecnie absolwenci szkół średnich — kandydaci na studia, należą do najmłodszego pokolenia, zwanego pokoleniem „Z” (Mruk-Tomczak, 2019). To pokolenie zostało wychowane w świecie wirtualnym.

Młodzi ludzie żyją jednocześnie online i offline. Stały i nieograniczony dostęp do Internetu powoduje, że stanowi on najważniejszy kanał komunikacji oraz źródło informacji o otaczającym ich świecie (Kucharski i Ligocka, 2012; Kubiak, 2017). Młode osoby stanowią jedną z najliczniejszych i najaktywniejszych grup różnych serwisów społecznościowych — np. Instagram, Snapchat, Tik-Tok.

Popularność portali społecznościowych w Polsce wciąż rośnie, coraz więcej organizacji podejmuje działania określane mianem social media marketing. Dotyczy to również uczelni wyższych, których sytuacja na rynku usług edukacyjnych zmusza do zachowań przedsiębiorczych (Koszembr-Wiklik, 2015; Pabian, 2016; Koszembar-Wiklik, 2018). Nasycenie rynku oraz malejąca liczba studentów wynikająca z niżu demograficznego, powodują, że uczelnie wyższe w coraz silniejszym stopniu muszą konkurować o przyszłych studentów. Stając przed wyborem uczelni wyższej, który to wybór w znacznym stopniu może zdeterminować rodzaj przyszłej pracy zawodowej, komunikacja w świecie wirtualnym, jest konieczna. Jednocześnie działalność polskich uczelni w mediach społecznościowych a także ich wpływ na wybory przyszłych studentów stanowi stosunkowo nowy i jednocześnie bardzo dynamiczny obszar badawczy. Co więcej zrealizowane do tej pory badania zagraniczne pokazują, że działania uczelni w mediach społecznościowych wpływają na wizerunek uczelni zwłaszcza wśród studentów — zgodnie z nimi kandydaci na studia przyznają, że obecność uczelni w mediach społecznościowych i informacje zamieszczane na ich oficjalnych profilach na Facebooku oraz sposób interakcji z użytkownikami miały wpływ na ostateczną decyzję o tym, którą uczelnię wybrali (Washenko, 2013). Na świecie powszechność wykorzystania mediów społecznościowych w działaniach komunikacyjnych uczelni wyższych jest dużo większa (Chan & DiValdi, 2018; Rutter, Roper & Lettice, 2016; Peruta, Helm & Benson, 2015; Hanover Research, 2014), ponadto tworzone są już rankingi uczelni oceniające ich działania w mediach społecznościowych (np. The Higher Ed Social Media Engagement Report 2019, The UK University Social Media Rankings) (Chwiałkowska, 2014).

Media społecznościowe, dzięki swojej różnorodności, dają uczelniom wyższym różne możliwości, począwszy od działań promocyjnych wśród potencjalnych kandydatów, jak również pełnienie funkcji podnoszenia prestiżu uczelni, informowanie zainteresowanych o planowanych wydarzeniach, zdawanie relacji z organizowanych przedsięwzięć, poszerzanie wiedzy w wybranej dziedzinie, umożliwianie kontaktu z obecnymi studentami oraz absolwentami, czy angażowania studentów w życie uczelni (Ryńca i Suporek, 2018).

Na potrzeby artykułu przeprowadzono studia literaturowe, analizę dostępnych źródeł internetowych oraz ilościowe badania własne z wykorzystaniem indywidualnego kwestionariusza wywiadu.

Przedmiotem artykułu jest przybliżenie roli mediów społecznościowych w procesie decyzyjnym kandydatów na studia. Celem niniejszego artykułu jest charakterystyka Pokolenia Z oraz jego aktywności w mediach społecznościowych, ponadto identyfikacja znaczenia mediów społecznościowych w procesach decyzyjnych dotyczących dalszego kształcenia w uczelniach wyższych przyszłych kandydatów na studia. Uzyskane w procesie badawczym wyniki pomocne będą w wypracowaniu zaleceń oraz rekomendacji dla osób zawodowo zajmujących się projektowaniem skutecznych działań marketingowych w mediach społecznościowych na rzecz szkół wyższych, w tym pracowników działów marketingowych instytucji naukowych. Rozważania prowadzone są na podstawie źródeł literaturowych, danych rynkowych oraz ilościowych badań własnych autorki.

Charakterystyka pokolenia Z

Nastolatkowie, absolwenci szkół ponadgimnazjalnych, zaliczani są obecnie do generacji Z (inaczej zwana także generacją C od słowa „connected”), czyli osób, które świetnie radzą sobie z Internetem, biegle korzystają ze smartfonów i dedykowanych aplikacji mobilnych. Mówiąc o pokoleniu Z w kwestii ram czasowych, wśród badaczy i socjologów brak jednoznacznej zgodności. Niektórzy przyjmują, że jest to kohorta, która rozpoczyna się po 1990 roku, inni z kolei za datę graniczną przyjmują rok 2000 (Kostyńska, 2019). Mimo tych rozbieżności bez wątpienia można stwierdzić, że jest to pokolenie osób, które różni się od swoich poprzedników. Osoby zaliczane do poszczególnych kohort dorastały w innych warunkach społecznych, gospodarczych czy technologicznych, były świadkami różnych przełomowych wydarzeń w kraju i na świecie (np. zmiany ustrojowe w Polsce, wejście Polski do Unii Europejskiej, atak terrorystyczny na World Trace Center itp.), które determinują istotne różnice międzypokoleniowe. Przejawią się one m.in. w posiadaniu odmiennych wartości, różnych perspektyw, innych wizji przyszłości i poglądów na rzeczywistość. Socjologowie na przestrzeni czasów wyróżnili 5 pokoleń, za główne kryterium przyjmując wiek: general generation, pokolenie baby boomers, pokolenie X, pokolenie Y i najmłodsze pokolenie Z. Należy dodać, że praktycznie w przypadku każdej generacji występują rozbieżności w zakresie dat określających przedział czasowy, w którym mieszczą się osoby reprezentujące pokolenie, dotyczą one zarówno górnej, jak i dolej granicy. Pokolenie general generation obejmuje wszystkie osoby urodzone przed 1946 rokiem, czyli przed końcem II wojny światowej. Pokolenie baby boomers, to osoby urodzenie w okresie wyżu demograficznego, lata 1946–1964. Pokolenie X często określane mianem stabilnego pokolenie to osoby urodzone w latach 1965–1981/6. Z kolei pokolenie Y to pokolenie Internetu, osób urodzonych w latach 1984 do 1995/2000. Najmłodsze pokolenie Z to generacja nowych technologii, do której zalicza się, jak już zostało wspomniane, osoby urodzone po 1990. Najistotniejsze różnice pomiędzy trzema najmłodszymi pokoleniami, tj. X, Y i Z zaprezentowano w tabeli 1.

Pokolenie Z w mediach społecznościowych

Młode osoby, jak już zostało wspomniane są uzależnione od swoich smartfonów. Młode osoby żyją równocześnie online i offline. Online jest codziennie niemalże każdy nastolatek w Polsce (96%), niezależnie od płci, wieku czy typu szkoły (CBOS, 2018; Nask, 2019, Pyżaski i inni, 2019). Internet wykorzystywany jest przede wszystkim w celach: rozrywkowych (słuchanie muzyki, oglądanie wideo, granie w gry), towarzyskich (poprzez komunikatory i serwisy społecznościowe) oraz edukacyjnych (odrabianie lekcji, przygotowanie do sprawdzianów i klasówek oraz poszerzanie wiedzy, rozwój hobby i zainteresowań). Według badań każdego dnia młodzi Polacy korzystają z Internetu średnio przez 4 godziny i 12 minut na dobę (Nask, 2019). Tak wiele czasu poświęcanego przestrzeni wirtualnej potęguje popularność zjawiska multiscreeningu, czyli korzystania z wielu ekranów jednocześnie. Oglądanie telewizji i jednoczesne korzystanie z telefonu czy komputera, to popularne zjawisko właśnie wśród przedstawicieli pokolenia Z. 55% osób poniżej 24 roku życia podczas oglądania telewizji sprawdza swoje portale społecznościowe (Grabiwoda, 2019).

Korzystanie z mediów społecznościowych to wśród nastolatków jeden z najpopularniejszych sposobów spędzania czasu w sieci. Młodzież korzysta z mediów społecznościowych regularnie, kilkukrotnie dziennie, poświęcając im niemałą część swojego dnia. Mówiąc o mediach społecznościowych w Polsce warto zwrócić uwagę na strukturę demograficzną ich użytkowników. W zdecydowanej większości portali najliczniejszą grupę wiekową stanowią osoby młode w przedziale wiekowym 16–24 lata, co potwierdzają poniższe statystyki (vide rys. 1,2,3). Nastolatkowie do łączenia się z siecią najczęściej wykorzystują smartfony (94%), laptopy (58%) oraz komputery stacjonarne (29%) (Nask, 2019).

Reprezentanci pokolenia Z wykorzystują media społecznościowe w bardzo wielu celach. Internet to dla nastolatków przestrzeń rozrywki i ośrodek życia społecznego, a także źródło wielu korzyści — od poszerzania wiedzy w określonej dziedzinie, po możliwość kreowania swojego wizerunku, czy poszukiwania tożsamości.

Rośnie rola mediów społecznościowych w procesie podejmowania decyzji o wyborze przyszłej ścieżki edukacji wśród młodych osób (Buchnowska i Woźniak, 2013). Media społecznościowe stają się obecnie jednym z najważniejszych źródeł informacji dla młodego pokolenia, w tym także informacji o uczelniach wyższych.

Działania komunikacyjne uczelni wyższych w mediach społecznościowych

Dostrzegając rosnącą rolę i znaczenie mediów społecznościowych uczelnie wyższe w Polsce nie pozostają wobec trendu obojętne. Coraz częściej w działaniach komunikacyjnych szkół wyższych istotną rolę odgrywają działania w poszczególnych portalach społecznościowych. Co więcej spadająca liczba studentów, rosnąca konkurencja między uczelniami powoduje, że obecnie to nie uczelnia wybiera sobie kandydatów, ale kandydaci dokonują selekcji i wyboru szkoły wyższej. Młodzi ludzie są w dzisiejszych czasach bardziej świadomi, gdyż mają dostęp do wielu informacji, które pozwalają im porównywać i oceniać interesujące ich kierunki i uczelnie, gotowych rankingów, których wiarygodność i znaczenie rośnie z roku na rok czy też wielu opinii aktualnych studentów i absolwentów.

W trakcie procesu decyzyjnego tak samo ważne są obecnie osobiste zainteresowania jak również oferta programowa, poziom nauczania oraz perspektywa dobrego zatrudnienia i wysokich zarobków po ukończeniu studiów oraz konkretnej szkoły wyższej.

Wykorzystanie mediów społecznościowych w komunikacji marketingowej przez uczelnie wyższe może być skuteczniejsze niż w przypadku wielu innych podmiotów gospodarczych ze względu na demografię, czyli tożsamy wiek i wykształcenie najliczniejszej grupy użytkowników mediów społecznościowych i kandydatów na studia oraz zmieniające się preferencje młodych ludzi dotyczące źródeł pozyskiwania informacji o ścieżce edukacji (Buchnowska, 2013).

W tabeli 2 zaprezentowano rodzaje serwisów społecznościowych wykorzystywane przez polskie uczelnie wyższe w swoich działaniach z zakresu komunikacji marketingowej.

Zdecydowana większość wykorzystywanych portali społecznościowych wspiera przede wszystkim działania marketingowe (social media marketing) związane z budową wizerunku organizacji, prezentacją jej oferty oraz pozyskiwaniem nowych klientów. Podstawą zaletą serwisów społecznościowych jest możliwość dwustronnej komunikacji z otoczeniem. Informacje przekazywane społecznościom zgromadzonym wokół uczelni wyższych w serwisach społecznościowych dotyczą przede wszystkim:

1. samej uczelni — jej historii, tradycji, misji;
2. prowadzonej oferty edukacyjnej — w tym: kierunków studiów i efektów kształcenia) oraz ważnych informacji o procesie rekrutacyjnym;
3. działalności pracowników i studentów — w tym zarówno działalności naukowej (otrzymanie grantów, patentów) jak i pozostałej, m. in charytatywnej czy działalności na rzecz lokalnej społeczności, itp;
4. sukcesów i osiągnięć uczelni (np. osiągnięte miejsce w rankingu uczelni wyższych), pracowników (np. zajmowanie ważnych stanowisk w Państwie), studentów (np. osiągnięcia sportowe, międzynarodowe konkursy) oraz absolwentów (zajmowanie ważnych stanowisk w znanych firmach);
5. ciekawych wydarzeń na uczelni i poza nią — organizowanych konferencji, wykładów otwartych, drzwi otwartych dla kandydatów, spotkań z ciekawymi ludźmi, praktykami biznesu czy wydarzeń kulturalno-edukacyjnych (np. noc naukowców);
6. ciekawostek i nowinek ze świata nauki.

Media społecznościowe jako źródło informacji o uczelniach wyższych dla kandydatów na studia

W celu identyfikacji roli i znaczenia treści publikowanych przez uczelnie wyższe w mediach społecznościowych na decyzje podejmowane przez kandydatów na studia zrealizowano proces badawczy. Badania kandydatów na studia — licealistów ukierunkowane były na rozpoznanie roli jaką pełnią działania z zakresu marketingu społecznościowego na decyzje podejmowane przez kandydatów na studia. W procesie badań empirycznych postawiono następujące cele badawcze:

1. Identyfikacja aktywności młodych osób — kandydatów na studia w mediach społecznościowych
2. Zidentyfikowanie źródeł informacji o uczelniach wyższych wśród kandydatów na studia
3. Zidentyfikowanie przydatności profili uczelni wyższych w mediach społecznościowych
4. Ocena profili uczelni wyższych w mediach społecznościowych przez kandydatów na studia

Zakres podmiotowy badań obejmował potencjalnych kandydatów na studentów, czyli osoby w przedziale wiekowym 15–18 lat, kształcące się w liceum ogólnokształcącym w mieście Gniezno. Wielkość próby badawczej wyniosła 187 respondentów 1 . Dobór respondentów był doborem celowym spośród uczniów klasy pierwszej, drugiej i trzeciej szkoły licealnej ogólnokształcącej. Zakres przestrzenny badań obejmował miasto Gniezno. Z kolei zakres przedmiotowy przeprowadzonych badań koncentrował się na działaniach komunikacyjnych uczelni wyższych w mediach społecznościowych. Uwagę skupiono na profilach polskich uczelni wyższych w najpopularniejszych serwisach społecznościowych, wśród nich znalazł się: Facebook, Instagram, Youtube i Snapchat. Wybór ten poparty został raportami wskazującymi te serwisy jako najczęściej wykorzystywane przez branżę edukacyjną do komunikacji marketingowej i realizacji strategii marketingu społecznościowego. Zakres czasowy badań obejmuje wrzesień 2019 roku.

W zrealizowanym badaniu o charakterze ilościowym wykorzystano technikę wywiadu kwestionariuszowego bezpośredniego przy wykorzystaniu instrumentu pomiarowego w postaci kwestionariusza ankietowego składającego się z 15 pytań.

Zdecydowaną większość respondentów stanowiły kobiety (74% ogółu badanych), pozostałą część — 26% mężczyźni. Ankietowani, biorący udział w badaniu to osoby młode, w przedziale wiekowym od 15 do 18 lat.

To osoby kształcące się w liceum, w klasach 1, 2 i 3 (dla części z nich jest to szkoła ponadgimnazjalna lub szkoła ponadpodstawowa). Szczegółowa charakterystyka struktury badanej grupy z uwzględnieniem płci, wieku, poziomu kształcenia oraz miejsca zamieszkania przedstawiona została w przypisie 2 .

Zdecydowana większość respondentów korzysta z najpopularniejszych serwisów społecznościowych bardzo często — kilka razy w ciągu dnia (vide rys. 4).

Najbardziej popularnym i najczęściej użytkowanym serwisem jest Youtube. Regularnie, co najmniej kilka razy w tygodniu korzysta z niego 95% ankietowanych. Z kolei odsetek osób nieposiadających konta jest niewielki — 1,1%.

Drugim najczęściej odwiedzanym przez ankietowanych portalem społecznościowym jest Facebook. Niemalże 90% badanych korzysta z tego serwisu regularnie (co najmniej kilka razy w tygodniu i częściej), a ponad 85% korzysta z niego kilka razy dziennie. Niewielki odsetek respondentów, zaledwie 3,7%, nie posiada konta na tym serwisie, w związku z czym z niego nie korzysta (co wynika z faktu, że większość portali społecznościowych wymaga posiadania konta dla korzystania z niego).

Instagram jest trzecim pod względem popularności i częstotliwości korzystania serwisem społecznościowym wśród młodych osób biorących udział w badaniu. W regularny sposób korzysta z niego 85% badanych. Z czego zdecydowana większość (niemalże 75% ogółu) korzysta z Instagrama kilka razy w ciągu dnia, udostępniając zdjęcia lub oglądając materiały udostępnione przez innych użytkowników. 11% respondentów nie użytkuje tego portalu wcale lub nie posiada na nim konta/profilu.

Istotne różnice można zaobserwować w przypadku serwisów Tik Tok, Twitter oraz LinkedIn. Są to najmniej popularne serwisy społecznościowe wśród reprezentantów Pokolenia Z, którzy wzięli udział w badaniu.

Zdecydowana większość ankietowanych nie korzysta z tych serwisów w ogóle (ponad 3 ankietowanych). Dziwić to może w przypadku serwisu Tik Tok, który według ostatnich badań mianowany został „najpopularniejszym” serwisem społecznościowym wśród młodych osób (Burtan, 2019).

W przypadku serwisu LinkedIn niewielkie zainteresowanie wynikać może z profilu tego serwisu, który specjalizuje się w kontaktach zawodowo-biznesowych, czyli obszaru życia, który dopiero młode osoby będą rozpoczynać za kilka lat, podejmując pierwsze prace zarobkowe.

Podsumowując korzystanie z serwisów społecznościowych jest poniekąd „codziennym rytuałem” dla młodych osób, które lubią i chcą być na bieżąco z informacjami dotyczącymi ich znajomych i otoczenia, w którym przebywają. Potwierdziły to wyniki realizowanych badań jak również studia literaturowe. Ponadto, media i serwisy społecznościowe dostarczają także wielu innych informacji, np. aktualnych wydarzeń z kraju i zagranicy, z którymi młode osoby chcą być na bieżąco. Dzięki urządzeniom mobilnym, które towarzyszą młodym osobom na każdym kroku częstotliwość korzystania z najpopularniejszych serwisów społecznościowych jest niezwykle wysoka.

Reprezentanci Pokolenia Z biorący udział w badaniu spędzają dziennie stosunkowo dużo czasu w Internecie korzystając z mediów społecznościowych (vide rys. 5). Jest to przede wszystkim zasługa urządzeń mobilnych (smartfonów oraz tabletów) z zainstalowanymi aplikacjami mobilnymi. Powoduje to, że osoby młode podczas każdej wolnej chwili np.: w szkole, w środkach lokomocji czy w kolejce sklepowej korzystają z serwisów społecznościowych. Ponad 1/3 ankietowanych przeznacza na ten cel ponad 3 godziny dziennie, a 37% respondentów około 2–3 godzin. Niemalże co piąty respondent w mediach społecznościowych spędza dziennie od 1 do 2 godzin. Wyniki te znajdują odzwierciedlenie w raportach badawczych dotyczących Internetu i internautów. Polski nastolatek dziennie spędza w sieci 4 godziny i 12 minut. Co piąty badany wskazał, że każdego dnia na aktywność w Internecie poświęca przynajmniej 6 godzin, tak wynika z raportu o Państwowego Instytutu Badawczego NASK (2019). Internet jest to przestrzeń, w której żyje dzisiejsza młodzież.

Zgodnie z danymi GUS (2018) 99% gospodarstw domowych z dziećmi posiada dostęp do Internetu. 90% młodych osób do codziennego łączenia się z siecią wykorzystuje smartfony (Nask, 2019). Urządzenia mobilne stają się coraz częściej jednym z głównych urządzeń do łącznia się z siecią internetową nie tylko wśród najmłodszych internautów. W 2018 roku liczba osób łączących się z Internetem za pośrednictwem mobile pierwszy raz była wyższa niż osób robiących to za pomocą komputera (IAB Polska, 2019).

Zdecydowana większość respondentów poszukiwała już informacji o uczelniach wyższych (vide rys. 6). Co piąty ankietowany tego nie robił.

Były to w większości osoby najmłodsze, uczęszczające do pierwszej klasy szkoły licealnej, które dopiero zakończyły proces rekrutacji do szkoły licealnej i najprawdopodobniej jeszcze nie myślały o swojej dalszej drodze edukacji po zakończeniu szkoły średniej.

Najczęściej wykorzystywanym przez reprezentantów Pokolenia Z biorących udział w badaniu źródłem informacji o uczelniach wyższych są źródła internetowe, w tym strony www uczelni wyższych (ponad 60% respondentów wykorzystuje je czasami lub często). Jest to zgodne z tym, co pokazują dostępne wyniki badań — obecnie dla Pokolenia Z najważniejszym źródłem informacji pozostaje Internet (Kucharski, Szopa i Halemba, 2017; Drapińska i Gołąb, 2009; Michalak i Mruk-Tomczak, 2018). Rodzina i znajomi stanowią kolejne, bardzo cenne i często wykorzystywane źródło informacji o uczelniach wyższych, ponad połowa ankietowanych czasami lub często z nich korzysta. Cennym źródłem informacji są także serwisy społecznościowe, fora dyskusyjne oraz osoby studiujące na danej uczelni. Źródła te charakteryzują się możliwością uzyskania jak najbardziej obiektywnych i rzetelnych informacji o uczelniach wyższych, często na podstawie wiarygodnych opinii osób mających bezpośredni kontakt i doświadczenie. Najmniej popularnym i wykorzystywanym źródłem informacji o uczelniach wyższych są gazety i czasopisma oraz organizowane regularnie targi edukacyjne, na których prezentują się uczelnie wyższe wraz ze swoją ofertą edukacyjną.

Opinia reprezentantów Pokolenia Z biorących udział w badaniu na temat profili uczelni wyższych w mediach społecznościowych jest dla ponad połowy z nich neutralna (52.4% wskazań). Jednocześnie spory odsetek ankietowanych uważa je za przydatne i bardzo interesujące (45,5% odpowiedzi). Dla co szóstego ankietowanego media społecznościowe, w tym profile/fanpage uczelni wyższych stanowią kolejny środek przekazów reklamowych. Niewielki odsetek respondentów uważa te profile za mało interesujące (4,3%), publikujące nieprzydatne informacje — spam (1,6%) lub mało angażujące treści (4,8%). Wyniki te wskazują, że media społecznościowe charakteryzuje duży potencjał komunikacyjny. Działania marketingowe w nich prowadzone nie są odbierane w sposób negatywny. Postawa pozytywną, którą zadeklarował prawie co drugi respondent, interpretować można jako pewnego rodzaju zaproszenie ze strony młodych osób do rozmowy z uczelniami wyższymi za pośrednictwem tego kanału komunikacyjnego.

Reprezentanci Pokolenia Z biorący udział w badaniu empirycznym jako najatrakcyjniejsze aktywności podejmowane przez uczelnie wyższe w mediach społecznościowych wskazali informacje związane z procesem rekrutacyjnym, między innymi terminy czy zasady przyjęć (vide rys. 9).

Następnie ankietowani wskazali informacje o aktualnych wydarzeniach związanych z życiem uczelni oraz informacje o akcjach specjalnych, w które uczelnia jest czynnie zaangażowana lub które wspiera i promuje. Najmniej atrakcyjne w opinii respondentów są aktywności w postaci udostępnianych aplikacji oraz przeprowadzane na profilach uczelni wyższych konkursy. Jednocześnie należy pamiętać, że kandydaci na studia to tylko jedna z kilku grup odbiorców przekazów komunikacyjnych w związku z tym istotne jest rozpoznanie najatrakcyjniejszych aktywności w pozostałych grupach i na tej podstawie projektowanie strategii komunikacji instytucji naukowej. Działania muszą być zróżnicowane a zarazem spójne, ponadto dostosowane do wszystkich grup interesariuszy.

Podsumowanie

Polskie uczelnie uznają konieczność korzystania z mediów społecznościowych, nie tylko w kontekście budowania relacji z otoczeniem ale także jako miejsca pozyskiwania nowych studentów, co potwierdzają liczne badania prowadzone w tym obszarze (Koszembar-Wiklik, 2018; Wojciechowska, 2018; Tarczydło i Miłoń, 2019). Większość najlepszych polskich uczelni posiada konta w najpopularniejszych portalach społecznościowych i prowadzi energiczne działania komunikacyjne (Chwiałkowska, 2013; Chwiałkowska, 2014).

Przeprowadzone studia literaturowe i badania empiryczne dają podstawy do sformułowania spostrzeżeń i wniosków. Pomimo ograniczeń wynikających z doboru celowego respondentów otrzymane wyniki są zgodne z innymi badaniami prowadzonymi w tym obszarze, m.in. badaniami Instytutu Badawczego Nask. Media społecznościowe to aktywności na które młode osoby poświęcają dziennie stosunkowo dużo czasu — do kilku godzin, to naturalne dla nich miejsce rozwijania kontaktów towarzyskich, rozrywki, edukacji oraz wielu innych działań. Media społecznościowe, zaraz za osobowymi źródłami informacji takimi jak rodzina i znajomi, stanowią jedno z ważniejszych źródeł informacji o uczelniach wyższych. Strony internetowe uczelni, serwisy społecznościowe czy fora dyskusyjne to miejsca w których młode osoby poszukują informacji, opinii czy rekomendacji, które kształtują obraz uczelni wyższych i mają wpływ na ostateczne decyzje dotyczące wyboru dalszej ścieżki edukacji. Stosunek młodych osób wobec działalności uczelni wyższych w mediach społecznościowych jest pozytywny lub neutralny. Niewielki odsetek młodych osób biorących udział w badaniu zadeklarował negatywną postawę wobec nich.

Bez wątpienia nowoczesne kanały komunikacyjne związane z Internetem i mediami społecznościowymi będą odgrywały coraz istotniejszą rolę w procesach decyzyjnych kolejnych pokoleń kandydatów na studia w związku z czym koniecznością jest odpowiednie wykorzystywanie ich przez działy marketingu polskich uczelni wyższych w pozyskiwaniu kandydatów oraz projektowaniu działań komunikacyjnych. Studia literaturowe oraz wyniki przeprowadzonych badań empirycznych pozwalają na sformułowanie kilku rekomendacji dla osób odpowiedzialnych za projektowanie i realizowanie strategii komunikacyjnych instytucji naukowych:

1. Media społecznościowe powinny być traktowane jako jedno z kanałów komunikacyjnych uczelni wyższych z jej interesariuszami, w tym kandydatami na studia.
2. Komunikacja w mediach społecznościowych musi odbywać się przy wykorzystaniu różnych portali społecznościowych, ponieważ każdy z nich daje inne możliwości i funkcjonalności, które efektywnie wykorzystane pozwolą osiągnąć efekty synergii. Aktywności w ramach różnych portali społecznościowych powinny się uzupełniać a nie powielać.
3. Wkraczające na rynek usług szkolnictwa wyższego pokolenie stanowi odmienną kohortę osób, znacząco różniącą się od obecnych studentów oraz absolwentów studiów, co w znacznym stopniu determinuje formy komunikacji oraz kanały komunikacyjne z tą grupą odbiorców.
4. Przyszli kandydaci na studia oczekują w mediach społecznościowych komunikatów dotyczących procesu rekrutacyjnego, ale także informacji o aktualnych wydarzeniach w uczelni oraz organizowanych akcjach specjalnych.
5. Jednocześnie należy podkreślić, że kandydaci na studia to tylko jedna z kilku grup interesariuszy, z którymi za pośrednictwem mediów społecznościowych, komunikuje się uczelnia wyższa, w związku z czym komunikacja musi być zróżnicowana pod względem treści, formy i kanałów komunikacyjnych by zapewnić holistyczne podejście i dotarcie do wszystkich grup odbiorców, zgodne z ideą marketingu 360o.

Przypisy

1 Niewielka liczebność grupy badawczej nie pozwala na wysuwanie wniosków i uogólnień na całą populację. Uzyskane wyniki mogą jednakże stanowić pewne wsparcie w podejmowaniu decyzji, w kontekście planowania działań komunikacyjny uczelni wyższej w mediach społecznościowych.

2 Struktura respondentów 1) wg płci: 74% kobiet, 26% mężczyzn 2) wg wieku: 15 lat 21%, 16 lat 34%, 17 lat 25%, 18 lat 20% 3) wg poziomu kształcenia 1 klasa 50%, 2 klasa 28%, 3 klasa 22% 4) wg miejsca zamieszkania wieś 35%, miasto do 20 tys. mieszkańców 12%, miasto powyżej 20 do 100 tys. mieszkańców 52%, miasto powyżej 100 do 500 tys. mieszkańców 1%.

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