TY  - JOUR
AB  - Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the usage of university Facebook (FB) groups and sites by undergraduate students seeking information about their departments and the ways these pages could be used to acquire students. The factors that can intensify the FB group activities of a university are examined as well as how FB can be used as a marketing tool to improve marketing campaigns.Design/methodology/approach The study investigates and compares two universities: the University of Novi Sad of the Republic of Serbia and the Technological Educational Institute of Western Macedonia, Greece. A structured questionnaire was used with samples of 343 and 300 students gathered in this survey.Findings An enhanced technology acceptance model oriented toward FB is presented and it is the conceptual background of the paper. Student demographics and behavioral characteristics of the FB group they enrolled on were determined. Common behavioral patterns of the usage tension of the FB group are also identified. Additionally, five factors were determined that can be used by university marketers to intensify engagement with the FB group.Research limitations/implications Larger samples should be used for future research.Originality/value The paper proposes a marketing strategy a higher education institution should follow to more effectively use social networking sites as a marketing tool.
VL  - 45
IS  - 5
SN  - 0959-0552
DO  - 10.1108/IJRDM-11-2016-0211
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/IJRDM-11-2016-0211
AU  - Assimakopoulos Costas
AU  - Antoniadis Ioannis
AU  - Kayas Oliver G.
AU  - Dvizac Dragana
PY  - 2017
Y1  - 2017/01/01
TI  - Effective social media marketing strategy: Facebook as an opportunity for universities
T2  - International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management
PB  - Emerald Publishing Limited
SP  - 532
EP  - 549
Y2  - 2024/04/24
ER  -