LEVERAGING SOCIAL MEDIA FOR HIGHER EDUCATION MARKETING: A CONTENT ANALYSIS APPROACH

  ABSTRACT : In this research, content strategies in social media for marketing purposes are examined within the context of higher education by reviewing an Islamic private university located in Jember Regency, Indonesia. The data collection period was from January to December 2024. Through qualitative interviews with five internal informants of the campus and TikTok and Instagram posts published within the defined timeframe, relevant data was gathered. Results showed that marketing contains the highest proportion of all three content types (64.58%) along with information and event postings. While TikTok had a lower engagement rate, it proved beneficial in terms of reach as compared to Instagram, which had a higher level of interaction. Effectiveness measures included likes, comments, shares, instagram and tiktok engagements as well as new enrollments from the targeted demographic. Major setbacks faced were minimal budget allocated to advertisements, shifts in social media algorithms for advertisement placement prioritizing interdisciplinary collaboration. This emphasizes strategically curating and adaptive institutional identity based targeting trends on social media in academics.

KEYWORDS : digital marketing, social media, higher education, content strategy, content analysis