Instagram üzerinde yükseköğretim kurumlarının etkileşimi: İstanbul'daki vakıf üniversiteleri örneği

The fast adoption of social media has brought fundamental changes in communication and collaboration. Thus, higher education institutions have to do a more active profile on social networks, projecting the institutional brand identities of higher education and using them as mirrors and loudspeakers of their campus life, academic life, and community activities. This study investigates the strategies for Instagram engagement by foundation universities in Istanbul, particularly the content analysis of post categories. Posts from the top 20 foundation universities in Istanbul were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed from May 1, 2023, to August 31, 2023. A number of themes were identified that support this research: academic engagement, student engagement, community engagement, and hybrid engagement. Academic engagement was supported through academic interviews, programs, and faculty achievements that foster intellectual curiosity and knowledge acquisition. Student engagement was supported through campus life, students' club activities, graduation, and achievement ceremonies, which all supported avenues to self-development. Community engagement is illustrated in scholarships that are being spent and in social projects that focus on engendering university-community partnerships. Hybrid engagement, obtained from these themes, is combined with academic, community, and student themes to give a complete university experience. The necessity of delivering personalized information to potential students and increasing engagement with the highest events, such as open days and graduation ceremonies, was proven. The considerable differences in the content approach of each university, with the corresponding impacts on branding and positioning, were underlined. Still, the importance of Instagram content was underscored, although it is shown that videos are crucial in engaging users. The student engagement nature makes visually rich material essential for the university's brand and holding a desirable online presence. This research supports the role of Instagram in higher education marketing by giving insights into effective engagement strategies for prospective research in educational social media marketing.