Brand Trust, Brand Loyalty and Intention: Facebook as a Student Recruitment and Retention Channel

ABSTRACT: Social Media Marketing has recently been adapted by many brands, including Higher Education Institutions. The cost of marketing through conventional media at a global scale could be very large therefore effective means of communications, campaigns and strategies should be employed for a stronger brand management. These strategies and campaigns should involve tools to strengthen brand trust, brand loyalty, intention and behavior which will improve the reliability of the products or services that can turn into sales. In higher education, brand loyalty and brand trust takes another dimension as there is no product to be sold. Brand trust and brand loyalty however, is necessary for continuous student recruitment in higher education institutions. One of the means of cost effective communication to deliver the product’s quality messages through instant communication with subscribers or followers, is social media. This thesis, in two different studies interrogates whether social media reinforces brand trust and brand loyalty for current students in a Higher Education Institution. It also investigates whether social media has a role in motivating high school students’ intention in their university choice. The results indicated that Facebook presence of Higher Education institutions strengthens brand trust and brand loyalty for current students however is not significantly related to high school students’ intention to choose a university. Keywords: Social Media, Brand Trust, Brand Loyalty, Intention, Higher Education Institutions.