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Methodology to evaluate university communication on Facebook and Twitter

Abstract:

Online social networks have become one of the main communication channels for higher education institutions. The objective of this research is to perform a comparative evaluation of the online communication strategies that universities apply on Facebook and Twitter and their relationship with factors such as ranking position, university size, seniority, type of financing and web traffic. The units of study are 120 universities - The 60 best in the world and the 60 in Ecuador-. In order to be applicable in more geographical contexts, a methodology was designed consisting of content analysis and automated data collection, with the support of codebooks, analysis sheets and statistical tests that allowed the verification of hypothesis. Among the main results, it was found that there are statistically significant differences according to the institutional profile. However, the best strategies are likely to be applied by all types of universities. Therefore, proper management of online communication depends on the level of importance that university authorities attach to social media.