The Internet and social networks are widely used by students. For higher education, which operates in a highly competitive environment, marketing is a fundamental tool for universities to distinguish themselves and attract new students. Social networks are one of the best options for influencing university choice. The objective of this study is to analyze the relationship between some indicators related to universities and their use of and results on social networks. We carried out quantitative correlational research to study the number of students and ranking position as university indicators as well as the number of followers, posts, and interactions (likes, comments, and shares) weekly and per post on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. Data were collected from 83 Spanish universities over 14 weeks in 2021. Correlation analysis showed that the number of students is closely related to the number of followers and interactions, although to varying degrees. The position of a university in the rankings exhibited a particularly significant correlation with their number of followers on almost all the networks. In addition, the higher the university in the ranking, the higher the number of interactions per post that it obtained on Facebook and Twitter. It was also found that universities with more followers had more interactions (likes, comments, and shares) with their posts. Finally, the number of posts was found to be positively related to the interactions per week but not to the interactions per post. This study has identified some significant relationships between the characteristics of all Spanish universities and their performance on four social networks, which may help universities become better at acting and communicating on them.

INTRODUCCIÓN. En la actualidad, la competencia entre las universidades ha aumentado de forma importante y los alumnos pueden elegir entre muchas opciones. En este contexto, las universidades necesitan el marketing para destacar y ser las elegidas. En la era de Internet y la web 2.0 parte de la comunicación universitaria se ha trasladado a las redes sociales y estas son una de las mejores formas para llegar a los estudiantes. Este trabajo investiga las redes sociales de las universidades de Cataluña. MÉTODO. Se han estudiado los seguidores, las publicaciones y la interacción que consiguen en Facebook, Instagram, Twitter y YouTube las doce universidades catalanas. Se recopilaron los datos en dos momentos: entre el 15 y el 21 de febrero de 2018 (seguidores) y entre el 20 y el 26 de junio de 2018 (todas las variables). RESULTADOS. Se aprecia un uso muy desigual de las redes entre las diferentes universidades y también en una misma universidad. Se detectan diferencias importantes entre los resultados en valores absolutos y relativos, así como entre las universidades públicas y privadas. DISCUSIÓN. Se observa una falta de planificación y estrategia en las redes sociales, por parte de las universidades, acentuada en las universidades públicas en contraste con las privadas.

In this article the authors explored social networks as a marketing tool for higher education institutions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). They studied Facebook and Twitter (now X) profiles of 14 universities and analyzed their presence, activity, and engagement over 2 months. Their objective was to discover the best strategies, and the key factors influencing social media success and student enrollment of universities. Results revealed significant variability, with few universities excelling across all metrics on both platforms, while many focus mainly on one site. The study identified leading universities and ways to improve social media outcomes. Correlational analysis shows possible ways for universities to enhance their success on social media by finding positive relationships between publications and engagement, followers and engagement, and publications and student enrollment in both social media. The correlational analysis also links higher university rankings based on academic success with better Twitter performance. Finally, the multiple regression models developed explain the student's enrollment based on the independent variables studied.

En el entorno competitivo actual el marketing y la publicidad son esenciales para las instituciones de educación superior. En el momento de elección de la futura universidad, estas se esfuerzan por estar en la mente del estudiante. Usar las redes sociales es la mejor opción para que las instituciones de educación superior lleguen a los futuros alumnos. El presente artículo estudia el comportamiento en redes sociales de las universidades de Cataluña y la Comunidad de Madrid para atraer a los estudiantes y ser elegidas. Se pretende descubrir cuál de las dos comunidades tiene mejores resultados en redes sociales.