Objective: To investigate how higher education institutions (HEIs) in Poland take advantage of social media marketing activities. In particular, the work considers managerial and promotional implications of social media usage along with the barriers to implementing such activities in HEIs in Poland. Research Design & Methods: The empirical research was carried out in the period of April-June 2017 on a sample of 90 HEIs in Poland, using an online questionnaire and individual invitations sent out to marketing departments of these institutions. 50 completely filled-out surveys were used to compile the results. Findings: Social media are considered to be ‘youth’ media expressed in the target audience and content of the message. SM are not used for promoting research and academia. Researchers and Administration are perceived as stakeholders not understanding the potential of SM for building school’s image and reputation. Universities in Poland operate with little support from external entities. Implications & Recommendations: The article provides information how to grasp the dynamics of the development of the utilisation of social media by Polish HEIs. Juxtaposition of the findings with the results obtained from research conducted on students and academic staff members along with the comparison of the results with the research executed on different markets would shed a new light on the social media usage in HEIs. Contribution & Value Added: It is the first study where social media marketing activities and strategies are analysed in the HEI sector in Poland. Social media are a significant communication channel for HEIs, determining the changes in the way the HEIs interact with their stakeholders. Article type: research article

中文翻译：

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波兰高等教育机构营销中的社交媒体：初步实证研究

目标：调查波兰的高等教育机构 (HEI) 如何利用社交媒体营销活动。特别是，这项工作考虑了社交媒体使用的管理和推广影响，以及在波兰高等教育机构实施此类活动的障碍。研究设计与方法：实证研究于 2017 年 4 月至 6 月期间对波兰 90 所高校进行了样本，使用在线问卷和向这些机构的营销部门发出的个人邀请。使用 50 份完全填写的调查来编制结果。调查结果：社交媒体被认为是在目标受众和信息内容中表达的“青年”媒体。SM 不用于促进研究和学术界。研究人员和行政部门被视为利益相关者，他们不了解 SM 在建立学校形象和声誉方面的潜力。波兰的大学几乎没有外部实体的支持。启示与建议：本文提供了如何掌握波兰高等教育机构使用社交媒体的发展动态的信息。将研究结果与对学生和学术人员进行的研究结果并列，并将结果与​​在不同市场上进行的研究进行比较，将为高等教育机构的社交媒体使用提供新的线索。贡献和增值：这是第一个对波兰高等教育部门的社交媒体营销活动和策略进行分析的研究。社交媒体是高校重要的沟通渠道，决定了高校与其利益相关者互动方式的变化。文章类型：研究文章