THE INFLUENCE OF DIGITAL MARKETING ON EFL STUDENTS' ENROLLMENT INTENTION: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF INSTITUTIONAL BRAND IMAGE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47178/pkwsgs07Keywords:
Digital Marketing, Institutional Brand Image, Students’ Enrollment Intention, English LearningAbstract
Digital marketing has become an important strategy for higher education institutions in attracting prospective students, especially Grade 12 students who actively use digital platforms to search for university information. This study uses a quantitative approach with 130 Grade 12 students in Surabaya as respondents. The respondents were selected using purposive sampling based on the criteria that they were Grade 12 students and had accessed digital information about higher education institutions through social media, websites, online reviews, or digital advertisements. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS through descriptive analysis, validity and reliability tests, normality tests, regression analysis, t-tests, F-tests, and mediation analysis. The findings show that Social Media Marketing, Digital Content Quality, Website Information Quality, Electronic Word of Mouth, and Digital Advertising Exposure have positive and significant effects on Institutional Brand Image. Institutional Brand Image also has a positive and significant effect on Students’ Enrollment Intention. The mediation results confirm that Institutional Brand Image mediates the relationships between all digital marketing factors and Students’ Enrollment Intention. This study highlights that students’ intention to enroll in higher education institutions, including programs related to English learning and teacher education, is not shaped only by digital marketing exposure, but also by the institutional image created through digital communication. The findings contribute to educational marketing literature by emphasizing Institutional Brand Image as a key intervening mechanism that connects digital marketing factors with students’ enrollment intention.
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