The Influence of Content Marketing and User Generated Content on the Decision to Choose a College with Brand Image Mediation
(Case Study of STIE Surakarta)
Abstract
The growing use of social media has changed how prospective students search for and evaluate information when choosing a university. This study examines the effect of Instagram content marketing and user generated content (UGC) on the decision to choose STIE Surakarta, with brand image as a mediating variable. A quantitative associative-causal survey was conducted among active STIE Surakarta students who follow or have been exposed to the Instagram account @stiesurakarta. Using purposive sampling and the Slovin (Yamane) formula, 100 respondents were obtained from a population of 2,206 students. Data were collected through a Likert-scale questionnaire and analyzed using PLS-SEM with SmartPLS 4, including outer model evaluation, inner model evaluation, and bootstrapping. The results show that content marketing has a positive and significant effect on brand image (β = 0.501; p < 0.001) and on choice decision (β = 0.293; p = 0.016). UGC has a positive and significant effect on brand image (β = 0.328; p = 0.014) but no significant direct effect on choice decision (β = 0.162; p = 0.108). Brand image has the strongest effect on choice decision (β = 0.507; p < 0.001). Brand image partially mediates the effect of content marketing (indirect effect = 0.254; p = 0.004) and fully mediates the effect of UGC (indirect effect = 0.166; p = 0.023). The model explains 61.4% of the variance in brand image and 78.4% in choice decision. These findings suggest that higher education institutions should build a strong and consistent brand image through official content and student-generated experiences.
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