From Instagram to Enrolment: A Case Study of the Independent Watchmaker Masterclass at the Finnish School of Watchmaking
Moisio, Petra (2025)
2025
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025112730279
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025112730279
Tiivistelmä
Social media communications have grown to be an important part of educational marketing, as it offers more interactive and authentic communication between institutions and students. While previous research has explored various platforms and ways to use social media in the educational context, Instagram and more niche educational fields, such as watchmaking, have been less explored. This study aims to analyse how Instagram content strategies relate to prospective students’ enrolment intention in watchmaking education. The analysis focuses exclusively on Instagram and does not include other social media platforms.
The data were collected from 28 prospective students from 12 different countries during April 2025. The AIDA model (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) was used as a conceptual framework to examine how different types of Instagram content influence prospective students at various stages of their decision-making process. Relationships between content types and students’ responses were tested using the Mann-Whitney U test, and additional complementary Spearman correlation analysis.
The results showed that skill-focused posts, user-generated content, and achievement-related content were associated with higher engagement, trust, perceived value and enrolment interest. These results help institutions in niche educational fields understand what type of content most resonates with prospective students. Because of the small and unequal sample sizes, the findings should be interpreted with caution.
The data were collected from 28 prospective students from 12 different countries during April 2025. The AIDA model (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) was used as a conceptual framework to examine how different types of Instagram content influence prospective students at various stages of their decision-making process. Relationships between content types and students’ responses were tested using the Mann-Whitney U test, and additional complementary Spearman correlation analysis.
The results showed that skill-focused posts, user-generated content, and achievement-related content were associated with higher engagement, trust, perceived value and enrolment interest. These results help institutions in niche educational fields understand what type of content most resonates with prospective students. Because of the small and unequal sample sizes, the findings should be interpreted with caution.