DIFFERENTIATED BRAND COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES OF UNIVERSITIES ON TIKTOK SHORT-VIDEO PLATFORMS IN SHAANXI PROVINCE, CHINA

Abstract

With the rapid development of short-video platforms, TikTok has gradually become an important channel for brand communication in higher education. In recent years, universities have increasingly relied on short-video content to enhance public visibility, shape institutional image, and attract prospective students. While prior research has examined university short-video communication, limited empirical attention has been paid to systematic comparisons across institutional tiers within a specific regional ecosystem, particularly in the Chinese higher education context. The research addresses this gap by providing a region-based, institution-type-oriented comparative analysis of differentiated brand communication strategies on TikTok.  Taking universities in Shaanxi Province as the research object, the analysis presented here the brand communication practices of official TikTok accounts of different types of higher education institutions, including Double First-Class universities, ordinary undergraduate universities, and higher vocational colleges. Drawing on Lasswell’s 5W communication model, an empirical investigation is conducted to communication subjects, content types, communication channels, target audiences, and communication effects through content analysis and comparative analysis methods.  The findings indicate that universities in Shaanxi exhibit significant differences in short-video brand communication strategies. Double First-Class universities tend to emphasize authoritative and academic-oriented content, focusing on institutional reputation and disciplinary strength. Ordinary undergraduate universities show a stronger tendency toward survival-oriented adaptive strategies, highlighting student life and campus activities to enhance visibility. Higher vocational colleges are more inclined to adopt ecological niche strategies, emphasizing practical training and employment orientation to differentiate themselves from other institutions. Based on the analysis, these results argues that universities should develop differentiated short-video brand communication strategies aligned with their institutional positioning and target audiences, and suggesting a transition from visibility-driven metrics (e.g., views, likes) to engagement- and interaction-based performance indicators (e.g., comment quality, reply rate, topic continuity).  The study contributes to the literature on higher education brand communication by providing a region-based comparative perspective and offers practical implications for improving the effectiveness of short-video communication in higher education.