Beyond Rankings: Unraveling the Impact of Country Reputation and Instagram Social Media Marketing on Global University Prestige

A strong presence of international students signifies a university’s appeal and recognition in the competitive global higher education market. The study investigates the effects of country reputation (overall educational quality, economic status, and socio-political stability), university rankings, and Instagram social media marketing (IG SMM) on the international reputation of universities. In addition, IG SMM is examined as a moderating variable between the exogenous factors and international reputation. Using a random sampling technique, we selected 164 universities from the 2024 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings, which features the top 602 universities globally. Data analysis uses partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) with the help of SmartPLS version 4.9.0.9. This study found that the socio-political stability of the host country is the most critical factor influencing the international reputation of top global universities. This is followed by overall educational quality and university rankings. In contrast, IG SMM exerts no significant influence, nor does it moderate the effects of the aforementioned factors. These findings offer valuable insights into the roles of country reputation and institutional rankings while positioning universities as global brands with strategically managed reputations in international education marketing. Visit https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08911762.2025.2572774#abstract