<![CDATA[Campus social media accounts play an increasingly important role in shaping institutional image. Yet, official accounts are often perceived as formal and impersonal, limiting authentic engagement with prospective students and the wider public. Student influencers, as digital-native content creators embedded in campus life, offer a potential solution through personal credibility and relatable content. This study examines how student influencers contribute to engagement, follower growth, two-way interaction, and the public image of UIN Sayyid Ali Rahmatullah (UIN SATU) Tulungagung. Using a qualitative case study approach following Yin, data were collected through in-depth interviews, participant observation, and content analysis. They were analyzed thematically through an electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) perspective. Findings show that student influencers increase engagement through relatable, interactive content that invites audience participation rather than passive consumption. Student accounts also demonstrate follower growth the official account has yet to match: @uin_satu had accumulated 79,500 followers across 3,925 posts, whereas @aidar.rofiqq reached 306,000 followers, nearly four times as many, from only 157 posts, and @hanifah_wardhana25 reached 62,400 followers from 457 posts. Informants described responding personally to comments and direct messages as a practice that distinguished their accounts from the official one, strengthened two-way interaction, and bridged institutional communication with Generation Z's preferences. These findings suggest that universities can adopt structured student-influencer collaboration as a cost-effective, high-authenticity branding strategy and contribute a context-specific account of student-driven, rather than institution-driven, influencer engagement in Indonesian Islamic higher education.]]>
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