Using social networks as a catalyst for change in global higher education marketing and recruiting

Abstract

Abstract:Higher education institutes (HEIs) throughout the world are recognising the potential of using social networking as an outreach method for their marketing and recruiting campaigns and can serve as a catalyst for strategic change within the education sector. This study researched 90 universities in Asia, Africa and Europe to their use of social networking for educational recruiting and marketing. Results showed that HEIs in certain geographic areas do use it, but results are inconsistent among the globe. The innovative functionality provided by social networking has challenged HEI officials who may be inexperienced at utilising the full potential of these sites to better serve the school and its stakeholders. However, it is important that HEIs integrate the use of social media into their marketing programmes in order to better reach their intended audiences and provide for a more successful education experience for students. Keywords

Structural equation modeling and confirmatory factor analysis of social media use and education

“…In addition, Facebook allow its users to utilize several interesting features in order to perform numerous activities and tasks such as creating personal profile for presenting themselves to others, nurturing existing relationships (friends, family members, coworkers, and acquaintances), uploading pictures and videos, posting status updates, expressing personal opinions and views in writing or through live streaming, establishing new relationships, creating Facebook pages/ groups representing public figures, institutions, organizations, businesses, brands or products and other entities (Cheung et al, 2011;Junco, 2015;Thompson & Lougheed, 2012;Tsay-Vogel, Shanahan, & Signorielli, 2016;Valkenburg et al, 2017). The purpose of Facebook adoption and usage differs greatly depending on users' interests, priorities, affiliations, attitudes and perceptions (Brailovskaia & Bierhoff, 2016;Hayes et al, 2015;Junco, 2015;Kuzma & Wright, 2013;Toker & Baturay, 2019;Wandeep et al, 2019).…”

“…Now a day, Facebook is increasingly utilized by employees in various organizations for sending messages for personal and professional purposes during working time. There are several benefits of using social media at workplace, such as, creation and strengthening of ties with other organizations, collecting and analyzing information about market and competitors, free calling and chatting with a coworker about any subject, actively sharing, projects, materials, resources, work progress reports or supporting coworkers by using online and offline web functions (Donlan, 2014;Forkosh-Baruch & Hershkovitz, 2012;Kuzma & Wright, 2013;Sanchez et al, 2014;Sharma et al, 2016).…”

“…The use of social media provide important personal data information regarding social and emotional background, cognitive functioning and psychosocial development scenarios of the youths who spend most of their waking hours staring at the internet-connected systems and devices worldwide (Hayes, van Stolk-Cooke, & Muench, 2015;Pempek, Yevdokiya, & Calvert, 2009). Because of exponential growth of huge volumes of user generated online content and the subsequent potentiality to interact, communicate, collaborate, cooperate and share meaningful data in real-time with others conveniently, the social networking platforms are considered to be of profound significance for educational purposes and social media analytics (Hansen et al, 2010;Kuzma & Wright, 2013;Mazman & Usluel, 2010;Oh, Ozkaya, & LaRose, 2014;Pempek et al, 2009;Pentland, 2016;Sanchez, Cortijo, & Javed, 2014).…”

“…Therefore, there has been an increasing interest in the use of social media networks and transmedia skills for educational and learning benefits (Donlan, 2014;Forkosh-Baruch & Hershkovitz, 2012;Kuzma & Wright, 2013;Mazman & Usluel, 2010;Roblyer, McDaniel, Webb, Herman, & Witty, 2010;Sanchez et al, 2014;Scolari, 2018;Scolari, Masanet, Guerrero-Pico, & Establés, 2018;Sharma, Joshi, & Sharma, 2016). Although, social networks have become an integral part of modern society, but it has only recently been explored as a potential tool for educational purposes.…”

Personalizing twitter communication: an evaluation of ‘rotation-curation’ for enhancing social media engagement within higher education

“…From an organisation perspective, the potential of social media communications for marketing and engagement with a wider range of stakeholders is being recognised (Kuzma & Wright, 2013;Rutter et al, 2016) as HEIs continue to 'experiment' with social media marketing (Constantinides and Zinck Stagno, 2011). A key area of focus has been student recruitment and how social media marketing might impact student choices of university study and institution.…”