Social Networking Sites for University Search and Selection

Abstract

The potential power and implications of using social media to reach an enormous audience has been recognised as well as the technological habits of prospective students today. However, many universities are not leveraging on this media tool beneficially as part of their marketing tools. This research provides an analysis and evaluation of the use of social networking sites for university search and selection. The research investigates the current issues related to the information sources used by students for selecting a higher education institution. The research conducted a content analysis from a sample of business and marketing sciences research published in refereed journals from 2000 to 2013. The findings show that the use of social networking sites for university search and selection among prospective students is growing in importance. The reason for the popularity of these sites is that they can supply information from three different sources: direct information from the university, trusted information from social networking or reference groups (friends, peers, current/former students, alumni), and real time, on-line information from university websites. The research found the future for universities to promote their programs and events through social networks is worthwhile as they are already popular and well established among stakeholders.

Keywords: Social networking sites (SNSs), university, search, selection