Social Media Usage and Its Influence on Students’ Choice of Tertiary Institutions in Ghana

Abstract

Tertiary Institutions among other businesses have been promoting their services through various conventional media which can be considered as an integrated form of communication. On the other hand, with the incorporation of the modern technologies into individual and professional lives, tertiary cannot only communicate effectively with their target audience, but they can also use social media to disseminate information and obtain feedback.Using a quantitative research approach, this research identified the social media channels students use to search for tertiary institutions, examined the various social media platforms students actively engage in, how the use of social media influence students’ tertiary institutions decision-making process and identified other factors that influence students’ choice of tertiary institutions. Results showed that respondents heavily rely on university website to search for tertiary institution information even though they are very active on WhatsApp, spending over 2 hours daily. The findings of this research adds on to existing research on consumer decision making with respect to their choice of tertiary institutions. It also helps authorities of various tertiary institutions, to improve on their social media platform activities and also develop communication strategies in other to attract potential students through the various social media platforms. It might serve as the required cause for those institutions that have no presence at all on social media to establish one since prospective students might make use of such handles in selecting schools.

Keywords: Social Media, Tertiary Institutions, Ghana

DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/11-30-07

Publication date:October 31^st 2019