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Social media's use in postgraduate students' decision-making journey: an exploratory study

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  • Mianda Galan
  • Meredith Lawley
  • Michael Clements

Abstract

Universities globally are showing increased interest in the potential of social media as a marketing recruitment tool. This paper explores how and why potential postgraduate business students looking to study internationally use social media in their educational decision-making process. Due to a lack of existing research, this study adopted an exploratory approach, gathering data through in-depth interviews with 12 postgraduate international students at an Australian university. The findings indicate that besides Facebook and YouTube, students are using blogs in their study search. The two most common reasons for social media usage are finding out about student life and reading reviews from former students. In the decision-making process, social media is mostly used in the information search and evaluation stages. Students' use of social media also varies across source countries. Our findings are a good information source for education marketers who need to engage more actively with social media.

Suggested Citation

  • Mianda Galan & Meredith Lawley & Michael Clements, 2015. "Social media's use in postgraduate students' decision-making journey: an exploratory study," Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(2), pages 287-312, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jmkthe:v:25:y:2015:i:2:p:287-312
    DOI: 10.1080/08841241.2015.1083512
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    Cited by:

    1. Kelvin Mukolo Kayombo & Gwebente Mudenda & Burton Mweemba & Janis Nduli, 2020. "Understanding Postgraduate Student Preferences for University Choice in Zambia: The Case of ZCAS University," Journal of Education and Vocational Research, AMH International, vol. 10(2), pages 18-30.
    2. Lili Gai & Chunhao Xu & Lou E. Pelton, 2016. "A netnographic analysis of prospective international students’ decision-making process: implications for institutional branding of American universities in the emerging markets," Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(2), pages 181-198, July.
    3. Omar SALEM, 2020. "Social Media Marketing In Higher Education Institutions," SEA - Practical Application of Science, Romanian Foundation for Business Intelligence, Editorial Department, issue 23, pages 191-196, August.
    4. Samkele Konyana, 2022. "Information needs of prospective postgraduate students: A study among masters and doctorate students in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 11(2), pages 423-432, March.

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