The Influence of Instagram and Social Media Marketing Engagement on Prospective College Students’ Choice of University

Higher education institutions are at a critical point with college recruitment, whereby social media marketing recruitment strategies are vital. Today’s prospective traditional college student utilizes social media for both information and engagement. Understanding the relationship between social media influence and the college selection process can direct enrollment management’s social media efforts.

The purpose of this study is to determine the role, if any, social media marketing plays in the college selection process by traditional first-year college students. Data from a survey distributed to first-year college students at a private liberal arts university were used. Descriptive and inferential chi-square testing were used in this quantitative study to examine whether the frequency of posts by the higher education institution and response to online inquiries played a role in the college selection process. It also examined whether social media marketing is influential at the initial interest stage of the consumer decision framework.

The findings of this study suggest that targeted social media marketing strategies can be influential from a practical and theoretical framework for strategic enrollment management to consider for recruitment.