International students and social media

With the increased investment in education in China, parents have preferred their children to study abroad. Research indicated that most Chinese parents prefer certain countries like United Kingdom, where Chinese international students have increased to 30% (Beech, 2015). Most Chinese parents believe that good education is the start of a better life, and that studying abroad gives good experience and quality education. International students therefore rely heavily on this information in their search, selection and decision-making process. Social media platforms that have been identified to be very persuasive and popular include Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Google+, where universities have predisposed their information. In addition, the role of experts, as purchasing influencers is quickly lessening, as the notion of peer opinion is taking over. In a research conducted in the US, it was identified that the consumer behavior is changing, and 84% of Americans make purchase decisions based on the review regarding the product (Constantinides & Stagno, 2012).

In the context of higher learning institutions, their websites are engineered in such a way that there are links to Facebook, Twitter, that allows for sharing of information. These tools are used as educational tools that are used to improve communication. The similar live chat forums on universities websites are equally very helpful, as the potential students can easily be convinced for recruitment. This model has basic stages of information processing that determine one’s preference. It demands that the website of a higher institution for instance should expose the relevant information that potential students should see, upon visit. It is expected that the viewers attention be captured in an effort to ensure that the information is comprehended, accepted and retained (Rutter, Roper & Lettice, 2016). This is very important when discussing perception of image and reputation.

Many Chinese students were excited about the image and reputation of the destination institution of learning. Research indicates that most international students have these factors determined with what peers say, and not really individual research. The human, cultural and the symbolic capital theory is very important in discussing the decision of Chinese students regarding their preferred university, in relation to social media. This theory is grounded on the presumption that the different types of capital; symbolic, cultural, economic and social, are resources (Branco Oliveira & Soares, 2016). These resources are therefore very important and can be exchanged for upward social mobility as well as financial gain. Even though this theory is thought to be important in explaining international student mobility, it is central in expounding on the decision-making process. This however does not stop at this, the government of China laid plain, its interest in developing, an all-encompassing social score.

This was majorly to keep track of the activities of its citizen, and revealed, that the plan will be due by 2022 (DeLisle, Goldstein & Yang, 2016). This score was to be influenced by the social and political behavior as well as financial transactions. Such measures have greatly affected UK universities in their brand marketing. A lot of concerns have risen concerning the privacy of citizens information in China. This has greatly limited the efficiency of online marketing strategies in UK universities, with most of them losing potential Chinese students. Conclusion The power of social media as a marketing and branding strategy should not be under rated. In essence, universities have embraced this marketing strategies, in an effort to enroll and recruit potential international students. Since a great number of Chinese citizens are users of social media communities, this makes it easy to predispose the relevant information in their decision-making process.

There are a number of factors that affect the decision-making process, calling for university websites to capture relevant content. Constantinides, E. Stagno, M. C. Z. Higher education marketing: A study on the impact of social media on study selection and university choice. Push or pull? Design of content delivery systems.  Decision Sciences, 46(5), 937-960. Lei, Y. W.  The contentious public sphere: Law, media, and authoritarian rule in China (Vol. Rutter, R. Roper, S. Lettice, F. Social media interaction, the university brand and recruitment performance.  Journal of Business Research, 69(8), 3096-3104.