Effectiveness of Social Media in Advertising University Programmes and Recruitment of New Students: A Case Study of St. Paul's University, Kenya

Abstract

Use of social media in offering learning institutions is key in today's business world. The University Public Relations Officers are exploiting new media of communication as avenues for them to reach their target audiences who in this case are students to enroll in their programs. Social media has become a game changer in how recruitment and advertising is carried out by universities in Kenya. Social media have almost replaced the traditional media of communication in reaching the students. This study sought to evaluate the use of social media by universities in Kenya in advertising, collection of feedback, and recruitment of new students. The study had three objectives. It sought to find the benefits of using social media in reaching out to students, the effectiveness of social media as a medium for advertising of academic programs as well as an evaluation of social media as a mode of collecting feedback from university students. The research employed a case study method by studying one of the Private universities in Kenya. Stratified random sampling was used to obtain the study subjects. A questionnaire was used to obtain data from the study subjects. The data analyzed was from students who enrolled during the January 2015 semester. From the questionnaires, it was established that social media particularly Facebook was most used by the students and they had visited the university page to get certain information regarding the courses they applied for. Use of social media improved accessibility of students to the university. The major problem that the use of social media encounters is that few people have access to internet and the fact that one needs to have internet bundles for them to access internet which are costly. Results from the questionnaires verified that social media was used to educate the students, collection of feedback, inform them about new aspects in the university and help the students in solving problems related to the university services. The study concluded that use of social media has had a major impact on University communication and public relations. The study recommends that social media if well used and managed can help universities reach out to more students as well as help in maintaining good communication and relationships between the university management and the students.