Exploring the role of social media marketing in students’ decision to select universities in Lebanon: a proposed emerging framework

Abstract

In the era of technological advancement, personalized learning trends are rising rapidly. Consequently, we are swiftly developing the traditional education scope, the social networking dimension, and its relationship with data acquisition. Notably, we live in a prospective learning ecosystem characterized by the demand of being cognitively flexible with a prolonged effect of the growth mindset. Social Media (SM) is becoming the new norm in students personal and academic lives. Surprisingly, SM consumption in the Middle East is critical, where 9 out of 10 Arab youths use at least one social media channel daily. This study explores the role of SM on thoughts and behaviors in students’ decision- making to select a university in Lebanon. The following questions were examined (1) what role does social media marketing play in Lebanese high school students’ decision-making when selecting a university to study? and (2) How do universities use social media marketing to attract new students’ enrolment? Little research was published to explore the challenging role of social media in higher educational institutions in Lebanon and how it influences the decision-making of students. Hence, this research is an exploratory study where qualitative methods were adopted to investigate the above two objectives, resulting in a proposed emerging framework.