Impact of Social Media on Recruitment of Students in Higher Education

الملخص

The recruitment of students into higher education has been fundamentally reshaped by globalization, demographic change, economic pressure, and rapid digital transformation, positioning social media as a central tool for attracting and engaging prospective students. This study explores the impact of social media on student recruitment by evaluating the relative effectiveness of major platforms, identifying determinants of success, and proposing an ethical framework for practice. Adopting a mixed-methods design, the research combined quantitative data from an online survey of 32 respondents (prospective students aged 16–25 and recruitment professionals) with semi-structured interviews and systematic content analysis of institutional accounts. The findings reveal clear role differentiation across platforms: TikTok generated the highest engagement rate (5.8%), followed by Instagram (4.7%) and YouTube (4.2%), while LinkedIn produced the strongest conversion rate (2.7%) despite moderate engagement levels (3.5%). Perceptual data supported these outcomes, with 42% of participants rating Instagram as highly effective, 36% TikTok, and 32% YouTube, compared with 28% for Facebook and 24% for LinkedIn. Effectiveness was strongly linked to determinants such as rapid responsiveness to inquiries (76% “highly important”), engaging and authentic content (68%), use of visuals and videos (58%), and targeted advertising (52%), alongside the growing significance of user-generated content (44%) and selective influencer partnerships (28%). Ethical considerations also emerged as vital, with institutions reporting consistent adherence to privacy protection (88%), data compliance (84%), advertising transparency (72%), avoidance of high-pressure tactics (76%), and accurate representation of campus life (64%), although gaps remained in diversity and inclusion (58%) and regular accuracy audits (42%). Engagement and conversion metrics confirmed the existence of a recruitment funnel, whereby visually oriented platforms such as TikTok and Instagram excel at awareness, Facebook and YouTube sustain interest, and LinkedIn drives application conversion, particularly for graduate programs. These results underscore the need for a multi-platform strategy that aligns tools with recruitment stages, integrates authentic and student-centered content, and embeds ethical safeguards to ensure trust and inclusivity. The study contributes a practical framework to guide higher education institutions in optimizing digital recruitment, strengthening transparency and responsiveness, and enhancing brand reputation in an increasingly competitive environment.