Utilising Social Media Technology to Raise Brand Awareness in Higher Education

Marketing and more specifically raising brand awareness is vital for any successful organisation and its importance is demonstrated across all industry sectors. The widely adopted social media (SM) technology is believed to bring opportunities for brand awareness; and many universities worldwide have already broached the concept of using SM to communicate with potential students. However, the social media arena is deemed by many HEIs as frivolous, and the significance of SM is yet widely realised. This research will look at the power behind social media technology; the main focus is to explore whether the utilisation of SM technology could increase the brand awareness. In order to achieve this research aim exhaustive literature search was conducted and the available literature is systematically reviewed. The research found that although SM platforms have been exploited by most of institutions, there is little evidence to suggest that higher education is currently using social media effectively to engage with students, increase brand awareness and enhance image.