Abstract:

The digital marketing strategies are more and more present in our lives and modern universities should be part of this global phenomenon, considering that students are among the most active groups on social media platforms. This paper presents the ways in which a technical university is capable of improving its on-line image by taking advantage of the digital marketing strategies in order to better communicate with enrolled students, to attract new local or international students and most important, to promote both its services and academic or non-academic events. The authors focus on several strategies, from the activities on free platforms to paid ads, analyzing the pros and cons of each of these methods. The research was done using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, applied in several technical universities present in some of the most important cities across country. The results show that universities are not yet taking full advantage of the digital marketing opportunities, this leading to a decrease in the number of students that may have been potentially interested to enroll, due to the fact that the university’s image and general on-line presence are not convincing enough and do not meet their previous formed expectations. At the end of the research, the authors make recommendations specific to the on-line environment that can be adapted and implemented by other technical universities for improving their equivalent "brand awareness" level known in the industry.

Keywords:

Digital marketing strategies, university's image, on-line presence, social media platforms.