Abstract:

The aim of the present study is to analyze the importance and role of social networks in the decision-making process of a university candidate at the moment when the generation of this target group changes.

The author, together with the research goal, has been monitoring the phases and influences on the initiation and decision-making of the candidate for a long time, and the perception of online tools is changing as the generation that grew up in the Internet is coming.

This study analyzes the differences, possibilities and barriers to the inclusion of social networks at the various stages of the impact on potential candidates as well as attitudes towards them. The basis for its processing are quantitative and qualitative surveys.
The aim of the qualitative survey was to learn the specifics of the behavior and habits of the student in the case of deciding on the choice of a university. The research was conducted in 2015: N = 12 respondents.

The quantitative survey was focused to analyze the decision-making process of applicants, which is regularly verified in the monitoring of attitudes. This survey was conducted between 2016 and 2019 and was attended by 1928 respondents (2016: N = 420, 2017: N = 588, 2018: N = 374, 2019: N = 546). The target group of the survey has always been applicants for study who were approached during a visit to the Open Day or when participating in the admission procedure of a selected Czech university.

Although it is a narrowly focused sample, it is an inspiring material that is supported by a number of secondary data sources, thus creating at least a discussion platform for university marketing staff.

The output of the paper is a model of inclusion of social networks in the communication mix of universities and a number of recommendations resulting from the results.

Keywords:

social networks, social media, marketing communication