Use of digital marketing communication strategies in the promotion of higher education in selected private universities in South West, Nigeria

Abstract Digitization is altering marketing communication practice globally. The study evaluated the usage of digital marketing communication methods to promote private higher education in Nigeria's South Western region. The study looked into how private universities use digital marketing to promote themselves. digital marketing tools students use for enrollment information search and the effectiveness of the digital marketing tools deployed. The spatial case study research work used mixed methods design (Survey and Key Informant interview). Multistage sampling and purposive techniques were used to select 388 respondents from six private universities in South Western, Nigeria, and the universities’ spokespersons that were interviewed. Although not all private institutions are active on social media, the findings show that they use digital marketing techniques such as a school website, search engine optimization, and social media marketing. The most effective factor in their admission choices, according to respondents, was positive word of mouth. For the best outcomes, it is necessary to incorporate both offline and online channels for an integrated marketing communication effort. Key Words: Marketing Communication, Digital Marketing Communication, Education Marketing, Private Higher Education JCMR Journal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 14, No. 2, October 2022, pp. 145-156 © Association of Media and Communication Researchers of Nigeria (AMCRON). About the authors * Omolola Oluwasola is a doctoral student in Communication and Language Arts, University of Ibadan and lecturer in the Department of Media and Communication Studies, Afe Babalola University, Ado- Ekiti, Nigeria. Her research interests are journalism, advertising, public relations, marketing communication, digital marketing and development communication. ** Goodluck Layefa is a lecturer in the Department of Media and Communication Studies, Afe Babalola University, Ado- Ekiti, Nigeria. His teaching and research interests are media and society, mass communication theories and research methodology. ***Israel Oluwaseun Taiwo is a Lecturer at the Surveying and Geoinformatics Department of the Federal Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti and a PhD student in the Remote Sensing and Geoscience Information System Department of the Federal University of Technology, Akure. Article Citation Oluwasola, O., Layefa, G. & Taiwo, I.O. (2022). Use of digital marketing communication strategies in the promotion of higher education in selected private universities in South West, Nigeria. Journal of Communication and Media Research, 14 (2): 145-156. Full Article Words: 7,297 Pages: 12 To access full article, click on download.