Digital Marketing and International Students’ Motivations : case study of Laurea University of Applied Sciences

Laurea UAS has switched from free tuition for both domestic and international students to no-costs for European Union/European Economic Area students only. This decisions follows the recent trend of northern European countries charging higher education fees for non-domestic students in an attempt to raise funds for the growing education industry budgets. One of the more influential decisions for students to seek student enrollment at Finland was the lack of tuition costs (Välimaa, 2014). With the announcement of obligatory tuition fees, Laurea UAS suffered a sharp decline in international students applying for degree programs since Spring of 2016. As such, Laurea’s Marketing Team has been in the process of planning their future international marketing strategies. The purpose of this paper is to examine specifically the university’s digital marketing and international students’ motivations. This paper is supported by various theories regarding digital marketing and motivations within the education industry. The research combines deductive and inductive approaches. Case study and surveys were chosen as the research strategy. Quantitative and qualitative models are employed. Data was collected from primary sources by questionnaire in the form of digital distribution and collection, and observations of the website. From there, descriptive statistics was utilized in the form of both x and cross-tabulation analysis. It was determined that, in its current form, Laurea UAS digital marketing was attracting predominately female Asians under the age of 36 years. Most respondents indicated that tuition fees and desire to study abroad, in general, were major factors as to why they choose Finland. In Laurea UAS case, results suggested that students choose the university not due to its success in branding but rather in its conveience compared to other UASs. Additionally, applicants became aware of Laurea mostly through referrals or by searching the university’s website. The findings in this paper could be summarized in five points. First, mprovements could be made on Laurea’s official website in regards to detailed course information and funding availability. Second, social media usage is growing and evolving at an exponential rate thereby changing the landscape of marketing. Following up on social media usage, personalization and relevance is extremely important for prospective students and helps foster better communication. Despite social media rising up the ladder in communication, e-mail is still the preferred method for contacting and being contacted by universities. Lastly, Laurea UAS needs to emphasize or even create a reputation, and brand prospectives are a must. Laurea’s digital marketing should switch to a having a more proactive role in communicating personalized and relevant promotional material to prospective students; while addressing these individuals concerns for international recognition, funding availability, and future employment prospect