Evaluation of Social Media Role as an Information Source in Decision-Making Process of Higher Education Institution's (HEIs) Selection

摘要

The purposes of this research are to describe the population of prospective students in Indonesia by identifying market segments based on the use of social media as their information source to make decision in choosing a state university and to explain the relationship between the factors that influence the choice to use media and social media. The research method used in this research is qualitative with qualitative observations and questionnaires. The results of this study indicate that the use of social media among students is increasingly important, especially to search for university and selection. The reason for the popularity of this media is because it can provide information from three different sources: direct information from universities, trusted information from social networks or reference groups and real time information from university sites. The conclusion of this study is that social media serves as a source of information and has an impact on student choice university. These sources include information directly from the university and also social media is more important in the stage to find information and to evaluate alternatives because the search for information is a key element of the consumer decision-making model.