The impact of social network to student’s choice an education consultant agency solution of marketing on social network for OSI

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY

-NGUYEN THI NHU Y

THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL NETWORK TO STUDENT’S CHOICE AN EDUCATION CONSULTANT AGENCY: SOLUTION OF MARKETING ON SOCIAL NETWORK FOR OSI VIETNAM

MASTER THESIS OF BUSINESS

Ho Chi Minh City, 2019

MINISTRYOFEDUCATIONANDTRAININGUNIVERSITYOFECONOMICSHO CHIMINHCITY

-NGUYENTHI NHUY

THEIMPACTOFSOCIALNETWORKTOSTUDENT’SCHOICEANEDUCATIONCONSULTANTAGENCY:SOLUTIONOFMARKETINGONSOCIALNETWORKF O R O

Ho ChiMinhCity,2019

HoChiMinhCity,October 10th,2019Author

NguyenThiNhu Y

Firstly,I w o u l d liket o thankmySupervisor,D r T r a n M a i D o n g f o r h i s strongsupportandhighlyvaluedcontribution,guidancethroughoutt h i s researcha n d formakingtimewheneverIneededitthroughouttheyear.

Secondly,I w o u l d alsol i k e t o thankt o t h e interviewparticipants,intervieweesfor yourtimeandcontribution.

yourenormouss u p p o r t , encouragementand patiencethroughoutmystudyingcourse.

THESECONDCOVERPAGEDECLARATION

5.2.5 tionplanforOSI 90

5.3 Limitation 955.4 Futureresearch 95

REFERENCEAPPENDIX

LIST OFACRONYMSAND SYMBOLS

1 OSIVietnam :OneStep InternationalEducationConsultingCo.,Ltd2 IIE :InstituteofInternationalEducation

3 ISS :InternationalStudentSurvey4 SDS :StudentDirect Stream

LIST OFTABLES

Table2.1 Parentsconsideroverseas study 11

Table2.2 Destinations preferredbyparents 13

1.1 Introduction

Nowadays,socialnetworkhasdevelopedverywidelyandstrongly.Itallowsp e op l e toconnectwithfamily,friends,toshareallinformationwithallusers.Theinnovationoftechnologyhasplayingakeyroleandapowerfultoolininfluencinga n d changingbehaviourofconsumer.Socialnetworkhasbecome moreandmorepopularasthedailylife,sothesetoolshasbeenperceivedassourcesforcustomert o searchinformationaboutproductsorserviceduringtheirbuyingdecisionprocess.

t h a t are interestingt o t h e i r connectedus ers (Friends,followers…).I t c a n b e h e l pf u l s o u r c e s a n d mayi n f l u e n c e consumer’spurchasingprocess(Seaman,2013).Moreover,italsoisoneofthemosteffectivemarketingandbusinessdevelopmenttoolsinrecentcentury.Andbecausecustomeru s e informationo n socialnetworksa s th e i n s t ruc t i o n /

guidelinef o r t h e i r decisionprocessandthistooli s alsouseda s advertisingchannelf o r enterpriset o marketwhichinturncanhelpthemgainmorebusinessopportunitiesandpotentialcustomers(Seaman,2013).

Onanotherh a n d, t h e numbero f populationalla r o u n d t h e w o r l d a r e us i n g internetandsocialnetworkhaveincreasedby21%since2015anditwas2.8billionu s e r s r epo rt ed globallyi n 2 0 1 7 (Kemp,2017).Socialnetworkhasbe e n changingt h e w a y peoplecommunicate,gatherinformationandi n f o r m t h e i r decisions.F o r y o u n g studentsan d evenmodernparentsi n particular,socialnetworki s principlemeansofgatheringinformationandcommunicationwithpeertopeer(Kemp,2 0 1 7 ) Inthisreport,thereare83%ofprospectivestudentshavebeenusingsocialnetworksaschannelstoresearchinformationaboutstudyabroadprocedure.Alongw i t h thetrendofglobalizationandthedevelopmentofscience,technologyinternet,especiallysocialnetwork,studyabroadhasbecomeanindispensableneedformanyy o u n g generationst o realizet h e “GlobalCitizen”d r e a m a n d i t w i l l expandt h e i r

knowledgebeyondtheirtraditionaleducationalstyleandtheircurrentworld.Thisisa n opportunitytoraisestudents' awarenessofthe manycultures oft h e worldthatcancontributetocreatemanyindividualswitha broaderunderstandingoftoday's societyratherth a n limitingw i t h i n thetraditionaleducationsystema t t h e i r homec o u n t r y (JohnsonandStewart,1 9 9 1 ) Kinginger(2007)consideredt h a t studentsw h o havestudiedabroadoftendemonstratethedevelopmentofcognitiveandcreativethinkingthatsurpassesthe abilityo f s t u d e n t s w it h onlyh a v e educationalexperiencesintheir homecountry.

Oneofthereasonswhystudyingabroadisbecomingincreasinglyimportanti s thatglobalizationhasopenedupinternationalemploymentopportunities.Qiang(2003)observedthatt h e r e i s a noticeableincreasei n t h e numbero f internationall a b o r recruitmentd u e t o globalization.Thiscreatesa n e e d f o r competitioni n t h e internationallabormarketwhichaffectsmanystudentsinseekingopportunitiestoenhancetheircareerprospectsbyachievinghighqualityeducationwithqualificationswhicharerecognizedaroundtheworld(Mpinganjira,2009).U p ton o w , theconceptofoverseasstudyhasbeendevelopedanditseemtobepotentialservice business.Overseasstudyhasbeenbecomingtheeducational activities.

Theinnovationo f socialnetworksh a s influencedenterprisest o discovereffectivewaystocommunicatewiththeirpotentialconsumers.Thismarketinghasb e e n extendingtoeducationconsultancythatattempttoinfluenceparentsands t u d e n t s ’ choices.Morris( 2 0 1 2 ) demonstratedt h a t socialn e t w o r k s w e r e u s e d b y s t u d e n t s toassisti n t h e universitychoices.Socialnetworksa r e provinga n influentialwayofprovidingaplatformforpotentialstudentstogatherinformationa n d informtheirchoiceabout studyabroadan ddestination(Weare socialreport,2 0 1 7 ) S t u d e n t s canu s e a varietyo f informationsourcest o d o decision-

(Poonam andMadhu,2015).Despitethis w i d e diversityinformationsources,overseass t u d e n t s h a d limitedknowledget o

chooset h e coursest o studyandj o b prospectso n completinga specificprogram(Jamesetal,2013).Therefore,theyreallyneedaprofessionaladviceandguidancet o makef i n a ldecision.A s M o r r i s ( 2 0 1 2 ) , h e saidt h a t socialnetworki s u s e d b y s t u d e n t s toassistintheuniversitydecisionmakingprocess.Sosocialnetworkhaspotentialforeducationagencytogrowvisibilityandattractmoreprospectives t u d e n t s (ZinckandConstantinides,2011).Therefore,socialnetworkhasappearedt o havemuchpotentialandpromise,itwillbedeterminedwhatrolesocialnetworkp l a y s instudent’sdecisionofeducationconsultantagency.Andfromtheincreasingdemando f studyingabroadinVietnamleadst ostrongdevelopmento f educationconsultanta g e n t s t o helpstudento n preparingfullstudyabroadprocedure.A n d b e c a u s e o f b i g opportunityo f studyabroadb u s i n e ss n o w somanyAgentsa r e openinginVietnam,itcreatesthedynamic

marketandstressfulofcompetition.OSIVietnam( O n e S t e p InternationalEducationConsultingCo.,Ltd)iso n e o f thecompaniest h a t t h e i r servicei s overseastudyservicea r e facingwiththeiro w n challengetoadaptt o t h e boomingo f technologynowadayst okeepgrowingandreplaceanotherproactiveapproachstrategytoprospectivestudentsthroughsocialnetworks.

AlthoughO S I Vietnamh a s beenestablishedi n t h e marketf o r a l o n g time( o ve r 20years),butcompanyhasnotbeenprominentandsuccessful,aswellasnotw e l l known.OSIVietnami s a smallenterprise,t h e r e h a v e o n l y1 2 employees’unreasonablejoballocation,andeachemployeemustoccupymultiplepositions(asconsultant,customerservice,marketing,cashier,internationalrelationship )resultinginlowmarketingeffectiveness.Employeesa r e primarilytrainedinprofessionalcounseling,customercarebytelephonebutlackofmarketingtraining.T h e lacko f aspecializedmarketingdepartmenthas ledto ineffectivepublicityof t h e companyimage;thestaffsdisregardthemarketingfunctionthatonlyfocusesont h e processingo f thev i s a application.Becausei t i s a smallcompany,marketing

budgetisverylow,so itisnot suitableforcommunicationactivities,organizationofseminars,events Accordingly; thecompanynowneededamarketingplanbothless costlybutstill effective.

Eventhought he companyh a s website:www.osivietnam.comandf a n pa ge o nFacebookb u t doesn o t regularlyu p d a t e , refresht h e contenta s w e l l a s d o n o t h a v especialistsinchargesoitdoesnotbringeffectivemarketingforthecompany.Theyonlyhadineffectivemarketingpolicieslikeannually;thecompanycoordinateswiththeThanhNienNewspapertoparticipateinthegraduatingseasonconsultancyprogram.Althougheffectiveimmediatelya t t h a t timeb u t d o e s n o t b r i n g long-termandstable effects.

Furthermore,thecompetitorsareusingsocialnetworkingandmarketingonlinev e ry strongs o t h e r e i s f e w e r customersk n o w a n d willingt o chooseO S I Vietnamandtraditionalapproachmentstrategyhasbecomepassiveandoutdatedsot h e companyneedtothinkaboutchangingandreplacingthemarketingplanassoona s possibleor

theywilldecreaseday byday.

BecauseofmanytroublewiththebusinessofOSIVietnamcurrentlywhent h ey cannotgetnewcustomersbyworldofmonthbasedonrelationshipandtraditionalwaysasDirectorofOSIVietnamrecognizedthatitisthepassiveapproachment,andtheymustchangetoadapttothemodernhumanworldchangingd a y b y day,i f t h e y a r e no tsmartt h e yw i l l b e leftbe h i n d andd i s a p p e a r amidsta ve ry dynamiccompetitiveenvironment.Author,whousedtoworkinOSIVietnam,g r e w w i t h themandOSIashersecondfamily,shewantstodosomethingthatasthestrongestactiontomakethempassthroughtheirdifficultperiodtime.Asdiscussionw i t h b o a r d director,t h e companyreallyn ee d s a marketingdepartmentb u t a s t h e beginningtheirbudgetisstillnottoomuch,soauthorwillconsiderandfoundthatsocialnetworkingmarketingn o w i s v e r y effectiveto o l forthemt o spreadOSIVietnam imagetothe newhorizonofsocial community.

AndauthorchoseOSIVietnambecauseauthorusedtobecounsellorofthatcompany,soIknowtheyarelackingthemarkingstrategyeventheirserviceisgood

butwithoutadvertisementt h e y w i l l l o s e t h e i r businesst o o t h e r competitors.S o ,

OSIVietnamandtheirproblemthatneedtoh a v e solutionformarketingcampaignasthereasonwhyauthordothisresearchtoh e l p them

issuetheircurrentproblem.Whethersocialnetworkhasagreatimpactoncustomer’smakingprocessa n d t h e r e havemanyresearchesa b o u t t h i s issueb u t u n t i l nowtherearenospecificstudiesforthisfieldinVietnam.So,inthisstudy,authorchoosest h e topic“

Theimpacto f s o c i a l networktostudent’schoicea n Educationconsultantagency:Solutiono f marketingo n socialnetworkforO S I Vietnam”

1.2 Researchobjectivesandresearchquestions

Research’sobjectiveistoindentifythewaythatsocialnetworkinfluencetos t ud e n t s onmakingdecisionwhentheyarefindingeducationconsultantagencyfort h e i rstudyingabroadprocess.

Relatedtoresearch’s objectives,thequestionsaresetasfollow:1 How doessocialnetworkimpactonstudent’s choice?

2 Whatsocialnetworkingsitesdostudentsusetosearcheducationconsultantagency?

3 Whichsocial networkingsites influencedstudent’sdecisionmaking?

- OSIVietnamStaff:Theyknowtheproblemsandtheneeds.Theyhavemoreefficientmarketingcampaignst o attractm o r e studentsa n d developtheirbusiness.- Educationcounsellors:authorchoosestointerviewbecausetheyareworkingi n th

ecompanywherehasbeenrunningmarketingonlinesothatwecanseemoreclearlytheeffectiveofsocial networkingmarketing.Thengive

- Parents:theyhavethemostinfluenceonstudentontheirstudyabroaddecision.AccordingtoresearchofMcFadden(2015),thereisnearly60%ofprospectivestudentsreporttheyresearchschoolswiththeirparents,and61%o f

p a r e n t s saidthatthey willmadethefinal decision.

1.3.1 Methodologyofresearch1.3.2 Researchdata

In

thisresearch,authorhasusedbothprimaryandsecondarydatasources.S e c o n d a ry data:allinformationwasfoundedonbooks,magazines,internet

Semis t r u c t u r e interview’sobjectivei s e x p l o r i n g t h e i n s i g h t s andspecificinformation.

Inthisstudy,authorchoosedirectinterviewonebyonewith4kindsofresearchobjectivestotaketheiropinionstodevoteintotheresearchasmuchideasfr om manydifferentsubjects,there are13participantsacceptto jointheinterviews:

- Students:whoareinternationalstudentsinUSA,Canada,theyarethep e r s o n s thatsuccessfulstu de nt visabyO S I Vietnam.Authorcontactedthemf o r invitingtheinterviewandmadetheconversationonebyoneonFacebookmessenger,Zalo, Skype…

Theyare veryhappyandsatisfiedwithOSIVietnama n d promiset o s h a r e eve rypromotionf r o m OS I Vietnamo nsocialnetworks.

- Parents:a u t h o r madeintervieww i t h 2 p a r e n t s w h o a r e workingw i t h O S IVietnamf o r t h e i r childrent o studyabroad.T h e y k n e w OSIthroughtheirfriends’introductionandtheyalsosaidthatwithoutsomeonetoldt h e m t h a t companythentheywillnotknowwhotheyareandnevercomesotheytotallyagreedthatOSIshouldhavemarketingtopromotetheirbrandtomanypeopleespeciallyonsocialnetwork.

- Boardo f directoro f O S I Vietnam:directoro f OSIVietnama n d Officemanagerdiscussedaboutthelackofmarketingcampaignoftheenterpriseandt h e y a r e facingwithloosingmanystudentsandtheydemonstratedO SI mustchangetoadapttonewtechnologyera.Thatwhytheyacceptauthortodothethesiswithusingitastherealcase.

- ReferencefromthemarketerandcounsellorfromotherAgents:Thesep e o p l ehaveexperienceofmarketingonEducationfieldinotherAgents,theya r e evenestablishedlaterthanOSIVietnam,buttheyarenowevengrowingfasterthanOSIbecausetheyhavetheactiveapproachmentonsocialnetworksw h e r e h a v e a w h o l eworldcommunity.Theyg a v e authormanyi d e a s a b o u t h o w

t o domarketingonsocialforstudyingabroaddemand.

Theinterviewstookaround30minutesto45minutes,andsometroublewitht h e timezone andinternetso someoftherecordswere notgoodbutafterthat authoralsore-contactedforcompletingthetranscriptversions.Throughthetimedoingmythesis,authorisinrushseasonatworkingsoshehadtravelledalot.Butafterall,s h e triedherbesttocompletethesisontime.

1.3.3 Methodologyofresearch

Thisstudyusescombinationofqualitative.Qualitativeresearchisthemethodwithcollectinginformationwithoutnumericalformanditusuallyrelatedtot h e emotionsofhuman,orbehavior.Discoveringtheexperienceofparticipantsinaqualitatives t u d y i s vi e w e d a s a phenomenologicalapproach.Furthermore,

Sincethisisanappropriateway,theattitude,valueandbehavioroftheresearchs h o u ld beacknowledgedatthebeginningoftheresearch,butshouldbepartoftheresearch.A perfectexampleo f qualitativeresearchi s g r o u p interviewsa n d structuredquestionswithopenresponsesthatgeneratequalitativedata.Theseopen-

InthisstudyauthorchoosethechoicemodelofEngle,1995;Kardes,Cronley,C l i ne (2011)ashermainmodeltofollowandgivemorefindingabouthowsocialnetworkscanb e effectiveo n eachstep.T h e r e a r e f i v e steps:N e e d ; Informationsearch;Evaluateof Alternative;Purchasedecisiona n d P o s t purchase.F o l l o w i n g f i v e steps,ithastheirownfactorsthatcanbethereasonforfurtherstepsandfinaldecision

1.4 Significanceofresearch

Findingofthisresearchfoundthateffectofsocialnetworkwillbestrongonstep2(Informationsearch)andstep3(EvaluationofAlternative)becausestudentsw i l l nearly100%gotointernetandsocialnetworkforseekingandtakingalltheirconcernssoeverypositiveornegativerecommendationwillbetheirissue.OnStep1 (Need),theeffectjustmediumsincewhattheyseeonsocialnetworkwithgoodperformancet h e n w i l l b e t h ei r motivationt o k n o w exactlywhatt h e y w a n t andw h e r e t o

g o Goingt o step4,

itjustt h e mostdependsonactualserviceandconsultantskillofAgentsandhowmuchtheygivetheircustomersbeliefthenmoreopportunityo f businesst h e y canw i n T he laststep(Postpurchase)w i l l closef o r decisionmakingprocessofthispersonbutwillbethenextbeginningstepsofothers t u d e n t s

Thisresearchb r i n g s t h e theoreticala s w e l l a s practicals i g n i f i c a n c e t o allenterprisesi n t h e fieldo f Educationconsultancy,marketing,i t alsoidentifiest h e i n fl u e n c e ofsocialnetworktoconsumer’schoice,especiallystudentsintheprocesso f finding,comparinganddeciding.Fromt h i s researchtheycancomeu p withappreciatepoliciest o attractt h e i r targetcustomers,s u p p o r t marketing,builda n d developthestrategiestoimprovecompetitiveness.

1.5 Outlineofresearch

Theresearchhasfivechaptersasbelow:Chapter1: Generalinformation

Thefirstchapterwillshowtheoverviewofresearchtopic,researchobjective,research question, scope andmethodologyofthis study.

Theorieso f socialnetworks,Student’schoicea n d t h e linkbetweensocialnetworksandStudent’s decisionmaking processwillbeintroducedinthischapter.

Thefinal chapterwillshowconclusions,limitationofthis research.

2.1 Overviewof thetrendofstudyingabroad

AccordingH S B C Group(2017),t h e trendo f studyingabroadi s growingr a p id l y I n particular,t h e highestresulti s belongt o Asianparents,w h o tendt o considersendingt h e i r childrentooverseasstudymoret h a n othercountries.T h e resultsshowthatAsianstudentsmakeup53%ofthetotalnumberofinternationals t u d e n t s

Thepercentage(%)ofparentsin thiscountrywillconsidertheir offspringtostudyoverseas

territoriesinAsia,indicatingastrongdesiretostudyi n ther e g i o n Indonesia,6 1 %(up1 % ) , China:5 9 %

(up1 5 % ) , andHongKong:5 2 % T h e r e i s a similartrendi n Vietnam,w i t h a significantnumbero f 63,703Vietnameses t u d e n t s pursuingundergraduatea n d postgraduateprogramsa r o u n d theworld.Ingeneral,thetrendofoverseasstudyiscontinuingtoincrease.Comparedt o j u s t 2 1 millioni n 2 0 0 1 , t h e numbero f undergraduatea n d postgraduates t u d e n t s i n t h e worldi n 2017h a s reachedmoret h a n 4 6million( H S B C , 2017).

IIE(Instituteo f InternationalEducation)estimatedt h a t i n t h e 2016/2017academicy e a r , t h e UnitedStatesh a d attracted1,078,820undergraduatea n d postgraduatestudents,t h e UnitedKingdomh a d nearly497,000internationals t u d e n t s , France310,000and Australia292,000(IIE,2017).

Table2.2.Destinations preferredbyparents (HSBC,2017)Destinations

preferredbyparentswhenconsideringt h e i r childrentostudyoverseain2017

(HSBC,2017).Furthermore,relatedtoInternationalstudents u r v e y (ISS)2018(Nicol,2018),therearemorethan80%ofpotentialstudentswhoa r e lookingatstudyingoverseain11EuropeancountriesgothroughsocialnetworkwhenchoosingandapplyingUniversity.Iti s the

channelt h a t s t u d e n t s collectinformationanddiscussionwitht h e i r peers Thesurveyalsoshow

thatSocialnetworkingsitesa n d socialnetworksaret h e p l a c e t h a t 6 5 % studentsf i n dinformationbeforedecidinganinquiryaboutoverseasstudyand27%studentsrefer

whenapplying,20%o f collectinginformationabouttravellingabroadplanaftergettingofferand20%findoutsolutiontogettheoffer(Nicol,2018).

Int h i s s u r v e y , Nicol( 2 0 1 8 ) affirmedt h a t e v e n Parents,Family,friends,Educationcounsellors…

areparticularlyinfluentialonstudent’s choiceofoverseastudybutsurelythatstudentsthemselvesarethemostimportantdecidingsocertainly,i t i s crucialt h a t educationcompanylistentoviewpointo f prospectives t u d e n t s carefullycanhelpincreaseratingofsatisfactionandperceptionofstudents.Anyways,Nicol(2018)stillidentifiedthatStudentsbelieveandtrustinformation’ss o u r c e s fromEducationAgents(47%agree)whentheyconsideringandchoosingh i g h e r educationinoverseascountry.

Figure2.2.StudentsbelieveandtrustAgents(Nicol,2018)

Followingresulto f I S S (Internationalstudentsurvey)2 0 1 8 ,

(Nicol,2 0 1 8 ) 4 8 % studentssaidthatAgentsareusefulforthemand34%agreeEducationagentsh a d influencedt h e i r choiceo f schooland2 7 % influencedchoiceo f destination.A n d as afactthatauthorseethatEducationconsellorsplayaskeyroleofthechoiceo f studentsandthepotentialofthisbusinessisveryhighifagentscanapproachandha v e therightstrategyofmarketingtorecruitinternationalstudents.AnundeniablefactthatEducationagentsarepartofmanyinternationalUniversityfortheirrecruitment,especiallyforinternationalstudentswhenseekingvisas.Andofcoursea g e n t s facewithmanychallenges.

(Nicol,2018) Thatwhy,nowinthe centuryofincreasinglycompetitiveglobalEducationmarket,especiallyinVietnam thatcompetitioni s becomingmorestressfult h a n ev e r whent h e numbero f consultingf o r studyingoverseaservicecentrescontinuestoincrease(TranThiPhuong,2019)a s b e l o w charto f thenumbero f VietnameseEducationcounsellorcentresf r o m quarter III,2017to thefirstmonth of2019.

16001400120010008006004002000

authorusedtobetherecounsellor,soIknowtheyarelackingthemarkingstrategye v e ntheirserviceisgoodbutwithoutadvertisement;theywilllosetheirbusinesstoo t h e r competitors.S o , n e x t sectionauthorw i l l introduceaboutO S I Vietnama n d t h e i r problemthatneedtohavesolutionformarketingcampaignasthereasonwhyauthordo

thisresearchtohelpthemissuetheir currentproblem.

2.2 IntroductionaboutOSIVietnam

OneS t e p InternationalEducationConsultingC o , L t d (OSIVietnam),operatingbasedonalicenseissuedbytheDepartmentofPlanningandInvestmento f HoChiMinhCity,specializingineducation,tourism,immigration,foreigninvestment.OSIVietnamisrepresentativeformanyLanguageInstitutes,SecondaryS c h o o l s , HighSchools,Colleges,Universities…

i n manycountriesw h e r e haveh i g h educationsuchas:U S A , Australia,C a n a d a , NewZealand,Singapore…O S I Vietnamisaprofessional

forstudentstoattainthebestchoiceofstudyingabroadplan.Inaddition,preparingdocumentsforenrollingschoolandapplyingvisaa r e importantpartst h a t demandknowledge,experience,andskillfromadvisorsinordertohavethebestoutcome.OSIpossessesa s t rong,professional,a n d a devotepersonnel’sw h o conductfilesa n d obtainedwell-

traininga n d practicalprogramf o r eachc a s e ,

( O S I Vietnamreport,2018).AtOSIVietnam,thesehavefourcorevaluesarepursuedandimplementedconsistentlythroughoutitsmorethan20yearsofoperation:"Transparency-Professionalism-Experienceand Trust."

DirectorsaidthattransparencyatOSIVietnamcanunderstandasthework,sequenceo f t h e mostdetailed,a n d scientificconsultationprocess.T h e financialstatementsarealwaysclear,detailedfromthebeginning.Allthecompanyservice'sfees,therelevantagenciesasstipulated,especiallythetuitionfeesfromtheschool,livingexpensesarealwayshave clearinvoices.TheprofessionalismofOSIVietnamisreflectedintheextensiveknowledgeoftheconsultantsonprofessionalknowledge,socialknowledgea s w e l l a s c ul t u r e a n d customso f manycountries.

Besides,understandingthepsychologyofstudents,parentstoencourage,warnande v en strict,donotcompromisewithanysituationdoesnotmatch.Withtheexperienceo f a closea n d dedicatedteam,O S I Vietnamw i l l h e l p t h e students'soverseasstudyplansaresuretobesmoothandfavorable.OSIVietnamhasestablishedt r u s t relationshipswithmajorp a r t n e r s i n t h e U S , Australia,C a n a d a , N e w Zealand,Singapore,…(OSIVietnamreport,2018).Witho v e r 20yearso f practicalexperienceandcommitment,OSIVietnamhashelpedthousandsofyoungp e o p l e obtainv isas forU S ando th er developedcountries.In recognitiono f these efforts,OSIVietnamwashonoredin2013forthe"Top50 Trademarks-

FamousBrands"AwardorganizedbyVietnamIntellectualPropertyAssociationandAwardf o r EducationDevelopment(2015)w i t h t h e title"PrestigiousEducationOrganization"awardedbytheAssociationofVietnamStudyEncouragement.OSIVietnamisalsooneofthe300representativeenterprisesofHoChiMinhCitytoparticipatein"Cooperationwiththecityofinnovation"inAugust2016(OSIVietnamreport,2018).

AccordingtoOSIVietnam,thenumberofstudyingabroadcasesandsuccessfulstudentvisasasbelowtable:

Basedonthereportin2018ofOSIVietnam,fromthetimeofestablishment,O S I Vietnammainlyadvertisesinnewspapersandavailablerelationships.Thecompanyhasabsolutelynomarketingdepartment,mostcustomersgetthroughtheintroductionofthosewhohavebeenworkingwiththecompany,thiswayofdoingbusinesshaspartlyhelpedthecompanytog r o w salesq u i t e well.Moreover,t h e numbero f p e o p l e w h o k n o w t he companyw a s increasing.T h e maincustomero f t h i s periodwastheparentswhointendtosendtheirchildrentostudyabroad.

Therevenueo f companyincreasedsteadilyb u t a t mediumlevela n d t h e r e w a sn o breakthrougha n d almostaccesst o customersonlythrought h e traditionalwayo f w o rd o f mouthmarketingo n existingrelationships.(OSIVietnamreport,2 0 1 8 )

From2014to 2017:

Atthattime,everydaycompanyonlyhadaround10casescametodostudyabroadconsultant.Thenumberwasdecresing;itwasabigchallengeforboardofenterprise.Sincetheywerefacingwithabigcompetitionfromthemarketwhentheeducationagencyhasincreasingsofastand th ey dida lotofpromotiontoattracts t u d e n t s andparents.Especiallyt h e y appearedw i t h a v e r y largeo u t p u t o n socialnetworks.T h e companyreport(2018)alsos h o w e d thatO S I Vietnamw a s slowlyfallingbehindcompetitorswhentheapproachmenttocustomershasbecomeoutdatedandnolongerwidelyinfluential.Whilesocialnetworkshavebeengraduallyreplacingthetraditionalwayofaccessinginformationandmarketing,OSIretainedtheoldformofwordofmouthandnewspaperevenalmostUniversityando t h e r Educationcompanyintheworldhaveappliedsocialnetworkmarketingforal o n g time.Franklyspeaking,withouttherightmarketingstrategy,itwillbedifficultf o r OSIVietnamtoexpandtheir business.(OSIVietnam report, 2018)

Recognizet h e importanceo f marketing,especiallyi n t h e digitala g e , t h e BoardofDirectorsdecidedtorunasocialnetworkmarketingstrategy.TheyjoinedFacebookandhadtheirownFanpagetoconnectwithallstudentsandrelationship.TheygotverygoodsignificantofincreasingfollowersonFacebook,theycameandcontactedwithOSIVietnamforconsulting.Soon,thebusinessisgrowing again.Followingt h e successfulo f ne w marketingp l a n , OSIVietnama re settingu p and

wideningtheo n l i n e , especiallysocialmarketing,recruitn e w specificmarketers.( O S I Vietnam report, 2018)

- Professionalism,

- Companyh a v e loyalcustomersa nd verygoodrelationship.

- Interconnectionwithmanyprestigiousuniversitiesa n d collegesfromUSA,Canada,Australia,NewZealand,

- Companyh a s experiencedstaffs,h ig hqualification,goodconsultingskills,dedicated,t h o u g h t f u l- Goodservices:stronglysupportst

u den ts n o t onlyduringtheapplicationprocessb u t alsoaftersuccessfulv i s a (immigrationprocedurewhenst ud en ts goabroad,

- Thepercentageofsuccessfulvisaishigh.

- Therearen o marketingdepartment- Smallcompany

- Haven o t focusedo n promotiont oraiseu p t h e i r o w n b r a n d andimage

- Thew a y t o reachpotentialstu den ts issomewhatpassive,basedonlyonwordofmouthandreferralsfromexistingcustomers

- Thew e b s i t e i s n o t popular,no t attractiveandnotregularlyupdatedhotnews.

- Companyha s n o t beenactiveo n Social networkingsites.

- Theyh a v e n o t muchb u d g e t formarketing.

- GlobalizationandintegrationopenmanyopportunitiesforEducation,especiallyoverseastudymarket.

- Younggenerationsn o w useinternetandsocialnetworksa s t h e i r sourcetofindinformationa n d sharingtheirexperience

- MoreandmoreVietnamesep a r e n ts andstudentswanttostudyabroad- Onlinemarketingisbecomingeasier

d u r i n g the4.0technologyperiod

- Thecompetitionisincreasing

- ThemarketingonlineofcompetitorsareverystronginnotonlyLocalVietnambutalsoInternationalUniversitiesa n d a g e n t s

2.3 Socialnetwork2.3.1 Introduction

Inthemodernlife,whentheinternetisbecomemoreandmorepopularandcustomersusuallyuseinternetasthetooltosearchinformation,communicateandshopingonlineorfindsevices.Itiseasytostayconnectedwhereverandwheneverp e o p l e a r e d u et o worldwidei s increasingw i t h usingsmartphonesandmobiledevices.T h e advancesi n Informationtechnologyi s helpingt o migrateenterprisea n d consumerrelationshipsto interactivel e v e l Moreover,givingthecustomersopportunitytovoicetheiropinionwillnotleadtopositivewordofmouthandcanthreatentheenterprise’simageandreputationwiththeircustomer(Wilson,2012).

Today’sdigitalage,theInternethasmoreadvanceandthepowerandimportanceofsocialnetworkplatforms,conversationsa n d engagementa r e increasingandtravelinga t unprecedenteds p e e d s I t w a s generallyagreedt h a t socialnetworksmarketingh a s involvedt h e spreadingo f marketingmassagest h r o u g h v i r a l marketing,a n d surelyt h a t receiversw i l l interestt o p a s s a l o n g thesemassagest o t h e i r relationships(Kaikati,2004).MultiplesocialnetworkssuchasYoutube,emailcommunication,andmanyotherskindsofelectronicmediaareusedinthisprocess.I n fact,mostoftheViralMarketingcampaignsarefocusedonspreadingthecompany'smessagethrough thepopularsocialnetworkingplatformssuchasFacebook,Y o u t u b e , Twitter,Linkedln, Enterprisesw i s h i n g tointegratea socialnetworkprogramintotheirmarketingstrategyandtheyseethatsocialnetworkischangingthedecision-

makingprocessi n t h e buyingbehavioro f consumers(ConstantinidesandSt ag o, 2012).Socialnetworkha s reducedth e powerof traditionalmarketingsothatmarketersareforcedtofindnewwaystoreachpotentialcustomersa n d communicatew i t h t h e m (Parisea nd Guinan,2 0 0 8 ) H o w e v e r , marketingcommunicationsisanextensionofonlinecommunicationandonlysucceedswheni t i s b a s e d o n s o l i d foundations:productsa r e innovativea n d h i g h quality,market-orientedorganizationsandwebsitesarewell-

designed(ConstantinidesandStago,2012).Socialnetworkswhereh a v e i t memberscreatet h e i r p u b l i c profilesa n d s h a r e allinformations u c h a s k n o w l e d g e , experiences,p e r s o n a l information,

….Contactw i t h othermemberst o exchangeandsharet h e sameinterests(CheungandLee,2010).Socialnetworksmakeushavethedifferentthinkingaboutmarketing,enterprisesandconsumerscaninteractdirectlyandhaverelationshipwithoneanother(Solomonetal,2010).Digitalnetworkstodayisnotonlyinformationaccesstools,butitalshasbeeninteractiontools,whichareusedb y individualst o exchangeands h a r e information,contents,opinions…

andcustomers’sbehaviorw i l l changewhentheyinteractw i t h others(Heinrichse t a l , 2 01 1 ) A s consumersliket o interactionandcommunicationw i t h eachothera n d w a n ttoreferadvicefromdifferentpositiveornegativeproductsorservices,virtual

communitieswillhaveanimpactonconsumers'purchasingdecisions(Evanetal,2 0 09 ) Peoplecangathertosharetheirthoughts,idears,commentsonSocialnetworkingsites;s o i t w i l l b e t h e p l a c e f o r marketerst o listena n d respondtocustomers,reviewcontents(Weber,2 00 9) , t h e advertisementsv i a socialnetwork,t h e meassagew i l l reachf a r morep o t e n t i a l customersintendedtoreach(Weber,2 0 0 9 ; Weinberg,2009).

2.3.2 Definition

Socialnetworksaretheplatformswhereindividualcanconnectwithothers( Le e , 2013).ItwasstatedbyWeinberg(2009,page149)as“generictermsforsitest h a t areused toconnectuserswithsimilarbackgroundsandinterests”.

2.3.3 Constitution

Regardingt o researcho f Boyda n d Ellison( 2 0 0 7 , page2 1 1 ) , Lee( 2 0 1 3 ,p a g e 2 5 ) , socialnetworkingsitesplatformsh a v e f e w commonelementsas:“ ( 1 ) u se r s areabletocreateinteractiveandcustomizedprofileswithinaboundedsystem,(2)alistofsuggestedfriendswithwhomtheyshareaconnection,

(3)viewa n d traversetheirlistofconnectionsandthosemadebyotherswithinthesystem”.A t presentthereisnospecificresearchontheconstitutionofsocialnetworks,butw i t h thewayitisformedanditsoperation,theauthormakesuptheconstitutionoft h e socialnetworkincluding:

- Node:Anentitywithinanetwork.Thisentitycanbeanindividual,abusinessor anyotherorganization.

- Tie:istherelationshipbetweentheentities.Therearemanytypesofl i nk s inthenetwork.Initssimplestform,asocialnetworkisasingle,scalargrapho f theappropriatelinksbetweennodes.Wecanrepresentthisnetworkwithagraphb y whichthenodesarerepresentedbypointsand thelinks representedby thelines.

2.3.4 TheusageSocialnetworkin theworldandVietnam:

Asr e p o r t o f Kemp(2018),t h e numbero f n e w u s e r s u s e s o c i a l n e t wo r k aroundtheworldhasincreasedrapidly.Itismorethan3billionpeopleusesocial

networkforeachmonth.Despiteanotoriousyear,Facebookisstillincreasing15%comparedto thesameperiodin2017andreached2.17billionusersinearly2018.

Accordingt o statistico f Kemp(2018),Vietnamh a s m o r e t h a n 9 6 millionp e op l e with35%proportionofurbanpopulation.ThenumberofInternetusersin2 0 1 8reached64millionthisnumberisover28%than2017.Thereare55millionu s e r s inusesocialnetworks,anincreaseof20%comparedto2017.Vietnamisnoto u t s i d e t h e growthrateo f digitalmarketingi n t h e world.T h i s r e p o r t pointedo u t t h a t onaveragetimethatVietnameseusersspenttoaccessinternetisnearly7hourad a y anditalmostasadailylifeof usingsocial network.

DuetoSocialnetworkingsitesinVietnam,thenumberofactiveaccountsismorethanhalfofthepopulation(57%)anditisbecomingthemostcurrentcommunicationtoolsforbusiness.Belowfigurewilllist12currentlyfamoussocialnetworkplatformsinVietnam.Thenumberone,ofcourse,isFacebook,followbyGoogleandYouTubee (Kemp,2018)

Figure2.6.Mostactive socialmediaplatforms (Kemp,2018)

2.4 OnlinemarketingforEducationConsultantagencies

SocialnetworkwillbepartofEducationCompanyontheirmarketingcampaigns.Butuntilnowmanyenterprisesarestillnotsurethewaytobeginandh o w t o d o i t effectively.Incentivescanb e providedf o r educationcounsellorst o seekinformationa n d createdialogues.Socialn e t w o r k d o n a t e s varietya n d flexibilityofcreativeideastosupportadvancecompany’smissionandgoals.Morea n d moreeducationagenciesaredis

themosteffectives t o o l s t o maket h e i r b r a n d awareness,marketingknowledgea n dcustomer’si n s i g h t s However,nowadays,almostuniversitiesandcollegesareusingtraditionalmarketingmethodstoattractandrecruitpotentialstudentsallaroundtheworldbyprintingmagazine,advertisement,brochures(Demirayetal.,2007),broadcast,educationexhibition,roadshows,publicactivities(Wernick,1991)andespeciallyt h r o u gh theirlocalpartneragencies.Thismethodusesthemaintechniqueis“facet oface”betweencounsellorandstudents.

Asuponmentionabouthoweffectiveofsocialnetworkmarketingandbenefiti t b r in g s t o enterprise’sbusiness,i t i s exactlyw i l l contributet o educationmarket.Indisputablet h a t t h e improvementandinnovationo f technologyi n 4.0centuryhasstronglyaffectedtoeducationindustry.Internetandsocialnetworkingsitesplayacrucialinstrumentforhighereducationsector.Nowadays,many

Internationalschoolsinthewholeworldareusinginternationalmarketingthroughsocialnetworktoattractinternationalstudents.Onanotherside,studentsalwaysgot o internetfortheirprocessofdecisionmaking(GomesandMurphy,2003).Thus,educationmarketerst o catchtheirs t u d e n t demandandcreatestrongrelationshipw i t h theirpotentialstudent’snetsincompetitivehighereducationsectors(Reddy,2 0 1 4 ) muste x p l o i t on l i n e marketing.British,Australiaa n d Singaporea r e consideringwebsitesa s aneffectivetool(MaringeandCarter,2 0 0 7 ) Andf o r instance,t h e y havemanyl o c a l agenciest o p u s h t h e i r i m a g e a n d promotethemselves.Uptodate,socialnetworkingsitessuchasFacebook,Twitter…

supporteducationmarketerstomarketandreachtheirprospectivestudents.Agreeingwitht h i s method,Aghaee,

(2010)demonstratedthatsocialnetworkwasusedtosupporth i g h e r education.Modernstudents,ofcourse,theyreferdigitalnative,butitisstilllimitationo f negativeaspectssi n c e i t i s losso f verbalcommunicationlikeb o d y language(Aghaee,2010)soaftersocialnetwork,educationconsultantagencieswillb e importantpersonstogivetheusefuladvicetostudents.

2.5 Socialnetworkingsites wasusedbyotherinternationalstudents

Socialnetworkinghasincreasinglychangedthew a y students,firms,industriesandeducationinstitutionsconducttheirbusinessandspreadinformation(Qualman,2010).Amongits,FacebookisbecomingthemostpopularchannelsandnearlyhalfofFacebookusersarestudents.So,Educationagenciesmusttofocusont h i s channeltoreachoutmorepotentialstudents (Reddy,2014).

Int h i s research,a u t h o r w i l l s t u d y a b o u t themostu s i n g socialnetworkingsiteslikeFacebook,Y o u T u b e , Twitter,LinkedInt o understanda n d thinka b o u t solutionsonits also.

2.6 OnlinecommunicationandVirtualplatforms

Educationagencieswouldsavemoneyandresourcesiftheyusesocialnetworkandtheyalsoreachmorepotentialstudents.Forexample,Facebook,

Instagram,YouTubecanmakes u r e t o c o n n e c t w i t h allp r o s p e c t s t u d e n t s in 2 4 h o u r s persevendaysanditisveryaccessible.AsReddy(2014),nowmanyinternationalschoolsoffervirtualtourbygoingtotheirwebsites.Studentscanfindmuchphotography,videosabouttheirenvironment,facilities,classrooms,programs,library,andstadium.Choudaha(2013),statedt h a t videoso f institutioncampus,whichpostedtoYouTube,providedapotentialconvincingcommunication.Reddy(2014),h e alsodemonstratedi t i s necessaryi f Educationagencyoruniversityopenforumsforstudentstodiscussallabouttheirissuesanddesiresandencouragethemtoshare opinionorpersonal views.

UnderstandingaboutFacebook:itisthebiggestsocialnetworkthroughoutt h eworld.Itwas foundedo n 04February2 00 4f or Havard’sstudentsandtheni t expandedtoeveryoneuntilnow.ComponentsofFacebookare:profilesofperson,status,g r o u p s ,f a n pages…I n November2 0 0 7 , FanPagesconceptw a s launcheda n d created

thattimes.2 0 0 8 t he re had420universitiestakingadvantageof thisconcept.P eo pl ewhoa re liketh ispag e andbecometheir“Fans”willshare imageo fi t totheirfriendsandcreatetheviralmarketingeffect,itmeansthatwhenthefriendsseethefanpages,ift he y liketheywillb e another“Fan”o f thisorganization.Studentsn o w canj o i n manydifferentgroupst o interactw i t h othersa n d s h a r e experienceso r commentsa n d ofanytopicincludewhatevertheylikeorunlike.FacebookalsoareusingbyalmostUniversityandschoolnow.Theyopentheirpageforallmemberstojoinanduploadallinformationandurgentattentions,studygroupalsoverypopularnowonFacebook.I n Vietnam,t h e r e a r e manyAgentsa r e usingFacebookt o marketing,t h e y makemanylivestreams,opennewhotcontentslikeScholarshipevent,updatedv i s a policy,guidelinesf o r internationalst u d e nts ,

… Thenstudents,w h o a r e no w livingi n Facebook’scommunityt h e y spendalmostt he i r timeo n Facebookw i l l meettheAgentsthroughthischannelwillnotbedifficulttounderstand.Sawetal.(2012)

Andhowa b o u t Youtube:Iti s t h e networkf o r sharingvideos.P e o p l e canuploadandsharetheirvideoclipsonYouTube.Theaudiencecangivetheircommentsandsharetheiropinionsundereveryvideo.Itwasfoundedin2005andn o w i s o n e o f t h e mostp o p u l a r channelsrelatedt o contentf r o m entertainmentsvideost o businessa n d educationvideosa r e promoted.YouTubei s t h e greatestinventiond u e t o i t i s a platformi n c l u d e s entertainmentvideosa n d educationalmedia,whichareusedbymillionsofpeopleonovertheworld.Nowadays,YouTubemoreandmorepopularandpeople

becauset h e y cann o t o n l y easyt o ge t informationb u t alsotheycanseea n d h e a r therealconcept.University,InstitutionandAgentsalsou s e i t t o makev i d e os aboutt h e i r facility,program,activities,communicationbetweenstudentsandschoolso r t h e realschooldayofanystudentsthetwillsteerotherpeoplelikeandfollowtomaket h e m trust.Allpeoplenowtheywanttofindthevideoswithsharingthereviewsorfeedback,iftheycanseeitbytherealoneandhearwhattheytalking,itwilleasytog e t intoaudiencemineset.AndbecauseasSawetal.

(2012)indicatedthatstudentsu s e YouTubefortheireducationpurposes.Yes,YouTubecanbeusetobeeffectivechannelfor Education Agentstodomarketing.

WecountinuewithTwitter:Itwascreatedin2006anditwasonlinenews.Twitterhasaninterfacethatallowsuserstosendandreadnewsormessagesfromo t h e r users.Twitterisatext-

basedthatislimitedto140characters.Itcanbeusefuli n education,bothforstudentsandteachers,byfacilitatingtheexchangeofinformationrelevantt o upcominge v e n t s andprojects.F u r t h e r more,studentscans h a r e theimportantlinksandmentiontheduedateoftheirnews.Atthesametimes,alla n o t h e r u s e r s w i l l receivet h e notificationsoo n theycanshare,f o r w a r d o r responetothiscontents(Jacqueminetal,2014).

Similart o Facebooko r Twitter,i t i s Instagram,peoplecancreateaccountw i t hhasprofileandnewsfeedanditissocialnetworkingapponsmartphonemadef o r sharingvideosandphotos.Allusersarefollowinganaccountcaneasyseethep h o t o s , videosornewsfeedwhenthisaccountpostittotheirownInstagram.And

becauseInstagramnowcanbelinkedtoFacebooksostudentsorInstitution,especiallyEducationagentscanmakemanyhothashtagsalongwithmanyphotosa b o u t Internationalstudyabroadevents,Schoolvisit,…

whichsuchbreakingnewsh a s h t a g s fromAgentsorinstitutesrelatedtostudyabroadorpolicychangingthats t u d e n t s areinterestedincanbethebestwaytoengagemorepotentialstudentstof o l l o w andsharetootherpeoplewhowant toknow.

OnemorechannelthatauthorwanttounderstandisLinkedIn:Thiskindofsocialnetworkingsitewasdesignedtocreateprofessionalidentityonlineandkeepi n touchwithfriends;g e t moreprofessionalopportunity,businessc h a n c e , n e w ventures,inspirations,insights,…

(Reddy,2 0 1 4 ) Profileo f membero f LinkedInemphasizestheirhistoryandeducation.Itrequiresallmemberstogetpre-

existingrelationshiptojoin.SincethisistheprofessionalpagesoifAgentscanliveonthis,th e n moreinternationalschoolscanseetheirprofileandlinkwiththemforcorporationoverseasrecruitment.Theycant r u s t profilesi n L i n k e d I n m o r e t h a n others.Andfollowthischannel,EducationAgentscanhavepotentialtoreachtheh i g h levelofrecruitmentfromstudentswhocometheretoseekthetrustcompanyf o r h i g h e r education.

Finally,therearemanysocialnetworkingsitesthatUniversityorAgentscanu s e toattracttheirprospertivestudentsasauthormentionabove,andeachsitehasdifferentcharacteristicofdoingmarketing,marketingmustunderstandthesepointst o maketherightcontentsandstategy,carefullybeforepostinganytopictoincreaset h e spillovereffectsandtopicalfeatures.Bythisway,theycaneasierpromotetheirb r a n d nameandmarketing,advertisementsneverberedundant,justneedtoknowh o w t o chooset h e r i g h t target,r i g h t channela n d rightt o p i c o f interest,t h e y willdefinitelybecomefamous.

2.7 BenefitsofsocialnetworkingforEducation

Mostpreviousresearchshowedvalueofmarketingonsocialnetwork,butaf e w studiesfocused onbenefititwouldtakeinHighereducationrecruitment.Social