Social media – especially Instagram – is one of the most used platforms by Generation Z students as a gateway to college websites, a new EAB report has found.
An educational research organization, EAB has released a report dubbed “Recruiting the Digital Native” where it surveyed 9,476 college-bound high school students. It found that nearly 30 percent of them have used schools’ accounts on social media to access their website.
Among all the different social media platforms, Instagram is most popular among the high school students when it comes to discovering and interacting with colleges which includes liking posts, following college accounts, and viewing videos. The report found a downward trend in the use of Facebook for interacting with colleges.
“Growth in Gen Z’s use of Instagram and their willingness to interact with schools on Instagram makes the platform a clear focus area for colleges looking to engage prospective students,” said Pamela Kiecker Royall, head of research for enrollment services at EAB.
“However, Facebook continues to serve as an important channel for reaching parents and 50 percent of Gen Z students who still use it.”
The social media is especially popular among student of color, low-income and first-generation students. As compared to higher income and Caucasian students, the black and Latino students including those low-income families are most likely to spend more time on social media.
“The findings of EAB’s new study show that students are more likely than ever to interact with colleges and universities on social media at all stages of their search,” Royall added.
Web-based chat, especially AI-based chat was found quite popular among the students. Despite 9 percent of them using this feature on the college website, nearly three quarters termed it a useful medium to interact with colleges.
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