(Luận văn thạc sĩ) the impact of social network to student’s choice an education consultant agency solution of marketing on social network for OSI vietnam

--- 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

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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

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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

Major: Commercial Business Major Code: 8340121

MASTER THESIS OF BUSINESS

Supervisor: PhD Tran Mai Dong

Ho Chi Minh City, 2019

network for OSI Vietnam” is my research under guiding of Doctor Tran Mai Dong

The data and documents cited in this thesis are honest and have not been published

in any previous research All inherited references are cited and fully referenced

Ho Chi Minh City, October 10th, 2019

Author

Nguyen Thi Nhu Y

and for making time whenever I needed it throughout the year

Secondly, I would also like to thank to the interview participants, interviewees for your time and contribution

Finally, thank you my family, my husband and my friends for your enormous support, encouragement and patience throughout my studying course

DECLARATION

TABLE OF CONTENT

LIST OF ACRONYMS AND SYMBOLS

LIST OF TABLES

LIST OF FIRGURES

ABSTRACT

CHAPTER 1 GENERAL INFORMATION 1

1.1 Introduction 1

1.2 Research objectives and research questions 5

1.3 Scope of research 5

1.4 Methodology of research 6

1.4.1 Research data 6

1.4.2 Methodology of research 7

1.5 Significance of research 9

1.6 Outline of research 9

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 11

2.1 Overview of the trend of studying abroad 11

2.2 Introduction about OSI Vietnam 16

2.3 Social network 21

2.3.1 Introduction 21

2.3.4 The usage Social network in the world and Vietnam 23

2.4 Online marketing for Education Consultant agencies 25

2.5 Social networking sites was used by other international students 26

2.6 Online communication and Virtual platforms 26

2.7 Benefits of social networking for Education 29

2.8 Social networking engagement 30

2.9 Student mobility 31

2.9.1 What is Vietnamese student mobility? 31

2.9.2 Student’s decision making 33

2.10 Choice 34

2.10.1 Institution choice and student’s decision making 35

2.10.2 Proposed conceptual model of research 35

2.10.3 Social media effected to student choice 44

2.11 Conclusion 46

CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH DESIGN 47

3.1 Research approach 47

3.2 Research design and sampling 48

3.2.1 Data collection 48

3.2.2 Research questionaries 49

3.2.3 Sampling 53

3.6 Ethical consideration 57

3.7 Chapter summary 57

CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS 59

4.1 Introduction: 59

4.2 Analysis the response 61

4.2.1 Student point of view 61

4.2.2 Parents point of view 69

4.2.3 Current situation of OSI Vietnam 74

4.2.4 Experience from other Agents 75

4.3 Confirmed final modified research model 77

4.4 Summary 83

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION 85

5.1 Conclusion 85

5.2 Solution 88

5.2.1 Facebook 89

5.2.2 YouTube 90

5.2.3 Zalo 90

5.2.4 Company website 90

5.2.5 Action plan for OSI 90

APPENDIX

1 OSI Vietnam : One Step International Education Consulting Co., Ltd

2 IIE : Institute of International Education

3 ISS : International Student Survey

4 SDS : Student Direct Stream

Table 2.1 Parents consider overseas study 11

Table 2.2 Destinations preferred by parents 13

Table 2.3 Studying abroad cases 17

Table 3.1 Research question design 50

Table 3.2 Distribution of participants 54

Table 4.1 Background of Participants 59

Table 4.2 Person that student discuss 63

Table 4.3 Social networking channels for student searching 63

Table 4.4 Information students want to know 65

Table 4.5 Recommendation social networking sites 68

Table 4.6 Parents search 71

Table 4.7 Recommendation from Parents 73

Table 4.8 Profile Agents 75

Table 4.9 Summary 80

Table 5.1 Suggested social networking sites 88

Figure 2.2 Students believe and trust Agents 14

Figure 2.3 Vietnamese Education Agent 15

Figure 2.4 Studying abroad cases 18

Figure 2.5 Frequency of internet use 24

Figure 2.6 Most active social media platforms 25

Figure 2.7 Number of unemployed 32

Figure 2.8 Decision making process model 35

Figure 2.9 Type of content looking for 39

Figure 2.10 Student interact on social media 45

Figure 2.11 Proposed conceptual model of research 46

Figure 4.1 Confirmed Final modified reseach model 83

CHAPTER 1 GENERAL INFORMATION 1.1 Introduction

Nowadays, social network has developed very widely and strongly It allows people to connect with family, friends, to share all information with all users The innovation of technology has playing a key role and a powerful tool in influencing and changing behaviour of consumer Social network has become more and more popular as the daily life, so these tools has been perceived as sources for customer

to search information about products or service during their buying decision process (Sinem Ozer, 2012) They use social network to share information, experiences, advice, reviews … that are interesting to their connected users (Friends, followers…) It can be helpful sources and may influence consumer’s purchasing process (Seaman, 2013) More over, it also is one of the most effective marketing and business development tools in recent century And because customer use information on social networks as the instruction/ guideline for their decision process and this tool is also used as advertising channel for enterprise to market which in turn can help them gain more business opportunities and potential customers (Seaman, 2013)

On another hand, the number of population all around the world are using internet and social network have increased by 21% since 2015 and it was 2.8 billion users reported globally in 2017 (Kemp, 2017) Social network has been changing the way people communicate, gather information and inform their decisions For young students and even modern parents in particular, social network is principle means of gathering information and communication with peer to peer (Kemp, 2017) In this report, there are 83% of prospective students have been using social networks as channels to research information about study abroad procedure Along with the trend of globalization and the development of science, technology internet, especially social network, study abroad has become an indispensable need for many young generations to realize the “Global Citizen” dream and it will expand their

knowledge beyond their traditional educational style and their current world This is

an opportunity to raise students' awareness of the many cultures of the world that can contribute to create many individuals with a broader understanding of today's society rather than limiting within the traditional education system at their home country (Johnson and Stewart, 1991) Kinginger (2007) considered that students who have studied abroad often demonstrate the development of cognitive and creative thinking that surpasses the ability of students with only have educational experiences in their home country

One of the reasons why studying abroad is becoming increasingly important

is that globalization has opened up international employment opportunities Qiang (2003) observed that there is a noticeable increase in the number of international labor recruitment due to globalization This creates a need for competition in the international labor market which affects many students in seeking opportunities to enhance their career prospects by achieving high quality education with qualifications which are recognized around the world (Mpinganjira, 2009) Up to now, the concept of overseas study has been developed and it seem to be potential service business Overseas study has been becoming the educational activities

The innovation of social networks has influenced enterprises to discover effective ways to communicate with their potential consumers This marketing has been extending to education consultancy that attempt to influence parents and students’ choices Morris (2012) demonstrated that social networks were used by students to assist in the university choices Social networks are proving an influential way of providing a platform for potential students to gather information and inform their choice about study abroad and destination (We are social report, 2017) Students can use a variety of information sources to do decision-making These include the internet, social networks, newspapers, word of mouth, education consultancies and government sources (Poonam and Madhu, 2015) Despite this wide diversity information sources, overseas students had limited knowledge to

choose the courses to study and job prospects on completing a specific program (James et al, 2013) Therefore, they really need a professional advice and guidance

to make final decision As Morris (2012), he said that social network is used by students to assist in the university decision making process So social network has potential for education agency to grow visibility and attract more prospective students (Zinck and Constantinides, 2011) Therefore, social network has appeared

to have much potential and promise, it will be determined what role social network plays in student’s decision of education consultant agency And from the increasing demand of studying abroad in Vietnam leads to strong development of education consultant agents to help student on preparing full study abroad procedure And because of big opportunity of study abroad business now so many Agents are opening in Vietnam, it creates the dynamic market and stressful of competition OSI Vietnam (One Step International Education Consulting Co., Ltd) is one of the companies that their service is oversea study service are facing with their own challenge to adapt to the booming of technology nowadays to keep growing and replace another proactive approach strategy to prospective students through social networks

Problem Statement:

Although OSI Vietnam has been established in the market for a long time (over 20 years), but company has not been prominent and successful, as well as not well known OSI Vietnam is a small enterprise, there have only 12 employees’ unreasonable job allocation, and each employee must occupy multiple positions (as consultant, customer service, marketing, cashier, international relationship .) resulting in low marketing effectiveness Employees are primarily trained in professional counseling, customer care by telephone but lack of marketing training The lack of a specialized marketing department has led to ineffective publicity of the company image; the staffs disregard the marketing function that only focuses on the processing of the visa application Because it is a small company, marketing

budget is very low, so it is not suitable for communication activities, organization of seminars, events Accordingly; the company now needed a marketing plan both less costly but still effective

Even though the company has website: www.osivietnam.com and fan page

on Facebook but does not regularly update, refresh the content as well as do not have specialists in charge so it does not bring effective marketing for the company They only had ineffective marketing policies like annually; the company coordinates with the Thanh Nien Newspaper to participate in the graduating season consultancy program Although effective immediately at that time but does not bring long-term and stable effects

Furthermore, the competitors are using social networking and marketing online very strong so there is fewer customers know and willing to choose OSI Vietnam and traditional approachment strategy has become passive and outdated so the company need to think about changing and replacing the marketing plan as soon

as possible or they will decrease day by day

Because of many trouble with the business of OSI Vietnam currently when they cannot get new customers by world of month based on relationship and traditional ways as Director of OSI Vietnam recognized that it is the passive approachment, and they must change to adapt to the modern human world changing day by day, if they are not smart they will be left behind and disappear amidst a very dynamic competitive environment Author, who used to work in OSI Vietnam, grew with them and OSI as her second family, she wants to do something that as the strongest action to make them pass through their difficult period time As discussion with board director, the company really needs a marketing department but as the beginning their budget is still not too much, so author will consider and found that social networking marketing now is very effective tool for them to spread OSI Vietnam image to the new horizon of social community

And author chose OSI Vietnam because author used to be counsellor of that company, so I know they are lacking the marking strategy even their service is good

but without advertisement they will lose their business to other competitors So, next section author will introduce about OSI Vietnam and their problem that need to have solution for marketing campaign as the reason why author do this research to help them issue their current problem Whether social network has a great impact on customer’s making process and there have many researches about this issue but until now there are no specific studies for this field in Vietnam So, in this study,

author chooses the topic “The impact of social network to student’s choice an

Education consultant agency: Solution of marketing on social network for OSI Vietnam”

1.2 Research objectives and research questions

Research’s objective is to indentify the way that social network influence to students on making decision when they are finding education consultant agency for their studying abroad process

Related to research’s objectives, the questions are set as follow:

1 How does social network impact on student’s choice?

2 What social networking sites do students use to search education consultant agency?

3 Which social networking sites influenced student’s decision making?

1.3 Scope of research

Scope of study:

- Students: who have already had student visa to study abroad by Education consultant centres They have gone through the selection process to make final decision, therefor understand them will help author find out which factors have brought the highest efficiencies and how social network plays a role and which social networking sites they have used in the process of their choice In this thesis, author will focus on students who studied in USA, Canada and Australia

- OSI Vietnam Staff: They know the problems and the needs They have more efficient marketing campaigns to attract more students and develop their business

- Education counsellors: author chooses to interview because they are working

in the company where has been running marketing online so that we can see more clearly the effective of social networking marketing Then give solution from their experience to help OSI Vietnam develop their marketing strategy

- Parents: they have the most influence on student on their study abroad decision According to research of McFadden (2015), there is nearly 60% of prospective students report they research schools with their parents, and 61%

of parents said that they will made the final decision

1.3.1 Methodology of research

1.3.2 Research data

In this research, author has used both primary and secondary data sources Secondary data: all information was founded on books, magazines, internet and Primary data: has applied survey method through questionnaires

Semi structure interview’s objective is exploring the insights and specific information

In this study, author choose direct interview one by one with 4 kinds of research objectives to take their opinions to devote into the research as much ideas from many different subjects, there are 13 participants accept to join the interviews:

- Students: who are international students in USA, Canada, they are the persons that successful student visa by OSI Vietnam Author contacted them for inviting the interview and made the conversation one by one on Facebook messenger, Zalo, Skype… They are very happy and satisfied with OSI Vietnam and promise to share every promotion from OSI Vietnam on social networks

- Parents: author made interview with 2 parents who are working with OSI Vietnam for their children to study abroad They knew OSI through their friends’ introduction and they also said that without someone told them that company then they will not know who they are and never come so they totally agreed that OSI should have marketing to promote their brand to many people especially on social network

- Board of director of OSI Vietnam: director of OSI Vietnam and Office manager discussed about the lack of marketing campaign of the enterprise and they are facing with loosing many students and they demonstrated OSI must change to adapt to new technology era That why they accept author to do the thesis with using it as the real case

- Reference from the marketer and counsellor from other Agents: These people have experience of marketing on Education field in other Agents, they are even established later than OSI Vietnam, but they are now even growing faster than OSI because they have the active approachment on social networks where have a whole world community They gave author many ideas about how to do marketing on social for studying abroad demand

The interviews took around 30 minutes to 45 minutes, and some trouble with the time zone and internet so some of the records were not good but after that author also re-contacted for completing the transcript versions Through the time doing my thesis, author is in rush season at working so she had travelled a lot But after all, she tried her best to complete thesis on time

1.3.3 Methodology of research

This study uses combination of qualitative Qualitative research is the method with collecting information without numerical form and it usually related to the emotions of human, or behavior Discovering the experience of participants in a qualitative study is viewed as a phenomenological approach Furthermore,

Qualitative research is suitable to answer the question of “How” and “Why” (Hennink et al., 2011)

Since this is an appropriate way, the attitude, value and behavior of the research should be acknowledged at the beginning of the research, but should be part of the research A perfect example of qualitative research is group interviews and structured questions with open responses that generate qualitative data These open-ended questions allow respondents to express and answer in-depth questions in their own words rather than the words of researcher feeds These answers help the researcher gather in-depth analysis and the real understanding of the respondents about the research problem However, this method can take quite long time and respondents are very limited because they can only be considered in such a study (Palys and Atchison, 2014) As Palinkas and partners (2015), the qualitative research method is an exploratory study The primary purpose of qualitative research, as assessed by Flick (2015), is to better understand the reasons, opinions and motivations of research Karlsson (2016) argues that some trends are discovered

by researchers with the use of qualitative research There are several methods used

in qualitative research where the study is unstructured and semi structured (Robson and McCartan, 2016) The most common qualitative studies are interviews Whatever technique is selected by the study of research for qualitative research should provide the ability to provide insight from the inner core of the problem for this study This insight may include the responses of the participants, their comments or ideas (Taylor et al, 2015)

In this study author choose the choice model of Engle, 1995; Kardes, Cronley, Cline (2011) as her main model to follow and give more finding about how social networks can be effective on each step There are five steps: Need; Information search; Evaluate of Alternative; Purchase decision and Post purchase Following five steps, it has their own factors that can be the reason for further steps and final decision

1.4 Significance of research

Finding of this research found that effect of social network will be strong on step 2 (Information search) and step 3 (Evaluation of Alternative) because students will nearly 100% go to internet and social network for seeking and taking all their concerns so every positive or negative recommendation will be their issue On Step

1 (Need), the effect just medium since what they see on social network with good performance then will be their motivation to know exactly what they want and where to go Going to step 4, it just the most depends on actual service and consultant skill of Agents and how much they give their customers belief then more opportunity of business they can win The last step (Post purchase) will close for decision making process of this person but will be the next beginning steps of other students

This research brings the theoretical as well as practical significance to all enterprises in the field of Education consultancy, marketing, it also identifies the influence of social network to consumer’s choice, especially students in the process

of finding, comparing and deciding From this research they can come up with appreciate policies to attract their target customers, support marketing, build and develop the strategies to improve competitiveness

1.5 Outline of research

The research has five chapters as below:

Chapter 1: General information

The first chapter will show the overview of research topic, research objective, research question, scope and methodology of this study

Chapter 2: Literature review

Theories of social networks, Student’s choice and the link between social networks and Student’s decision making process will be introduced in this chapter

Chapter 5: Conclusion

The final chapter will show conclusions, limitation of this research

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Overview of the trend of studying abroad

According HSBC Group (2017), the trend of studying abroad is growing rapidly In particular, the highest result is belong to Asian parents, who tend to consider sending their children to overseas study more than other countries The results show that Asian students make up 53% of the total number of international students

Table 2.1 Pparents consider overseas study (HSBC, 2017)

IIE (Institute of International Education) estimated that in the 2016/2017 academic year, the United States had attracted 1,078,820 undergraduate and postgraduate students, the United Kingdom had nearly 497,000 international students, France 310,000 and Australia 292,000 (IIE, 2017)

Table 2.2 Destinations preferred by parents (HSBC, 2017)

Destinations preferred by parents when considering

their children to study oversea in 2017

Selected rate

Rank 2017 compared to

when applying, 20% of collecting information about travelling abroad plan after getting offer and 20% find out solution to get the offer (Nicol, 2018)

Figure 2.1 Social Network as part of the research process (Nicol, 2018)

In this survey, Nicol (2018) affirmed that even Parents, Family, friends, Education counsellors… are particularly influential on student’s choice of oversea study but surely that students themselves are the most important deciding so certainly, it is crucial that education company listen to viewpoint of prospective students carefully can help increase rating of satisfaction and perception of students Anyways, Nicol (2018) still identified that Students believe and trust information’s sources from Education Agents (47% agree) when they considering and choosing higher education in overseas country

Figure 2.2 Students believe and trust Agents (Nicol, 2018)

Following result of ISS (International student survey) 2018, (Nicol, 2018) 48% students said that Agents are useful for them and 34% agree Education agents had influenced their choice of school and 27% influenced choice of destination And as a fact that author see that Education consellors play as key role of the choice

of students and the potential of this business is very high if agents can approach and have the right strategy of marketing to recruit international students An undeniable fact that Education agents are part of many international University for their recruitment, especially for international students when seeking visas And ofcourse agents face with many challenges (Nicol, 2018) That why, now in the century of increasingly competitive global Education market, especially in Vietnam that competition is becoming more stressful than ever when the number of consulting for studying oversea service centres continues to increase (Tran Thi Phuong, 2019)

as below chart of the number of Vietnamese Education counsellor centres from quarter III, 2017 to the first month of 2019

Figure 2.3 Vietnamese Education Agent (Tran Thi Phuong, 2019)

Quarter I, 2018

Quarter II, 2018

Quarter III, 2018

Quarter IV, 2018

January, 2019

Among thousands of Agents in Vietnam, OSI Vietnam is one of the companies that their service is oversea study service are facing with their own challenge to adapt to the booming of technology nowadays to keep growing and replace another proactive approach strategy to prospective students through social networking maketing channels In addition, author chose OSI Vietnam because

author used to be there counsellor, so I know they are lacking the marking strategy even their service is good but without advertisement; they will lose their business to other competitors So, next section author will introduce about OSI Vietnam and their problem that need to have solution for marketing campaign as the reason why author do this research to help them issue their current problem

2.2 Introduction about OSI Vietnam

One Step International Education Consulting Co., Ltd (OSI Vietnam), operating based on a license issued by the Department of Planning and Investment

of Ho Chi Minh City, specializing in education, tourism, immigration, foreign investment OSI Vietnam is representative for many Language Institutes, Secondary Schools, High Schools, Colleges, Universities … in many countries where have high education such as: USA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore… OSI Vietnam is a professional Company in consulting school, major, state for students to attain the best choice of studying abroad plan In addition, preparing documents for enrolling school and applying visa are important parts that demand knowledge, experience, and skill from advisors in order to have the best outcome OSI possesses a strong, professional, and a devote personnel’s who conduct files and obtained well-training and practical program for each case, (OSI Vietnam report, 2018) At OSI Vietnam, these have four core values are pursued and implemented consistently throughout its more than 20 years of operation: "Transparency - Professionalism - Experience and Trust."

Director said that transparency at OSI Vietnam can understand as the work, sequence of the most detailed, and scientific consultation process The financial statements are always clear, detailed from the beginning All the company service's fees, the relevant agencies as stipulated, especially the tuition fees from the school, living expenses are always have clear invoices The professionalism of OSI Vietnam is reflected in the extensive knowledge of the consultants on professional knowledge, social knowledge as well as culture and customs of many countries

Besides, understanding the psychology of students, parents to encourage, warn and even strict, do not compromise with any situation does not match With the experience of a close and dedicated team, OSI Vietnam will help the students's overseas study plans are sure to be smooth and favorable OSI Vietnam has established trust relationships with major partners in the US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, … (OSI Vietnam report, 2018) With over 20 years of practical experience and commitment, OSI Vietnam has helped thousands of young people obtain visas for US and other developed countries In recognition of these efforts, OSI Vietnam was honored in 2013 for the "Top 50 Trademarks - Famous Brands" Award organized by Vietnam Intellectual Property Association and Award for Education Development (2015) with the title "Prestigious Education Organization" awarded by the Association of Vietnam Study Encouragement OSI Vietnam is also one of the 300 representative enterprises of Ho Chi Minh City to participate in "Cooperation with the city of innovation" in August 2016 (OSI Vietnam report, 2018)

According to OSI Vietnam, the number of studying abroad cases and successful student visas as below table:

Table 2.3 Studying abroad cases (OSI Vietnam report, 2018)

Year Study abroad case OK Visa case

2015 1063 829

Figure 2.4 Studying abroad cases (OSI, 2018)

Based on the summarized data on the number of studying abroad applications were conducted by OSI over the years, we see that from 2007 to 2010, the growth rate is strong; from 208 cases in 2007 to 2010, it increased rapidly 4 times After that from 2010 to 2014, the number of studying abroad records increased but not much It is worth noting that the decline from 1146 cases in 2014 until 2017 it was only 894 cases However, a good signal in 2018 when this number increased again, higher than 2017 is 224 cases (OSI Vietnam report, 2018)

The Period of beginning to 2010:

Based on the report in 2018 of OSI Vietnam, from the time of establishment, OSI Vietnam mainly advertises in newspapers and available relationships The company has absolutely no marketing department, most customers get through the introduction of those who have been working with the company, this way of doing business has partly helped the company to grow sales quite well Moreover, the number of people who know the company was increasing The main customer of this period was the parents who intend to send their children to study abroad

From 2010 to 2014:

The revenue of company increased steadily but at medium level and there was no breakthrough and almost access to customers only through the traditional way of word of mouth marketing on existing relationships (OSI Vietnam report, 2018)

From 2014 to 2017:

At that time, everyday company only had around 10 cases came to do study abroad consultant The number was decresing; it was a big challenge for board of enterprise Since they were facing with a big competition from the market when the education agency has increasing so fast and they did a lot of promotion to attract students and parents Especially they appeared with a very large output on social networks The company report (2018) also showed that OSI Vietnam was slowly falling behind competitors when the approachment to customers has become outdated and no longer widely influential While social networks have been gradually replacing the traditional way of accessing information and marketing, OSI retained the old form of word of mouth and newspaper even almost University and other Education company in the world have applied social network marketing for a long time Frankly speaking, without the right marketing strategy, it will be difficult for OSI Vietnam to expand their business (OSI Vietnam report, 2018)

From 2017 to 2018:

Recognize the importance of marketing, especially in the digital age, the Board of Directors decided to run a social network marketing strategy They joined Facebook and had their own Fan page to connect with all students and relationship They got very good significant of increasing followers on Facebook, they came and contacted with OSI Vietnam for consulting So on, the business is growing again Following the successful of new marketing plan, OSI Vietnam are setting up and

widening the online, especially social marketing, recruit new specific marketers (OSI Vietnam report, 2018)

SWOT Analysis:

- Professionalism, dedication,

reputation and enthusiasm

- Company have loyal customers

and very good relationship

- Interconnection with many

prestigious universities and

colleges from USA, Canada,

Australia, New Zealand,

- Company has experienced staffs,

high qualification, good

consulting skills, dedicated,

thoughtful

- Good services: strongly support

students not only during the

application process but also after

successful visa (immigration

procedure when students go

arrangement, renew visa, …)

- The percentage of successful visa

is high

- There are no marketing department

- Small company

- Have not focused on promotion

to raise up their own brand and image

- The way to reach potential students is somewhat passive, based only on word of mouth and referrals from existing customers

- The website is not popular, not attractive and not regularly updated hot news

- Company has not been active on Social networking sites

- They have not much budget for marketing

Opportunities Threats

- Globalization and integration

open many opportunities for

Education, especially oversea

study market

- Young generations now use

internet and social networks as

their source to find information

and sharing their experience

- More and more Vietnamese

parents and students want to study

abroad

- Online marketing is becoming

easier during the 4.0 technology

period

- The competition is increasing

- The marketing online of competitors are very strong in not only Local Vietnam but also International Universities and agents

Today’s digital age, the Internet has more advance and the power and importance of social network platforms, conversations and engagement are increasing and traveling at unprecedented speeds It was generally agreed that social networks marketing has involved the spreading of marketing massages through viral marketing, and surely that receivers will interest to pass along these massages to their relationships (Kaikati, 2004) Multiple social networks such as Youtube, email communication, and many others kinds of electronic media are used in this process

In fact, most of the Viral Marketing campaigns are focused on spreading the company's message through the popular social networking platforms such as Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Linkedln, .Enterprises wishing to integrate a social network program into their marketing strategy and they see that social network is changing the decision-making process in the buying behavior of consumers (Constantinides and Stago, 2012) Social network has reduced the power of traditional marketing so that marketers are forced to find new ways to reach potential customers and communicate with them (Parise and Guinan, 2008) However, marketing communications is an extension of online communication and only succeeds when it is based on solid foundations: products are innovative and high quality, market-oriented organizations and websites are well-designed (Constantinides and Stago, 2012) Social networks where have it members create their public profiles and share all information such as knowledge, experiences, personal information,… Contact with other members to exchange and share the same interests (Cheung and Lee, 2010) Social networks make us have the different thinking about marketing, enterprises and consumers can interact directly and have relationship with one another (Solomon et al, 2010) Digital networks today is not only information access tools, but it als has been interaction tools, which are used

by individuals to exchange and share information, contents, opinions… and customers’s behavior will change when they interact with others (Heinrichs et al, 2011) As consumers like to interaction and communication with each other and want to refer advice from different positive or negative products or services, virtual

communities will have an impact on consumers' purchasing decisions (Evan et al, 2009) People can gather to share their thoughts, idears, comments on Social networking sites; so it will be the place for marketers to listen and respond to customers, review contents (Weber, 2009), the advertisements via social network, the meassage will reach far more potential customers intended to reach (Weber, 2009; Weinberg, 2009)

2.3.2 Definition

Social networks are the platforms where individual can connect with others (Lee, 2013) It was stated by Weinberg (2009, page 149) as “generic terms for sites that are used to connect users with similar backgrounds and interests”

2.3.3 Constitution

Regarding to research of Boyd and Ellison (2007, page 211), Lee (2013, page 25), social networking sites platforms have few common elements as: “(1) users are able to create interactive and customized profiles within a bounded system, (2) a list of suggested friends with whom they share a connection, (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system”

At present there is no specific research on the constitution of social networks, but with the way it is formed and its operation, the author makes up the constitution of the social network including:

- Node: An entity within a network This entity can be an individual, a business or any other organization

- Tie: is the relationship between the entities There are many types of links in the network In its simplest form, a social network is a single, scalar graph

of the appropriate links between nodes We can represent this network with a graph

by which the nodes are represented by points and the links represented by the lines

2.3.4 The usage Social network in the world and Vietnam:

As report of Kemp (2018), the number of new users use social network around the world has increased rapidly It is more than 3 billion people use social

network for each month Despite a notorious year, Facebook is still increasing 15% compared to the same period in 2017 and reached 2.17 billion users in early 2018

According to statistic of Kemp (2018), Vietnam has more than 96 million people with 35% proportion of urban population The number of Internet users in

2018 reached 64 million this number is over 28% than 2017 There are 55 million users in use social networks, an increase of 20% compared to 2017 Vietnam is not outside the growth rate of digital marketing in the world This report pointed out that on average time that Vietnamese users spent to access internet is nearly 7hour a day and it almost as a daily life of using social network

Figure 2.5 Frequency of internet use (Kemp, 2018)

Due to Social networking sites in Vietnam, the number of active accounts is more than half of the population (57%) and it is becoming the most current communication tools for business Below figure will list 12 currently famous social network platforms in Vietnam The number one, of course, is Facebook, follow by Google and YouTubee (Kemp, 2018)