In the context of an era characterized by the intertwined forces of globalization and digitalization, international educational exchanges are becoming increasingly frequent, and cross-border education has become a widespread phenomenon. Meanwhile, the rapid development and deep integration of new media are reshaping industries across the board, and international student recruitment in higher education is no exception. Especially in recent years, the rise of short video platform has greatly changed the way of information dissemination and international student enrollment strategy. Compared with the traditional way of entrusting education agencies and participating in international exhibitions, social media not only saves costs, but also has a better publicity effect because of its wider dissemination range.
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of the rise of social media on the recruitment of international students in colleges and universities, to explore the duality of information channels, enrollment tools and risk sources, and the corresponding coping strategies, in order to better understand the new forms and development trends of international educational exchanges in the digital age.
Social Media Becomes a New Channel to Obtain Information on Studying Abroad
In the past, international students mainly obtained information on studying abroad through traditional channels such as the school's official website, education exhibitions, and study abroad agencies. However, the rise of social media has changed this situation, creating a more intuitive and diverse way to obtain information. ICEF Monitor(2023) cites internal Google research data showing that nearly 40% of youth groups prefer social platforms such as TikTok and Instagram over traditional general-purpose search engines when retrieving information. This behavior trend extends to the field of information acquisition for international students studying abroad, and social media has gradually replaced search engines as an important information portal for the new generation of prospective students. This shift not only reflects the intergenerational differences in technology acceptance, but also highlights the fundamental changes in the way information is obtained.
The content of studying abroad on social media platform has three characteristics: highly visual, real life display and strong interaction. Taking the short video platform as an example, many students record and share their daily campus life in the form of vlog (video log), covering dormitory environment, canteen catering, classroom experience, social activities and other aspects. This first-person perspective provides potential applicants with an invaluable "immersive experience" opportunity.
Social media has become an important tool for international enrollment in colleges and universities
The global competition in the higher education market is fierce, and social media plays an important role in enhancing the competitiveness of universities in the international higher education market.
Social media can expand recruitment channels. At present, the common ways of recruiting international students in domestic colleges and universities mainly include participating in international education exhibitions, entrusting intermediary educational institutions, participating in intergovernmental projects, participating in inter-school cooperation and exchange projects, etc. Participating in international education exhibitions often requires high travel costs, and the number of students contacted in the exhibition is limited. Using social media to recruit students can greatly expand the scope of publicity and reduce high costs; using intermediary education institutions to recruit students, in addition to paying commissions, it is difficult to verify the authenticity of the background information of the students recommended by the intermediary, and social media can allow students to communicate more directly with the school, and through the publicity of the students in the school, the compatriots come to the school to study, and further increase the recognition of the students to the school.
Social media can enhance a school’s influence. Social software commonly used by students has its own focus: Instagram and trembles are mainly short videos and pictures, which are suitable for displaying campus environment, student activities and visually attractive content; The YouTube is mainly video, which is suitable for presenting professor lectures and student interviews. LinkedIn is more suitable for highlighting academic achievements and publishing employment-related data. The School of International Education of China University of Petroleum (East China) has been operating new media accounts since 2023. In order to attract international students, the school encourages international students to create overseas online accounts and become "campus spokespersons" to promote the school from the first perspective of students., Fully display all aspects of campus life. On the one hand, as students engage in the processes of creation and sharing, their sense of belonging to and pride in their school are strengthened. On the other hand, overseas social platforms are more conducive to the spread of potential overseas students. This initiative has yielded positive results, with related videos becoming trending topics on multiple social media platforms, significantly enhancing the school’s visibility and reputation overseas.
Social media can build alumni networks. Alumni are an important resource for international student enrollment. Social media plays an important role in the construction and maintenance of alumni network. Through efficient connection and continuous interaction among alumni, more resources can be attracted for enrollment. With the help of social media platforms, the School of International Education of China University of Petroleum (East China) organizes online "Alumni talk" series of activities and asynchronous exchanges to effectively maintain the emotional connection between students and the school, and enhance students' personal understanding of the alumni community and colleges A sense of identity and belonging. Despite structural challenges such as information overload, privacy protection, and the digital divide, through systematic content management and sustainable operational strategies, social media can drive alumni networks from loosely connected to organically integrated, forming a supportive, functional and emotional social ecosystem. It shows far-reaching academic value and practical significance in enhancing alumni participation, promoting resource exchange and enhancing the influence of the school.
Risks and challenges of using social media
Although social media is becoming an important force to promote the international enrollment of colleges and universities, its potential risks and complexity are becoming increasingly prominent, which requires the joint attention of colleges and students. First, information quality and authenticity remain among the core challenges. Social media content is mostly released by individuals freely, lacking professional review and fact-checking mechanisms, and is often based on personal experience, which is easy to form one-sided, emotional and even inconsistent with reality. For example, some students publish campus life vlog on the platform, which mostly focuses on relaxing topics such as dormitory environment, canteen food, campus clock-in points, seaside scenery, etc. Although this kind of content is attractive, it often ignores the display of the school's teaching strength, scientific research platform, and teacher level. For universities like China University of Petroleum (East China), which are famous for their advantageous disciplines such as petroleum engineering, geological resources and geological engineering, and have state key laboratories and Qingdao's good marine science and technology innovation ecology, this "landscape content-led" The mode of communication may weaken the presentation of the school's core competitiveness.
In addition, the platform algorithm prefers easy, interesting, and visually prominent content, which will further shape the public's "single perspective" on universities ". The algorithm will automatically enlarge the content related to campus landscape, food experience and tonality of Qingdao coastal city, while weakening the professional information related to curriculum intensity, scientific research requirements, experimental safety standards and so on. For international students who are choosing a school, this may cause cognitive bias, causing them to pay too much attention to "whether the living conditions are comfortable" and "whether the campus environment is good for taking pictures" in the decision-making process, while ignoring "petroleum engineering or geology professional laboratories. Key factors such as how large", "whether there are industry internship opportunities" and "whether local resources can provide advantages for professional learning.
Secondly, privacy and network security issues can not be ignored. When students publish content, they may inadvertently expose their personal itinerary, place of study, passport or student ID information, and even photograph sensitive areas such as dormitory house numbers or campus security systems, leaving opportunities for risks such as online fraud and identity theft. The School of International Education of China University of Petroleum (East China) has seen relevant situations in recent years. For example, the back of Chinese students appeared in the photos shared by international students on social media, and they were recognized and asked to be deleted; there are also international students because the sharing of rental The process is too detailed and was defrauded by criminals posing as an intermediary. These real cases show that the openness and speed of social media may magnify the hidden dangers of information security and affect the personal rights and interests of students.
Response strategy
In view of the lack of authenticity, information deviation and security risks of social media in international enrollment, colleges and universities should take systematic measures. Combined with the characteristics of China University of Petroleum (East China) and the regional advantages of Qingdao, we can carry out the work from the following aspects:
Strengthen content governance and build a true and diversified official communication system. Colleges and universities need to actively balance the proportion of "traffic content" and "academic content" to avoid campus landscape, food, and easy life content dominating the cognition of overseas audiences. To enhance the professionalism of official accounts, for example, the International Institute of Education has set up a content team with the participation of international students, publicity departments and professional teachers, and regularly introduces the contents of national key laboratories, superior discipline groups, scientific research achievements and industry cooperation, so that "hard power" and "beautiful scenery" can be seen as well. In addition, through the establishment of professional teams such as the "International Student Media Center" and the establishment of instructors, students are guided to give consideration to life experience and professional learning when publishing campus content, so as to improve the authenticity and academic content of student-generated content.
Strengthen privacy protection and network security education, improve students' digital literacy. In view of the real risk that students may disclose personal information or involve sensitive areas when publishing content, colleges and universities should enhance students' safety awareness. Carry out digital security training and add the "Social Media Usage Specification and Risk Identification" module to international students' entrance education to clarify what information can be disclosed and what needs to be handled with caution. In addition, in the class meeting, combined with the real cases in the school, the warning can be publicized to the students to enhance the educational effect. Cooperate with the school's network service technology department to establish a violation reminder mechanism to promptly remind and correct the content involving privacy leakage and security risks.
Enhance cross-cultural communication guidance to mitigate the risks of misinterpretation and misinformation. Due to the large cultural differences among international audiences, students' expressions on social media may cause misunderstandings. Schools need to do cross-cultural education in advance to help students understand the differences in acceptance of humor, sensitive topics, religious symbols and other content by users in different countries, and avoid Improper expression affects the image of individuals or schools. For major events and promotional videos for international enrollment, international teachers or foreign students can be invited to conduct pre-examination to ensure the appropriateness of cultural expression.
The rapid development of social media is profoundly reshaping the ecology of international enrollment in colleges and universities, and its role shows obvious "double-edged sword" characteristics. On the one hand, with the advantages of low cost, high communication and strong interaction, social media provides an important opportunity for universities to expand overseas publicity channels. On the other hand, social media also brings risks such as information bias, privacy leakage, cultural misreading and algorithm preference. Fragmented content often magnifies the appearance of campus life, weakens the core competitiveness of teaching and scientific research, and may even lead to a one-sided understanding of the school.
Therefore, when colleges and universities use new media to carry out international enrollment, they need to build a systematic and professional communication mechanism, and guide students to become responsible schools by strengthening content governance, improving official account operation capabilities, and carrying out digital literacy and cross-cultural communication training. "Digital Image Communicator". Only by striking a balance between opportunities and risks can social media truly become an important force for universities to show their strength, enhance their international attractiveness and cultural identity. (The author Sun Yanan Su Hui works at the International Education Institute of China University of Petroleum [East China]. The photo of this article is provided by the International Education Institute of China University of Petroleum [East China].)
Source: Shenzhou scholars (2026, 9)
Author: SUN Yanan SUE Hui
