Abstract
Scottish universities and universities globally find themselves in an increasingly competitive marketplace. Taught postgraduate programmes offer universities an opportunity to grow income, enhance their brand and strengthen their competitive position. In Scotland, such programmes may be especially critical because of government caps on the number of domestic undergraduate students. The market in Scotland is complicated. Newer universities, those created since 1992, have distinct challenges, lacking the brand recognition and often resources of their longer-established competitors. However, they have the autonomy to interpret their environment, developing programmes and marketing them creatively to help define the institution. Unfortunately, the literature offers minimal support and insight to the newer universities on marketing postgraduate programmes. The limited evidence is challenging to institutions, especially given the emergence of new technologies like social media. Many business sectors are embracing social media to help support their marketing and business objectives. Scottish Post 921 universities have embraced the tools but need to find ways to use them productively to support their marketing efforts and add value to the institution.This thesis examines the context and challenges that Scottish Post 92 universities face. It investigates their use of social media to support relationship marketing efforts for their taught postgraduate awards. The research project began as an interpretivist project, aligned with the thinking of Gadamer (1992). In its later stages, however, it evolved into a pragmatic and abductive project consistent with Rorty (1979). The research methods incorporated three distinct phases, a social media audit, interviews with academics and marketing professionals in three Scottish Post 92 universities and a survey that gathered quantitative and qualitative data from current and potential postgraduate students.
The research acknowledges the challenges inherent in university marketing and argues that institutions should adopt a structured and planned approach to the design, development and marketing of PGT awards. It concludes that social media tools can aid relationship marketing efforts for postgraduate taught (PGT) awards, where institutions use the tools to support them in reaching and initiating a relationship with a potential student. The research offers insight into the social media content and platform choices that align with the interests and needs of the postgraduate market. Collectively the evidence underpins the development of a new model to support practitioners address the complex challenge of marketing PGT awards in Scotland’s Post 92 universities.
| Date of Award | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Supervisor | Alexis Barlow (Supervisor) & Keith Halcro (Supervisor) |