This study investigated applications of social media in promotion activities among Higher Learning Institutions (HLIs) in Tanzania. Guided by a phenomenological philosophy, a multi-case study was conducted with four HLIs ranging from public to private offering institutions. The findings revealed that there is still a limited use of social media among the selected HLIs where dominance of traditional media over social media was observed. It was revealed that HLIs social media usage included posting information about college life, upcoming and past events, and publishing new programmes. The social media effectiveness included wider reach, receiving questions, feedback, increasing visibility, turnout of people during events and responses to different posts made. Challenges observed included management, infrastructure, and ability to accommodate the negative impacts. The study urges universities to actively incorporate social media platforms in the traditional marketing platforms to improve the effectiveness of their promotions. Provision of financial and managerial resources is important for ensuring that all units at the universities are active and collaborative in social media use.