Social media marketing in Croatian consumerism

Aim: To investigate the impact of social media on consumer information processing and decision making processes related to purchasing via social media platforms. To examine how consumers differ in decision making and how they perceive credibility of social media and mass media marketing. Methods: The study included a total of 161 adults (64 male and 97 female) whose participation was voluntary and anonymous. We used a questionnaire with 25 Likert scale questions in Croatian that addressed the decision making processes and the information processing theory. The questionnaire was accessible via Google Drive link. All submissions were complete. Results: Facebook (41.0%) and Instagram (42.9%) were the most popular social media platforms among Croatian consumers in our sample. They spent several hours per week exposed to various contents available on these platforms. Consumers’ response to that content was affected by numerous factors, from word of mouth in their social circle (34.2%) and other online information (34.7%) available to their personal level of motivation and interest in what was being offered. With respect to the general attitude towards social media marketing, consumers belonged to one of the two streams. One stream found it useful mostly for allowing communication between consumers and companies (28.6%) and the direct accessibility to other users’ experience (30.4%), a major factor in their attitude formation. In the other stream, the consumers were often irritated by the vast number of ads which appear on social media that do not match their interests or needs (52.1%). Overall, the time Croatian users in our sample spent on social media decreased with age. Conclusion: Regardless of their gender, Croatian consumers consider social media very accessible, yet sometimes unprofessional, whereas mass media appears to be less demanding and often imprecise in targeting consumer interests and needs.