Consumer perception and attitude towards advertising on social networking sites: The case of Facebook

Our paper explores to what extend Facebook advertising generates purchasing intentions, and influence consumers’ buying habits. We analyse consumers’ opinions regarding issues of privacy and social pressure from online communities, and their effect on consumers’ shopping habits. By conducting a survey, and comparing our findings with findings in the literature, we aim to compare users viewpoints of internet advertising from the late 90’s with the viewpoints of young people that are constantly exposed to social media. We argue that there are minor changes in the users viewpoints during that period, and show that users rely more on the internet as a source of information, yet social pressure and eWoM are still the major mechanisms that contribute to a brand’s success. The main conclusion of our study is that brands should invest in the social communication aspects of Facebook as an advertising mechanism.