Does social media advertising influence purchasing behavior via EWOM? : A survey study on millennials at LTU

Abstract: Social media is a big part of a millennial's life. It is where they communicate with their friends and share experiences. Companies know this and are subsequently trying to reach consumers on social media with their advertising. However, millennials are not highly affected by advertising but care a lot about what other people think and feel about products. The millennial generation is the adult generation that is using social media the most and is also one of the biggest consumer bases in e-commerce. This means that companies need to adapt and try new ways to reach these consumers. This thesis will therefore explore and describe if advertising on social media influences millennials purchasing behavior via Electronic Word Of Mouth (EWOM) rather than having a direct effect on their purchasing behavior. The research question that will fulfill the purpose is "Does advertising on social media influence millennials purchasing behavior via EWOM?". To achieve results and answer the research question, a literature review was conducted and complemented with a self-administered, internet questionnaire. The results show that there seems to be a correlation between millennials seeing advertising on social media and starting to search for more information about the product through EWOM before making a purchasing decision