Author(s): Muzamil Ahmad Baba, Syed Azher Ali, Zia ul Haq and Syeda Shazia Bukhari
Research aims: This study explores the Users??? opinion towards advertising done through Facebook. The study aims to examine the opinions of young Facebook Users??? on five key factors i.e. Entertainment, Product Information, Advertising Response, Brand Building and Consumer Manipulation. The rapid growth of Facebook as over the years has successfully attracted the marketers and consumers across globe. Broadly it comes under the umbrella of Social Media. Social Media has won the trust of consumers to some extent in present day world by connecting with them. Social Media presence has become very vital for the organizations to survive in this era of cut throat competition. There is no doubt in the fact that Facebook has emerged one of the significant Social Media platforms not only in India but across world. Design/ Methodology/ Approach: The study used a quantitative technique using a survey method to get the primary data. This study is based on online survey which involves 400 young respondents as samples. The respondents consist of 200 young males and 200 young females. The five key factors i.e. Entertainment, Product Information, Advertising Response, Brand Building and Consumer Manipulation were studied. The Users??? opinion was measured by using 5-point Likert Scale. Research findings: The results reveal that there is advertising through Facebook is being appreciated by the consumers and there is a positive view regarding the same. The results show that male respondents hold more favourable view than female respondents. Theoretical contribution/ Originality: By comparing the opinions of male and female respondents, this paper will add more to the body of knowledge in terms of literature. While earlier studies examined the opinions of all Users??? in general, this study is focuses on the agre group between 18-30 years. Practitioner/Policy implication: The results produced with this study are very beneficial to the marketers who want to connect with their prospect customers through Social Media. The results can help a marketer to design his campaign on Social Media Platforms like Facebook in an effective manner. It will also help academicians to discover new factors which can be proved very helpful to business entities in general and society in particular. Research limitation: The sample size is insufficient to provide specific recommendations since it is too small. The small sample size makes it difficult to extrapolate the results.