THE ROLE AND IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA INTHE DIRECT SELLING SECTOR

Cristina Balteanu
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Cristina Balteanu: BABES–BOLYAI UNIVERSITY OF CLUJ – NAPOCA FACULTY OF ECONOMIC SCIENCES AND BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Annals - Economy Series, 2019, vol. 6, 28-33

Abstract: The major technological innovations have led to profound changes in each sector, but also in the behavior of consumers. Thus, the evolution of the Internet over the last two decades has contributed to the blurring of the boundaries between domestic and international affairs, generating the increasing of competition and thus the need to create a sustainable competitive advantage. At the same time, the increase of the number of Internet users has contributed to the development of social media platforms, which offer the possibility to personalize the online presence and to actively participate in the online communication. In this context, the social media platforms have created the premises for developing databases, with which companies can more easily understand and evaluate the way of thinking and the preferences of consumers when they make online purchases. Based on these considerations, the present paper analyzes the results of a qualitative marketing research, in close correlation with the statistical data on the degree of using social media platforms at global, European and national level. The research was based on the method of the semi-structured in-depth interview and focused mainly on identifying the advantages of using the means/tools of online advertising, as well as on assessing their effectiveness. The results of the marketing research showed an increasing trend in the number of social media users, as well as a diversification of the categories of audience targeted by online advertising. At the same time, the managers interviewed expressed their availability to invest more in online advertising, which significantly contributes to attracting new customers and implicitly to increasing their sales.

Keywords: online advertising; social media; qualitative marketing research; direct selling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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