Possibilities of Using Social Media in Marketing Communications in the Context of their Popularity Growth among Young Consumers

Abstract

In this paper we have presented particular conditions reffering to companies’ marketing communications with young consumers via the Internet and social media. Presented opinions and generalizations result from litereture overview and observations of current trends in marketing communication. Our observations have shown that youg consumers present different behavior patterns in communication with their environment than the representatives of older generation. Their preferences as to forms and channels of communication should be taken into acount in com-panies’ marketing strategies. In this paper we have also presented the results of our own research, whose aim was to de-termine students’ communication preferences and skills. The comparison of results of research conducted among university students of Rzeszów in 2011 and 2015, showed that for contemporary young people use of the Internet, mobile devices, social networking sites etc. is a natural behavior and daily form of exchange of information. They find it impossible to function in society without this form of interaction. Facebook is the most commonly used social networking site. Young peo-ple are familiar with a number of technical tools to facilitate their communication with peers. Their personal mobile phone has become increasingly used device to interact with social applications and networking sites. Popularity of social media gives companies a lot of new possibilities for communication with the market through the Internet. Note, howewer, that online communities are difficult to predict and control as target groups in marketing communication.