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Top1 Introduction
Trends, such as fierce competition caused by globalization which produces the continuous flow of innovation, and the fact that the balance of power in developed market–based economies has moved from the company to the user (Baer, 2010; adopted from Andzulis, Panagopoulos and Rapp, 2012), are among the reasons for new approaches in marketing to satisfy increasingly demanding and informed users. The most effective communication channels might be social networks, mainly because they have a very large reach, are very affordable and recognized as trusted source of information. Therefore, one can believe that social networks have definitely changed the way that business, especially marketing communication, is done.
According to Tomše et al. (2015), the use of the term »social networks« is heterogeneous and inconsistent. Following the logic of diverse and definitions of individual concepts, »social networks« can be briefly defined as web pages based on web 2.0, enabling the generation and exchange of contents among their users. Since the co-creators of these pages are their users, these pages belong to everybody that uses them, to the society in general. »Web 2.0« are network platforms where the content is generated by the users (Tomše et. al, 2015). Gunelius (2011) defines social networking as online networking that occurs through various websites for content sharing, interaction and development of interest communities. Each social network has a different level of interaction and collaboration between users (Safko and Brake, 2009). As types of social networks, Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) define collaborative projects, blogs and social networks for content sharing, social networking sites, virtual online games and virtual social worlds. Tomše (2014) has added microblogs and forums to the previously mentioned types of social networks.
According to Zarrella (2009), social networks are a very suitable channel of marketing communication since they provide numerous options for interacting with users. Many previous studies examined the users' beliefs, attitudes and behaviour towards advertising. Pollay and Mittal (1993) examined users' beliefs, attitudes and behaviour towards advertising in general. They found Bauer et al. (1968) two-factor model inappropriate, therefore they defined a seven factor model. In addition, they divided the seven belief factors into two groups, namely personal factors (product information, social role/image and hedonic pleasure) and social economic factors (good for economy, materialism, value corruption and falsity/nonsense). Later on, Wolin et al. (2002) upgraded Pollay and Mittal model and adapted it for the use in internet advertising. The results of their study show that users' beliefs about factors »product information«, »hedonic pleasure« and »social role/image« have positive impact on their attitudes towards internet advertising, while users' beliefs about factors »materialism«, »falsity/nonsense« and »value corruption« have negative impact on their attitudes towards internet advertising. Users' attitudes towards internet advertising have certain impact on the users' behaviour. Wang et al. (2009) examined the beliefs and attitudes of some Chinese consumers towards internet advertising and the impact of their attitudes on the costumers' behaviour. They found out that users' attitudes have positive impact on ad clicking and internet shopping. Fornazarič (2010) examined the impact of internet advertising on the behaviour of some young internet users. She realized that adolescents as well as non-adolescents recognize the informative nature of internet advertising, enjoy the interactive nature of internet ads and recognize the social importance of internet advertising.