Social media marketing's affect on consumers buying behaviour within the developments of digital marketing

ABSTRACT The 21st century, which is called the age of information and technology, has created development and change in many areas. In particular, it has taken the field of management under its influence and there have been changes in the marketing strategies applied by the companies in accordance with the new age. The development of technology has affected the behavior of consumers and they have tried to choose the best among price, quality and other options by constantly comparing the product and the brands. With the studies carried out in the digital field, more customer-orientedness is based on the business. Businesses also want to direct their own work by trying to determine the factors that affect the purchasing decisions of consumers, together with the use of digital marketing and social media. A new era has begun for both businesses and consumers, with the implementation of internet-connected applications, innovative communication preferences, and marketing activities involving customers in their content. In order to improve the digital marketing interactions of businesses and brands, relationship-oriented interactions with customers are required. The aim of the thesis is to examine and describe the effect of digital marketing on consumer purchasing behavior through social media. In this quantitative research, 43 survey questions were created to measure the effect of social media and digital marketing on consumer behavior and were applied to 177 people. After the data were collected, the analyzes of the research were made and the hypotheses of the study, validity and reliability were checked. As a result of the analysis, 3 dimensions have been reached: Trust and attitude, general approach (holistic approach to digital marketing and social media) and social media marketing, and it has been concluded that digital marketing has an effect on consumers' purchasing behavior. The information in the social media and the information provided by the influencers to the users affect the purchasing behavior of the consumers. People who trust this information direct their shopping and consumption with the product information they refer to. The age factor in demographic information is also associated with active use of social media. Depending on the active use of social media, it is seen that the shopping made with social media, which is offered by digital marketing instead of physical shopping, gains importance. Keywords: Procurement, Digital Marketing, Social Media, Consumer Behaviors, Social Media Tools