This paper analyses marketing in the most popular social networks in Russia and its impact on modern youth. The theoretical part uses secondary data, which is based on bibliographic sources. The characteristics and types of social networks are revealed, as well as the marketing impact on consumers. The practical part includes three sections. The first part of the diploma thesis focuses on the analysis of the secondary data of the selected social networks and examines their characteristics. The second part focuses on qualitative research based on analysing individual interviews. The third part analyses the expert interview regarding the given topic.
The main goal of the thesis is to study the attitude of young people aged 18-25 to advertising on social networks. Subsequently, the goal is to evaluate key strategies of influence are used by experts in their marketing communications to influence the Russian audience of social networks and to determine of future trends in social media. The thesis is focused on three selected platforms: VKontakte, Instagram, and YouTube. These social networks were chosen because they are the most visited platforms in Russia. In addition, they provide a wide range of ad customization options that affect consumer behaviour and purchasing power.
The fifth chapter of the practical part analyses the secondary data collected from the official sites of social networks and statistics on these platforms. Emphasis is placed on audience analysis and behavioural metrics. Moreover, advertising targeting opportunities on selected platforms were studied and compared. These indicators allow to consider the effectiveness of advertising in a particular social network and its possible touchpoints on a specific target audience.
The sixth chapter of the practical part includes analysis of qualitative interviews. This method allows a deeper study of the topic and obtains more detailed information from the respondents, allowing to determine their motivation and attitude to the problem. 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted. Appendix 6 provides a pre-prepared outline of the questions that were modified as needed. The interview was conducted between young people aged 18-25 years. With the consent of the participants, the interviews were recorded and processed. The data obtained from the interviews were analysed and divided into topics.
In the seventh chapter, an expert interview was used for research. It allows receiving hard-to-reach information about the most influential strategies they use in marketing campaigns to influence an audience and to know more about future trends in this field. 9 semi-structured interviews were conducted.
4.1. Secondary data
Secondary data was used to analyse the Russian social media market. Secondary data was used to analyze the Russian social media market. To search for relevant data, Mediascope, Hootsuite, Vkontakte, YouTube, Google and Instagram were used. The study was conducted
for all selected social networks, namely their audience and behavioural characteristics. It was also conducted a comparative analysis of targeting opportunities in social networks. This was done in order to evaluate the functions for customizing the choice of audiences and to identify the advantages of the proposed formats for each of the three social networks, a functional analysis was carried out. The main purpose of this chapter is to better understand the age component of each social network, as well as compare and consider the opportunities offered by the selected social networks.
4.2. Primary data
4.2.1. Interviews with social media users
The interview was conducted among 15 respondents. Each of them lives in Russia. The main criterion of the respondents was the age from 18 to 25 years. According to the analysis in Chapter 5, this audience is the most active on social media and spends the most time there, in contrast to the millennial generation. Moreover, this group is the most loyal to the social commerce market on social media. Most of them come back for shopping on social channels several times a month. Understanding the topic was very important for the respondents, since their behaviour was considered from the point of view of the perception of social networks as a source for finding information about a product or service.
The selection of respondents was based on the fact that there were approximately equal numbers of genders: both women and men. Since age is one of the main criteria for this study, people of different ages were found. More detailed characteristics of the respondents are presented in Table 5. For convenience, each respondent was assigned a number (for example, respondent № (…)).
The interviews were conducted in the period from 6th to 20th of November through Skype or Zoom call. Every interview lasted 30 minutes on average. Interview questions are presented in Appendix 6.
Table 5: Characteristics of respondents
Number of Respondent
Name Gender Age
1 Ekaterina Female 19
2 Sofia Female 23
3 Yana Female 24
4 Angelina Female 21
5 Ivan Male 22
6 Lev Male 25
7 Anastasia Female 25
8 Ilya Male 23
9 Nikolay Male 24
10 Kristina Female 22
11 Victoria Female 20
12 Igor Male 23
13 Dmitri Male 25
14 Alex Male 24
15 Irina Female 22
Source: Author
4.2.2. Interviews with experts in the field
To better understand the market, its functionality, and trends, interviews with experts were conducted. Nine marketing experts took part in the interview. The interviews were semi-structured and changed during the dialogue. The interviews were conducted in the period from 14th to 26th November in person or via Skype. The average interview duration was 40 minutes.
The interview questions are presented in Appendix 7.
Throughout the interviews, experts shared their experiences and their personal opinions on the impact of social media. Experts from both small and large companies took part in the interview.
One of the participants had 1-year of experience in this field. The most experienced participant had eight years of experience.
Detailed characteristics of the respondents are presented in Table 6. For convenience, each expert was assigned a number (for example, respondent № (…)).
Table 6: Characteristics of experts
Number of Respondent
Name Occupation Years of practice
1 Olga Internet marketer 5
2 Victoria Digital marketer 3
3 Maria SMM specialist 3,5
4 Kirill Marketer 2
5 Anna Marketing Director 8
6 Sergey Trade marketer 4
7 Elizabeth Marketer 2,5
8 Alex SMM specialist 1
9 Kristina Community manager 3
Source: Author