Challenges of Measuring Social Media Advertising

In the pre-social media era, the return on investment in advertising and the impact on sales was primarily monitored through the financial aspect. Brand owners measured how much was invested and in how much sales such an investment resulted in. Social media has brought new parameters that are monitored in advertising. States that measuring key performance indicators on social media are measuring how much value is created through investments in social networks (Buryan, M.: Social Media ROI: Why Measuring It Is Critical for Your Business, last accessed 2020–05–06 at https://www.socialbakers.com/blog/2745-social-media-roi-why-measuring-it-is-critical-for-your-business (2018)). Businesses are trying to use social media as efficiently as possible. On the one hand, social media and social networks are easily accessible and easy to use, and on the other hand, it is not easy to analyze and evaluate the activities that brands carry out on social networks. It is not enough to assess the value of consumers on social networks solely by their transactions that result in purchases, but it is also crucial to measure consumer engagement, in addition to the challenges of measuring the effect of advertising on social media (Kumar et al. in J. Serv. Res. 13:297–310, 2010). The aim of this paper was also to examine what consumers think about advertising of brands through social media by conducting a survey of a representative sample (n = 1000). The research was conducted in Croatia through a structured survey questionnaire where the participants were asked following questions: How often do they open ads they notice on social media? How important is it for them if a brand is present on social media, and how does brand advertising influences their purchasing decision. The survey was conducted to gain insight into real consumer opinions and whether it is justified for companies to invest in social media advertising.