Abstract

Advertising has been greatly impacted by the social media targeted particularly at younger users on the various platforms. However, little is known specifically about how social media advertisements influence purchasing decisions among these young people in Nigeria. Hence, this study examined the exposure, viewership and influence of social media advertisements on the purchasing decision of young people using undergraduates in three Nigerian universities. The three universities were purposively selected. Adopting a survey design and using a multistage sampling technique, a 13 item questionnaire was administered to 385 students which formed the sample. Findings showed that social media advertisements are very visible in terms of high exposure (66.9%) but limited in influencing purchase decision (14.3%) among the respondents.

Key Words: Advertisements, Influence, Social Media, Purchasing Decision, Adverts Exposure

*   Oludare Ogunyombo is a doctoral student in the Department of Mass Communication, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, Ogun State, Nigeria

** Olusola Oyero Ph.D. ia an Associate Professor in the Department of Mass Communication, Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria

***Kunle Azeez is a doctoral student in the Department of Mass Communication, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, Ogun State, Nigeria.

^JCMR Journal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 9, No. 2, October 2017, 244 – 255