Perception of Students at the University of Zagreb on the Impact of Influencer Marketing on Consumer Habits

Pojavom interneta ono što je nekada bilo nezamislivo, danas je svakodnevica. Ljudi uz mobilne uređaje i internet u svakom trenutku mogu biti u komunikaciji s nekim na drugom kraju svijeta. Mogu pratiti vijesti dok se događaju, čitati recenzije, igrati igrice, kupovati odjeću, stvarati sami sadržaj i još mnogo toga. Takvom načinu života morali su se prilagoditi i brendovi te marketinške agencije, pogotovo kada se radi o oglašavanju mlađoj generaciji. Influenceri su rezultat razvoja društvenih mreža i velike koncentracije ljudi u online zajednicama. To su pojedinci koji su se istaknuli u mnoštvu korisnika svojim znanjem, izgledom, karizmom ili nekom drugom osobinom koju su ostali korisnici prepoznali i odlučili postati dio njihove publike. Kompanije sve više i sve češće uz pomoć takvih osoba pokušavaju komunicirati svoje poruke i oglašavati proizvode. Cilj ovog rada bio je otkriti percepciju studenata Sveučilišta u Zagrebu o utjecaju influencer marketinga na njihove potrošačke navike. Ovo istraživanje potvrdilo je da studenti u Hrvatskoj svakodnevno provode vrijeme na društvenim mrežama te prate influencere, te da više cijene preporuke influencera prilikom kupnje nekog proizvoda nego reklame u tradicionalnim medijima. Osim toga, ističe i neke razlike između muških i ženskih ispitanika i njihovog ponašanja na društvenim mrežama.With the advent of the internet, what was once unthinkable is now commonplace. People with mobile devices and the Internet can communicate with someone else on the other side of the world at any time. They can follow the news as they happen, read reviews, play games, buy clothes, create content themselves, and more. Brands and marketing agencies had to adapt to such a way of life, especially when it comes to advertising to the younger generation. Influencers are the result of the development of social networks and a large concentration of people in online communities. These are individuals who have distinguished themselves in a multitude of users with their knowledge, appearance, charisma, or some other trait that other users have recognized and decided to become part of their audience. Companies are more and more often trying to communicate their messages and advertise products with the help of such people. The aim of this paper was to investigate the perception of students at the University of Zagreb about the impact of influencer marketing on their consumer habits. This research confirmed that students in Croatia spend time on social networks every day and follow influencers and that they value the influencer's recommendations when buying a product more than advertisements in traditional media. In addition, it highlights some differences between male and female respondents and their behavior on social media