تحقیقات بازاریابی در رابطه با استفاده دانش آموزان دبیرستانی از سایت ها و شبکه های اجتماعی اینترنتی برای تبادل اطلاعات به صورت آنلاین

This paper aims to present the concept of online social networks (OSN) and its evolution in the world of business as well as several important advantages and disadvantages of using online social networking sites. We are presenting a quantitative research on the main reasons for using online networking sites by high schools students from the several counties of Romania. The authors will present the results of the research which underline: the main activities undertaken by students with this new communication tool, the average number of friends the students have and the selection criteria for them as well as the influence level of OSN sites on the life and activity (school and private) of the students.

The world we live in is in a continuous state of change and development. Every day we hear of new technologiesand new discoveries that can and will affect our lives. But no technology has had a greater development as theinformation and communication technology has in the last decades. The development of the Internet in the last years,the increase of usage by businesses and by private individuals alike has brought forth a new environment and a newand suppliers. The business world can no longer ignore these new communication and information tools. With the help of them,the managers and the marketers alike can reach their consumers faster, better and in a more personalizes manner. Onesuch tool has developed in the last decade: the online social networking site or how is most commonly called the socialnetworks. These new methods of communication have had such a great impact on the world that no organization thatrespects itself can do without. Of course it is not just the business world that has benefited from this tool, the privateindividuals are the ones that have had the most to gain, and some say maybe even to loose, from its development. Probably the most social structure that has received the greatest impact from this new communication platform is theyoung individuals. In order to reach the minds of this target group the managers and their marketing specialists needto understand the main reasons and the main activities that the young individuals undertake onsuch sites and howthese sites can influence their behavior.

In the last decades the new technological developments in the field of information and communication technologieshave changed the way companies, managers and the individuals communicate. We have seen great leaps in themethods of communication between individuals as well as new methods of interaction have arisen. So, new socialnetworks have been developed in the online environment. In the last decade a new mean of communication has cometo life and has greatly changed the life of many individuals and of many organizations: the online social network. Wehave presented in this paper the concept of online social network, the evolution of this tool and its advantages anddisadvantages for using it in the business and real world. We have developed a quantitative marketing research in order to understand the main reasons for using OSN, themain online sites known by high school students and the main activities undertaken by them when accessing such anaccount. The research was developed in high schools from Sibiu, Salaj and Satu Mare Counties. We can summarize the results as follows: 95% of the respondents have an online social networking site account; The most recognized online social networking sites are Facebook and Google+; The preferred connection method to an OSN account is the personal computer and the laptop; The main assessment criteria for accepting a connection is: the person is known by the account owner, followedby the number of common friends. The main activities that the students do when connected to their OSN account are:communicate with friends andpost photos. The average number of connections that an user has is more than 500;A message from a friend / acquaintance influences the user in a strong and average manner. The advertising campaigns have influenced the high school students and the same users state that they use theOSN to inform themselves about products / services or events and some of them buy products or services. As we can see the respondents are various and offer us an interesting view in the minds of high school students thatown an online social networking site account. This tool can be used by managers and marketing specialists alike tobetter develop their marketing or communication strategy. We hope that this research can be a step forward inunderstanding how to improve the viability of the OSN in the business world. Of course our research is only atransversal one and further studies in this field in a longitudinal manner can be developed in order to understand theevolution of the online social networking phenomenon over time and use its results in business strategies.