A Content Analysis on the Literature in Terms of Social Media and Consumer Behavior

The results of many studies show that most consumers are affected by what is said about products on social media, and this situation makes social media more important for companies. Brands pay regard to consumers' requests by using social media marketing and shape their brand’s image and consumers' attitudes towards them. At this stage, consumers can examine the content created by users and brands. In addition, product use upon recommendation has become widespread. In this study, a content analysis is conducted by examining the literature on the effect of social media on consumer behavior. Studies conducted since 2015 have shown that quantitative research methods are frequently used and the majority of the sample consists of social media users and university students. The potential contribution of this study to the existing literature in the field is that, despite the abundance of quantitative studies, the content analysis shows that qualitative studies are still very few. Furthermore, social media as a topic is clearly related to many topics in the field in addition to consumer purchasing behavior.