| Summary: | Marketing has become obsessed with word of mouth. Though long known to be important for consumer decisions, social media has put it into overdrive, providing the infrastructure to launch big campaigns that nonetheless enters people’s consciousness on a very personal level thanks to messages being passed along by friends. This thesis explores what social media users think about this part of their user experience, attempting to answer how widespread awareness is and how their attitude to it affects their own use. Results show that a large majority of users in Sweden are aware that their spreading the word about a product or service can be considered a form of advertising, and that it also affects their own method of sharing. However, how much they use these services is not affected. Implications for social media providers and marketers are discussed.
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