IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON RAISING AWARENESS OF ECO-INNOVATIONS IN A GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT

Due to globalization, the world is changing significantly. The question remains, whether these changes can be considered as an opportunity or a threat. On the one hand, globalization brings innumerable opportunities for businesses to develop areas where they excel, but on the other hand, in areas where they are lagging, they may become more vulnerable. We can also point to the continuing trend of digitization and the use of digital technologies, even in changing business model, providing new and value-producing opportunities. In the presented contribution, authors deal with the topic of globalization in connection with the implementation of social media into the business environment in order to increase interest in eco-products. For businesses, social media represent an information channel by providing them valuable information about consumers and their habits. Authors present results of their own research focused on the use of social media within eco-innovation processes. They also focus on the way of implementing communication strategy at a corporate and an external business communication level to support the introduction of eco-innovations in Slovakia, and compare them with foreign businesses at global level. The contribution consists of two parts - in the first part, authors deal with the aspects of social media use within marketing communication of businesses in order to raise awareness of eco-innovations at the global level. The second part presents partial results of a quantitative marketing survey conducted in Slovakia in comparison to selected foreign studies, in which authors investigated the level of utilization of social media in presentation of eco-innovations.