With the development of technology and the advent of Web 2.0, a lot has changed. The growing popularity of social networks has changed the way we communicate, network and learn. Social networks have also had a major impact on the development of marketing, and advertising in particular. The graduate thesis deals with the beginnings of advertising and how the advent of social networks has led to a change in marketing activities that brought to the concept of social media marketing. By introducing new ways of advertising, social networks have helped companies to use their resources more efficiently and monitor the performance of their campaigns more accurately. In addition to a well-placed advertising campaign, it is also necessary to maintain quality communication with customers and followers. The paper presents the most popular social networks of today and advertising opportunities and their specifics depending on the platforms on which they are used. In addition to social networks and their ways of advertising, companies often choose to advertise using influencer marketing whose value has been growing in recent years and more and more companies are deciding to invest in this type of advertising. Generation Z who grew up with the latest technologies and have been influenced by digital media from the beginning advertisers need to find appropriate ways to get their message noticed. Generation Z who grew up with the latest technologies and have been influenced by digital media from the beginning, advertisers need to find good ways to get their message noticed. Therefore, a separate research was conducted on Generation Z in Osijek and Pécs where their attitudes about social media advertising were examined and how social media ads affect their brand awareness, impression of information and ads they receive from advertisers and how they affect their consumer behavior. The results show that Generation Z in Osijek and Pécs have very similar attitudes about ads where they notice them but do not pay attention to them and mostly find them irritating and boring.