Word-of-mouth is considered to be one of the most powerful and trusted sources of product and experience information for consumers. Consumers tend to trust the opinions of peers and individuals similar to themselves over marketing generated content which only aims to make them purchase the product. However, in recent years the usage of social media has grown tremendously which has caused a shift from traditional WOM behavior to an electronic element resulting in a substantial research stream—electronic WOM (eWOM). eWOM allows consumers to socially interact with one another, exchange product-related information, and make in- formed purchase decisions via computer-mediated conversations. (King, Racherla & Bush, 2014).
Read moreHow to Survive and Win in the Collaborative Economy?
Imagine you are going on a business trip and you can get everything you need without buying it from any company. For transportation you don not use a taxi but you make use of the app Lyft, which enables you to use another person’s car. You stay at someone else’s apartment using AirBnb and for dinner you enjoy a home cooked meal from someone’s home kitchen. You pay all this by borrowing money from the crowd using peer lending websites. This scenario is possible in today’s world and is part of a big transformation, the beginning of the collaborative economy.
Read moreBen & Jerry’s - How to successfully build a strong online brand community
In an era where consumers are constantly being subjected to influences from a multitude of brands every minute, every hour of every day. One can assume that they are in search of what is real to them, what they can identify themselves with, the brands and companies’ they feel loyal to and sympathize with. So the question to be discussed in this article is - How can online brand communities strengthen a brand?
Read moreWEB-ACTIVISM, CONSUMER POWER AND THE CROWD
New technologies and crowd-sourcing have led to a mutual influence of consumer power and web-activism. This has been a growing phenomenon during recent years with phenomenal success for humanitarian, political and civic causes. Millions of signatures have been collected for petitions from all around the world within very short timeframes and events like COP21 showed how online activities help support activism on the streets. Is this ultimate global citizenship and another channel for empowered consumers to express their genuine interest in challenges worldwide? Or is it ‘slacktivism’ and far away from the core principle of activism?
Read moreNative Advertising – Betrayal or Benefit? The evolving relationship between journalism and advertising and the implications for marketers
Native advertising can be a variety of online marketing types which have in common that they aim to limit disruption in the consumers' online experience (Campbell and Marks, 2015). Proponents of native advertising argue that this content provides readers with useful additional information and content choices (Carlson, 2015). However, according to research consumers are not always able to differentiate between traditional news content and native advertising (Campbell & Marks, 2015). Hence, the placement of advertising where people expect to read news raises questions in terms of journalism ethics (Carlson, 2015).
Read moreWILL ONLINE NEWS BE THE END OF PRINTED NEWSPAPERS?
The newspapers are in trouble. Revenues are declining and the newsrooms are sacking people as new online solutions enter our lives. The former cash cow, printed advertising, is no longer an attractive option for marketers. But why? Our habits have changed together with a new media landscape that offers a range of opportunities, but also looming threats for both the newspapers and its readers.
Read more360 Degree Videos - An Online Marketing Revolution? A Critical Review and Outlook for Social Media Marketers
360 degree virtual reality videos seem to be the newest trend in online video marketing. 360 degree videos attract attention, drive interaction and views are growing rapidly. First figures predict better click-through and engagement rates than traditional videos. But has this new technology a revolutionary potential? This E-paper provides a critical review and outlook for social media marketers.
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The Jemaa El-Fnaa Square in Marrakech, Morocco. A metaphor for social media marketing
This article is about how companies better can understand the nature of social media marketing that an increasing number of brands are using (Fournier and Avery, 2011). What are the main issues that brands using social media marketing face and what are the academic recommendations? To highlight the issues related to social media marketing I use a public square metaphor.
Read moreSocial Network Marketing: Entering the Lion’s Den
When embarking on social network marketing, marketers are entering the lion’s den. With the rise of consumer empowerment through social media, social network marketing can be a risky business. As marketers, we ought to understand that social networks are the territory of the consumers. However, if social network marketing is done right, marketers may come out of the den as heroes who defeated the lion. This paper suggests two overarching “rules” of social network marketing that marketers must be aware of: (i) Social networks are for Socializing; and (ii) Content must provide a value that goes beyond products and services.
Read moreBlogs, Bloggers, Blogging: The role and the power of blogs
Blogs are social media phenomena, which evolved together with the Web 2.0. The current blogosphere is saturated. But do we really know what role blogging has and who are bloggers? Are blogs a powerful or influential tool in the digital era?
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