Strategy of online marketing

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review recent developments in online marketing strategy which demonstrate the growing power of online communities in building brand reputations and customer relationships.   Design/methodology/approach – The work draws upon the results of an ongoing research project which is investigating the use of new technologies by l  entrepreneuri a businesses in the London area. A range of examples from our 30 case study businesses are drawn upon to illustrate some of the opportunities and threats associated with these new marketing priorities . Findings – We conclude that social networks will play a key role in the future of marketing; externally they can replace customer annoyance with engagement, and internally they help to transform the traditional focus on control with an open and collaborative approach that is more conducive to success in the modern business environment.   Research limitations/implications – Further research should aim to track this activity as it integrates with more mainstream marketing over time.    Practical implications – Developments in the technologies themselves, as well as a reduction in costs, will mean that more and more information will be available to consumers. This results in unprecedented levels of transparency of dealings between businesses and their customers. A key challenge when engaging customers through these social networks is how to give away power and control while at the same time avoiding embarrassment to the company   Originality/value – The paper provides practical guidance on the opportunities and threats associated with marketing through social networks, based on lessons learned from “early adopters”.

  

Role of social media in online marketing

Social media are playing an increasingly important role as information sources for travelers. The goal of this study is to investigate the extent to which social media appear in search engine results in the context of travel-related searches. The study employed a research design that simulates a traveler's use of a search engine for travel planning by using a set of pre-defined keywords in combination with nine U.S. tourist destination names. The analysis of the search results showed that social media constitute a substantial part of the search results, indicating that search engines likely direct travelers to social media sites. This study confirms the growing importance of social media in the online tourism domain. It also provides evidence for challenges faced by traditional providers of travel-related information. Implications for tourism marketers in terms of online marketing strategies are discussed.

Keywords

• Social media;
• Search engine;
• Travel information search;
• Online tourism domain;
• Internet marketing

challenge on online marketing

The advent of keyword advertising has had a tremendous effect on online advertising, Internet marketing, search engines, and Web sites that earn advertising revenue. Pay-per-click advertising therefore provides a critical topic for educators who hope to prepare students for professional careers in advertising and related areas. The Google Online Marketing Challenge offers an innovative way to achieve this goal in a unique hands-on context. With more than 8,000 participating students from 47 countries, the 2008 Challenge is, as far as the authors know, the largest in-class academic competition ever undertaken. The Challenge is also unique in its linkages among students, businesses, and the classroom. This article briefly reviews online marketing and Google’s advertising platform.
View full text Download full text

Keywords:

Sponsored search,
online marketing,
online advertising

Related articles

View all related articles

Author affiliations

^a The Pennsylvania State University
^b Google Europe
^c Google UK
^d The University of Western Australia

Journal news

New to Routledge for 2013
View disclaimer for citing articles.