Introduction to online marketing Online marketing is without any doubt the most dynamic and fast-moving field in marketing

today. Online marketing, while increasingly present in out daily lives, is still a very young medium and is still in its experimental stage. Technology is continuously improving every single day and, therefore, online marketing has to quickly adapt to the new changes. And the most challenging aspect is that the consumer is able to adapt to the new media much more quickly than the companies that should be using it in the first place. The world is just beginning to realize the potential of the Internet, which offers a perfect medium for spreading creative ideas that maybe will eventually change the world. The digital media revolution has had a profound impact on marketing, affecting the expectations of consumers, giving them more control. The question that arises is how important is a Social Media campaign in a companys marketing plan and what is the right way to do it. This question will be treated accordingly in the following pages. What is and what isnt Social Media? The concept of Social Media is on the top searched words every week on Google and has been on everyones lips in the past few years. Decision makers, as well as consultants, try to identify ways in which companies can make protable use of applications such as Wikipedia, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. Yet despite this interest, there seems to be very limited understanding of what the term Social Media exactly means. There seems to be confusion among managers and academic researchers as to what exactly should be included under this term, and how Social Media differ from the related concepts of Web 2.0 and User Generated Content. Web 2.0 is a term that was rst used in 2004 to describe a new way in which software developers and end-users started to utilize the World Wide Web; that is, as a platform where content and applications are no longer created and published by individuals, but instead are continuously modied by all users in a collaborative fashion. Therefore, Social Media is a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of User Generated Content. As of October 2011, the online social networking website Facebook registered more than 800 million active users. To put that number in perspective, the population of the entire United States of America is of approximately 320 million. Also, the growth rate of the active users is enormous, considering that as of January 2009, Facebook had no more than 175 million active users. At the same time, every minute, 20 hours of content were uploaded to the video sharing platform YouTube. And, the image hosting site Flickr provided access to over 5 billion photographs, making the worldfamous Louvre Museums collection of 300,000 objects seem really small in comparison. What is the impact of Social Media on a business? There are a few companies which seem to act comfortably in a world where consumers can speak freely with each other and businesses have less and less control over the information available about them in cyberspace. Today, if an Internet user types the name of any leading brand into the Google search, what comes up among

the top ve results typically includes not only the corporate webpage, but also the corresponding entry in the online encyclopedia Wikipedia. Through the use of social media, customers now have an almost instantaneous platform for discussion of their ideas, experiences, and knowledge. Increasingly, the use of social media is playing an important role in the professional lives of decisionmakers as they utilize the tools and mediums before them to engage their decisionmaking processes. The social nature of decision-making has increased with impressive strength, connecting generations of professionals to each otherchanging the dynamics of customer relationship management, marketing, and communications forever. Social media is used as a platform for discussion of ideas, experiences, and knowledge-exchange. Online communities provide a prime opportunity for organizations to get to know their customers more intimately and keep the finger on the pulse of their needs and behaviors. Through the use of online professional networks, companies now have an opportunity to forge a dialogue with their customers actively throughout the lifecyclenot just at the point of saleto learn what they like and dont like about a product or service. There is nothing more dangerous to an organizations lifeblood than a group of dissatisfied customers. Yet, oftentimes, an organization may not even be aware of clients issues until they have incurred reputation damage or a trending loss in revenue. By cultivating meaningful relationships online, product development leaders can work with clients to share roadmaps and plans collaborationand to get early input from the people who would be their buyers at a later stage. Marketing can learn what messages are most effective with their constituents and have greater opportunities to educate and inform the customer, not just with shiny whitepapers and marketing newsletters, but by bringing them into the discussion and process of product and content co-creation. Nine pieces of advice that everyone should consider before starting a social media campaign 1. Choose wisely Considering the fact that there are hundreds of applications that you could use, you should select the ones that really interest you carefully. Choosing the right medium for every purpose is elementary in order for the message to be communicated correctly. 2. Do it your way If the services available on the market do not satisfy your needs, make your own application. Japans Fujilm, for example, recently launched its own social network to build a community of photo enthusiasts. 3. Ensure activity alignment - Sometimes you may decide to rely on various Social Media, or a set of different applications within the same group, in order to have the largest possible reach. In this case, it is crucial to ensure that your Social Media activities are all aligned with each other. But remember: one goal of communication is the resolution of ambiguity and reduction of uncertainty, and nothing is more confusing than contradicting messages across different channels. 4. Media plan integration Integration is really important for your companys image. Consider the actions of soft drink giant Coca-Cola. In June 2006, a pair of performance artists shot a video featuring a series of geysers they created by dropping Mentos brand mints into 2-liter bottles of Coke; the clip became a major hit on YouTube. Realizing customers enthusiasm for this performance,

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Coca-Cola fostered the sensation by airing the video on late-night television and ensuring broad digital distribution across different content communities. Equal access - Although this might sound elementary, once the rm has decided to utilize Social Media applications, it is worth checking that all employees may actually access them. it is important to highlight that every employee needs to identify himself or herself as such when posting a comment on the corporate blog. Otherwise, end-consumers could get the impression that anonymous accounts are used to enable employees to post fake messages and overly-positive feedback, which could severely damage the credibility of your whole Social Media campaign. Be active If you want to develop a relationship with a client over the Internet, discuss your companys values, projects, and corporate strategy. Be interesting If you want to engage in a meaningful discussion with your customers, you have to find out what they like to hear and how they like it to be transmitted. Be as creative as you can when developing ways of communicating. Dont be afraid to be unprofessional Bill Marriott, Chairman and CEO of the Marriott International Hotel chain, uses his blog, for example, to post regular updates and stories from his travels to Marriott properties around the world very much in the same way as would a work colleague when describing her last vacation. Social Media users are people like you, who understand that things do not always go smoothly. And, if youre nice to them, they may even give you free advice on how to do it better the next time. Honesty Fair play is everything. Do not try to undermine the competition and never expect that other participants may not nd out who stands behind some anonymous user account; after all, youre dealing with some of the most technologically sophisticated people on the planet

Fig. 1 Top 20 companies with best overall social media activity. The score is based on the average number of friends or connections across major social networks and average number of tweets and user following.

Conclusion In an era when every sunrise brings impressive innovation in technology, a company that seeks a quality relationship with its customers has to take into consideration the importance of being always present and active in the online media. The generation X, that will soon have the most purchasing power, does not respond to traditional advertising; it responds to recommendations from friends or from people who they trust, authentic experiences and direct contact with the organization. In order to succeed in todays world, you have to transform your client into a partner, who can give you advice, complain and congratulate you in real time. And the Internet, through Social Media, is the perfect medium for that. An adaptive and creative way of thinking is essential to a successful relationship. The possibilities are unlimited, you just have to be with one step ahead and you will experience customer loyalty like never before.

References: Sheehan, B. (2010). Online Marketing. UK: Ava Publishing Kaplan, A and Haenlein, M (2009). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media. www.iranmanagers.net Bosker, B. (2010). Companies Social Media Savvy: Top 50 Most Social Firms, www.huffingtonpost.com