New Media, New Influencers and Implications for Public Relations

Marketers and public relations professionals today are confronted with an astounding array of new communications channels. Internet-based social media tools like blogs, podcasts, online video and social networks are giving voice to the opinions of millions of consumers. While mainstream media continues to play a vital role in the dissemination of information, even these traditional channels are increasingly being influenced by online conversations. The "new influencers" are beginning to tear at the fabric of marketing as it has existed for 100 years, giving rise to a new style of marketing that is characterized by conversation and community. Marketers are responding to these forces with a mixture of excitement, fear and fascination. They're alarmed at the prospect of ceding control of their messages to a community of unknowns. Yet at the same time they're excited about the prospect of leveraging theese same tools to speak directly to their constituents without the involvement of media intermediaries.The Society for New Communications Research set out to conduct an examination of how influence patterns are changing and how communications professionals are addressing those changes by adopting social media. The goals were to discover how organizations:Define new influencers;Communicate and create relationships with them;Use social media to create influence; andMeasure the effects of these efforts.Another goal of the study was to use these discoveries to offer a set of recommendations to professional communicators

Blogs as a new tool of the communication mix

This study is framed within the marketing field, specifically in the communication field. As the title indicates, “blogs as a new tool of the communication mix”, the project is related specifically to communication in blogs and its main objective is to study blogs as a new tool of the communication mix. In this study, several concepts are discussed, such as communication, social networks and blog advertising. Additionally, a framework is made about the status of the Internet in the world and in Portugal, the evolution and growing impact of blogs and the relationship between brands and blogs. This research has as main objectives to understand how blogs are presented in the communication mix of companies, what the whole dynamics of communication in blogs includes and also the perceptions of the three groups of stakeholders (consumers, brands and bloggers) regarding blogs as a new communication tool. With the realization of this project, it was possible to conclude that almost all the consumers studied visit blogs and one of the main reasons for it is to obtain information on products and/or brands. In addition, it was concluded that, for both bloggers and brands studied, communication in blogs is a widespread practice and, specifically to the brands, it is a strategy that has proved to be quite advantageous. Finally, it was concluded that, for most of the brands studied, blogs are not presented as an independent variable in the communication mix but are, on the other hand, included in public relations and/or in advertising.Este estudo enquadra-se na área de marketing, especificamente na área de comunicação. O tema prende-se concretamente com a comunicação nos blogs e o seu principal objetivo consiste em estudar os blogs enquanto nova ferramenta do mix de comunicação. Neste estudo, são abordados conceitos como comunicação, redes sociais e publicidade em blogs. Adicionalmente, é feito um enquadramento do estado da Internet no mundo e em Portugal, da evolução e impacto crescente dos blogs e da relação entre as marcas e os blogs. Esta investigação tem como principais objetivos perceber de que forma é que os blogs são introduzidos no mix de comunicação das empresas, o que envolve toda a dinâmica da comunicação em blogs e também as perceções dos três grupos de intervenientes (consumidores, marcas e bloggers) quanto aos blogs enquanto nova ferramenta de comunicação. Com a realização deste projeto, foi possível concluir que a quase totalidade dos consumidores estudados visita blogs e que uma das principais motivações para tal é a obtenção de informação sobre produtos e/ou marcas. Adicionalmente, concluiu-se que, tanto para os bloggers como para as marcas estudadas, a comunicação em blogs é uma prática recorrente e, especificamente para as marcas, é uma aposta que se tem mostrado bastante vantajosa. Por fim, foi possível concluir que, na maioria das marcas estudadas, os blogs não constam como uma variável independente no mix da comunicação mas estão, por outro lado, incluídos em relações públicas e/ou em publicidade

Digital Content Marketing in the Business-to-Business Context : A Case Study on Marketing Communications Agencies

Marketing has changed because of digitalization. Marketing is moving towards digital channels and more companies are transitioning from “pushing” advertising messages to “pull” marketing, that attracts audience with the content that interests and benefits the audience. This kind of marketing is called content marketing or “inbound” marketing. This study focuses on how marketing communications agencies utilize digital content marketing and what are the best practices with the selected digital content marketing channels. In this study, those channels include blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. The qualitative research method was utilized in order to examine the phenomenon of digital content marketing in-depth. The chosen data collecting method was semi-structured interviewing. A total of seven marketing communications agencies, who currently utilize digital content marketing, were selected as case companies and interviewed. All the case companies are from the marketing communications industry because that industry can be assumed to be well adapted to digital content marketing techniques. There is a research gap about digital content marketing in the B2B context, which increases the novelty value of this research. The study examines what is digital content marketing, why B2B companies use digital content marketing, and how should digital content marketing be conducted through blogs and social media. The informants perceived digital marketing to be a fundamental part of their all marketing. They conduct digital content marketing for the following reasons: to increase sales, to improve their brand image and to demonstrate their own skills. Concrete results of digital content marketing for the case companies include sales leads, new clients, better brand image, and that recruiting is easier. The most important success factors with blogs and social media are the following: 1) Audience-centric thinking. All content planning should start from figuring out which themes interests the target audience. Social media channel choices should be based on where the target audience can be reached. 2) Companies should not talk only about themselves. Instead, content is made about themes that interests the target audience. On social media channels, only a fragment of all shared content is about the company. Rather, most of the shared content is industry-specific content that helps the potential client

This post is sponsored but all opinions are my own: does fashion blogging offer an authentic voice? An investigation into the credibility of fashion blogger sponsored content and blogger perspectives on the tensions between authenticity and commercialisation.

This study investigates the impact of commercial sponsorship upon fashion blogging, a form of digital communication that has become important in influencing online consumer behaviour. Fashion companies appreciate the marketing value of blogs and have utilised them to their own advantage. As a result, the fashion blogosphere has become increasingly commercialised. Existing research into changes in fashion blogging has generally focused upon the attitudes and perspectives of blog readers. Relatively little research investigates the attitude of fashion bloggers themselves. This thesis therefore specifically examines the attitudes of UK fashion bloggers as regards the impact of commercial sponsorship upon their practice and on the credibility and authenticity of their blog output. This study takes an interpretative, qualitative research approach with a combination of an online questionnaire and in-depth interviews. It focuses upon over 300 fashion bloggers divided into three distinct groups: young and old active bloggers and significantly a third group of bloggers who have discontinued the activity. A review of existing literature identified a number of key areas for exploration: the effect of sponsorship upon blogger motivation, design and content of blog output, the pressures upon bloggers resulting from accepting sponsorship rewards, blogger perception of the impact that commercialisation may have had upon their practice values, the potential effect of sponsorship upon their relationship with readers, their views on the changing status of the fashion blogosphere and their role as fashion bloggers. The findings offer a number of new perspectives upon the evolving fashion-blog sector, especially with reference to the following themes: the personal pressures felt by some fashion bloggers as a consequence of their involvement with commercial partnerships and the negative impact that this can have upon their mental health; the increased discrepancy between the ways in which fashion bloggers talk about their practice and the reality of their actual online behaviour as regards disclosure of sponsored material, self-censorship and reluctance to be critical; the increased priority that many fashion bloggers now place upon commercial opportunities rather than their relationship with readers. This research is of significance as it has explored the tensions affecting fashion blogger attitudes and practice from their own point of view. It has specifically analysed the general decline of social community in the fashion blogosphere and the impact that this has had upon the authenticity and credibility of the fashion blogger voice

Business or fun? : similarities and differences between Portuguese and International wine bloggers

The worldwide emergence of blogs has presented marketers with a new communication channel. Despite the increasing growth of wine blogs little is understood about the practices and motivations of wine bloggers. This exploratory study investigates the similarities and differences of profile, uses and motivations between Portuguese and international wine bloggers. The results show significant differences in rating (rating versus non-rating) and wine samples (acceptance or not). Marginally differences were found in the blogging activity age and motivations. Similarities were found in the frequency of posts, adoption of advertising, statistical tools to measure blog traffic and licence content of the blogFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)COMPETEQRENFEDE

“I exploit my children for millions and millions of dollars on my mommyblog” How Heather B. Armstrong’s personal blog became a successful business

This study interrogates strategies to convert a personal blog into a brand and a business by analysing the narrative and aesthetic techniques involved in generating audience engagement, trust and affection, and the branding and monetisation approaches involved in developing a blog into a revenue-generating enterprise. The strategies presented in this study have been extrapolated from an in-depth analysis of the extremely successful personal blog: www.dooce.com, the website of Heather B. Armstrong. The research questions this study aims to address are grounded in distinct fields of enquiry, examining the narrative and aesthetic features underpinning the conversion of a personal blog into a brand; the representation of the everyday and its role in the construction of the blogger avatar as a human brand; the interplay between writing motivations and brand core values; and the influence that stereotypes about stay-at-home mothers, pregnancy and motherhood exert on the brand creation process of a female author. The interdisciplinary nature of this study is mirrored in its multi-faceted analytical approach which draws on theories pertaining to diverse fields of enquiry such as narratology, aesthetics, digital media, marketing communications and branding. The study aims to present strategies to construct a personal brand in the context of co-created online forums, with an emphasis on attaining authenticity, followership and audience loyalty through careful framing and strategic use of second person narration, and aesthetic categories such as zany, cute, interesting and abject. The study transposes a narrative approach to branding and online marketing studies with the aim of proposing a model of personal branding whereby blogger identity is simultaneously the product of authorial control and consumer-driven cultural work, with the blogger negotiating her personal brand in relation to personal values, everyday life circumstances, commercial pressures and audience feedback. The key propositions of this study are, firstly, that the use of second person narration as interpellation into active readerhood and of the cute, interesting, zany and abject as aesthetic categories that create novel reading experiences can generate high audience engagement, the abject being also directly related to fostering trust and authenticity. Secondly, bloggers can become human brands by strategically exhibiting and then reinforcing personality traits related to sophistication, competence, sincerity, excitement, ruggedness and non-conformism. Thirdly, consistency in writing style and self-disclosure can foster audience attachment and trust in the integrity and authenticity of the human brand. Fourthly, consumer attachment can be strategically cultivated through audience autonomy, competence and relatedness to the human brand and the development of an online brand community

Factors Influencing Cosmetics Purchase Intention in Thailand: A Study on the Relationship of Credibility and Reputation with in Persuasive Capabilities of Beauty Bloggers.

The purpose of this study is to examine the factors affecting beauty bloggers’ credibility and how credibility itself influences cosmetic purchase intentions of Thai people. As identified by Ohanian (1990), three variables impacting one’s decision-making process (trustworthiness, expertise and attractiveness) are considered along with two additional variables determined by this researcher through focus group interviews to fit with and complement them. These are reputation and persuasive capabilities. Demographic factors of the respondents (age, gender, etc) were investigated as part as understanding differences, if any, in the cosmetic purchase intentions of Thai people. The Pearson Correlation analysis indicates that all independent variables have a positive relationship with purchase intention. Moreover, the results from the one-way ANOVA analysis show that the demographic factors variously affect the purchase intention of cosmetics of respondents

Examining the Role of Bloggers in the Fashion Industry: A Public Relations Strategy for New Designers

In our modern digital society, news consumption has evolved to reflect an increased reliance upon immediate and mass-distributed forms of communication channels. Social media, whether in the form of a personal profile, photo or blogroll, is consistently turned to by most audiences for updates in any market. Specifically within the fashion industry, high-end designers and reputable brands are turning to social media channels to not only inform, but increase, their consumer base through brand exposure. Newly emerging as this visual industry’s most trusted influencers, fashion bloggers provide for a means for designers to not only show, but inform, a larger, global audience of their brand and their products. In applying expert opinion to guide this study, the Social Media Impact theory states that professionals must “position themselves to benefit from fundamental changes that are occurring in the ways people decide on which products and services to consume, and how they actually consume them” (Mir & Zaheer, 2012). Fashion bloggers have become trusted sources of new and emerging trends and products for fashion audiences to rely upon for inspiration and consumption. Because of what Grunig and Grunig refer to as “two-way communication,” a blog’s audience is encouraged to incorporate communication to not only lead to their own purchasing behavior, but also inspire all individuals who follow said blog (Dozier, Grunig & Grunig, 1995). With fashion bloggers’ increasing influence and followings within the industry, this study reveals how supportive relationships, supplemented with public product reviews and other public relations strategies, can grant the exposure necessary for designers, specifically new designers, to be successful in the industry

Digital Food Marketing to Children and Adolescents: Problematic Practices and Policy Interventions

Examines trends in digital marketing to youth that uses "immersive" techniques, social media, behavioral profiling, location targeting and mobile marketing, and neuroscience methods. Recommends principles for regulating inappropriate advertising to youth

The Web 2.0 as Marketing Tool: Opportunities for SMEs

The new generation of Internet applications widely known as Social Media or Web 2.0 offers corporations a whole range of opportunities for improving their marketing efficiency and internal operations. Web 2.0 applications have already become part of the daily life of an increasing number of consumers who regard them as prime channels of communication, information exchange, sharing of expertise, dissemination of individual creativity and entertainment. Web logs, podcasts, online forums and social networks are rapidly becoming major sources of customer information and influence while the effectiveness of traditional mass media is rapidly decreasing. Using the social media as a marketing tool is an issue attracting increasing attention. The hitherto experience is that large public corporations are more likely to make use of such instruments as part of their marketing and internal operations (McKinsey, 2007).The paper defines the Web 2.0 phenomenon and based on the experience of large corporations examines how SMEs could engage the various Web 2.0 instruments in order to efficiently market their products, improve customer relations, increase customer retention and enhance internal operations