The Seven Stages of the Digital Marketing Cycle

The theme of this book is digital marketing. We now live in the digital age – indeed, there are more than 3 billion people connected to the internet. For every 100 people on the planet, there are 96 mobile telephone subscriptions. And more and more of our everyday objects –cuddly toys, cars, even kettles – have created an “internet of things.” It is no surprise, therefore, that companies are eager to harness this digital world. Marketers, in particular, hope that so-called digital marketing will allow them to gain new customer insights, refine customer segmentation, and communicate to customers more efficiently and effectively. They anticipate that the digital age will offer possibilities for new product innovation, advanced methods for engaging customers and original vehicles for creating brand communities. Despite the pervasiveness of digital technologies, however, digital marketing is seemingly still in its infancy. To begin, what exactly is digital marketing? The term is commonly used, but its meaning – its scope, outline, boundary and limits – is far from concise. This book explores the realities of digital marketing, with contributions from both academics and practitioners who are experts in the field

The QuakeAware Business Plan

This business plan details the operating, marketing, financial, competitive, and technological landscapes of QuakeAware. QuakeAware is a website and iPhone / Android mobile phone application that helps citizens prepare for and react to a local earthquake. Presently, QuakeAware faces the challenges of becoming a sustainable enterprise and selecting the optimal strategic direction and operating mode for its future growth. This business plan identifies and assesses the options available to QuakeAware and outlines the recommended next steps. A strategic analysis and a business framework will bolster our plan to source grant funds. This will allow us to hire a full time employee to further QuakeAware‘s goal of providing community earthquake safety in selected earthquake-prone regions around the world. To achieve these goals, QuakeAware will need to register itself as a \u27Not for profit\u27 organization, develop grant funding and earned income streams, maintain a key relationship with a government partner, and transition toward a volunteer-driven organization

Corporate Blogging in the Technology Industry

Corporations are now exploring the value of blogs as a marketing tool. This thesis investigates how corporate bloggers in the technology industry are using this new technique to communicate with customers. One blogger from each of the following companies: Cisco, IBM, HP, Microsoft, Sun, Adobe, Accenture, Red Hat, Oracle, and BEA, was interviewed through a series of on-line interviews. Using a basis of two-way communication theory, the interviews explored whether there is an effective blogging model technology companies can use and if blogs are a viable marketing tool for technology companies. Results demonstrate that blogs are a viable tool in the marketing mix, but this study was inconclusive in providing a model for other technology companies to adopt

Examining good practices in digital content marketing: a study on Portuguese hotel blogs

Este estudo examina o uso do marketing de conteúdo digital por parte de hotéis portugueses nos seus blogues. São analisadas boas práticas que a literatura aponta que devem ser utilizadas em blogues para que estes sejam bem-sucedidos na relação com o utilizador. Estas boas práticas sustentam-se no uso de aspetos específicos que beneficiam a gestão do blogue. O estudo oferece uma visão do nível da adoção dessas boas práticas/aspetos por parte de 22 hotéis analisados. O estudo é motivado pela escassez de informação existente sobre hotelaria portuguesa e o uso que esta faz do marketing de conteúdo digital nos seus blogues. Foram encontrados estudos que evidenciam a importância do marketing de conteúdo digital e a sua estreita ligação aos blogues noutras áreas, mas verifica-se uma lacuna na investigação deste tópico aplicado à hotelaria. Desta forma, este estudo centra-se em analisar como o marketing de conteúdo digital é utilizado nos blogues de hotéis portugueses. Os dados foram recolhidos através de um website gerido pelo Turismo de Portugal, no qual foi possível extrair-se uma lista de hotéis de 4 e 5 estrelas. Desta forma, foram identificados 198 websites de hotéis de 5 estrelas e 795 websites de hotéis de 4 estrelas, de forma a registar todos os hotéis que incorporavam blogues nos seus sites. Após esta fase preliminar, foi reunida uma amostra de 22 hotéis com blogues, nos quais se analisou seis dos seus mais recentes artigos/posts. Para o efeito, foi realizada uma análise de conteúdo dos mesmos, com uma aplicação quantitativa. Foram reunidas e analisadas 11 categorias principais e em alguns casos subcategorias, nomeadamente 1) “conteúdo educativo” (webinars, infográficos e e-books), 2) “credibilidade” (nome do autor), 3) “utilidade” (viagens/férias, dicas, lugares a visitar, relacionado ao negócio), 4) “relevância” (categorias), 5) “consistência”, 6) “atual”, 7) “cativante” (podcasts, vídeos, áudio, animações e imagens), 8) “comentários”, 9) “dimensão do texto”, 10) “botões de partilha” e 11) “artigos sugeridos”. A análise permitiu verificar que existe uma escassez de hotéis de 4 e 5 estrelas em Portugal com blogue no seu website, de acordo com os critérios usados no presente estudo. Além disso, algumas das categorias analisadas, como “conteúdo educacional” e suas subcategorias, nomeadamente webinars, infográficos e e-books, não estão a ser utilizados pelos blogues dos hotéis analisados. Ademais, na categoria analisada onde se tenta perceber se o conteúdo é “cativante” (engaging), relativamente às suas subcategorias, nomeadamente podcasts, vídeos, áudio, animações e imagens, concluiu-se que esta última subcategoria (imagens) é a mais adotada pela grande maioria dos hotéis nos posts dos seus blogues. Verificou-se que dos 22 hotéis, 21 (95%) utilizam imagens nos seus blogues. O uso das outras subcategorias é quase residual. Embora a literatura aponte como importante exibir o nome do autor do post/artigo no final do mesmo como forma de dar mais credibilidade, apenas 4 blogues (18%) incluem esta característica. Relativamente à atenção dada ao grau de “utilidade” (value) dos posts para os utilizadores, verificou-se que apenas 2 dos blogues analisados (9%) fazem melhor uso desta característica de forma consistente. Cerca de 41% recorrem a esta boa prática mas não de forma consistente. Com respeito à característica que indica que o blogue deve dar a possibilidade ao utilizador de escolher entre diferentes categorias (relevância), verificou-se que apenas 7 hotéis (32%) fazem uso desta opção. Verificou-se também que é importante que os blogues façam uma partilha regular de posts/artigos. Nesta categoria foi verificada a sua consistência ao longo do tempo. Os resultados apontam que 7 blogues (32%) partilham posts de forma consistente. Analisou-se se os blogues partilham posts que sejam atuais e que estejam ligados a eventos recentes. Verificou-se que 16 blogues (73%) partilharam posts que aplicam esta boa prática de marketing de conteúdo digital. Relativamente à característica que se refere à possibilidade de os utilizadores deixarem comentários nos posts, constatou-se que apenas 2 blogues (9%) permitem que o utilizador deixe comentários, o que não é consistente com a ideia de interatividade esperada ao nível do marketing de conteúdos digitais aplicado aos blogues. Com respeito à dimensão do texto dos posts, a literatura enfatiza a recomendação de que estes devem ter um mínimo de extensão de 500 palavras. Nesta característica, “dimensão do texto”, verificou-se que apenas 2 blogues (9%) são consistentes em todos os posts analisados. Embora alguns blogues partilhem artigos que respeitam este número de palavras, estes não são consistentes em todos os posts analisados Analisou-se se os blogues dos hotéis incorporavam um botão (share button) diretamente nos posts que permitisse a que os utilizadores pudessem partilhar o post nas suas redes sociais. Aqui analisaram-se 3 redes sociais diferentes, nomeadamente Facebook, LinkedIn e Twitter, assim como a possibilidade de partilha via email. Constatou-se que 9 blogues (41%) permitem partilhar artigos diretamente no Facebook, seguido pelo Twitter, com 8 blogs (36%), LinkedIn com 6 blogs (27%) e e-mail com 5 blogs (23%). Os resultados indicam também se os blogues fazem a sugestão de leitura de outros posts relacionado no próprio post que o utilizador leia. Desta forma, observou-se que 16 blogues (73%) aplicam esta boa prática. Este estudo revelou que as boas práticas analisadas são importantes para que os hotéis possam otimizar os seus blogues a nível da estratégia de comunicação digital, por conseguinte, tornar a sua relação com os utilizadores mais próxima. Do que foi analisado, constata-se que nenhum blogue reúne todas as categorias e subcategorias examinadas. No entanto, existem pelo menos 2 hotéis que sobressaem em comparação com os demais, como aplicando o maior número de boas práticas de marketing de conteúdos digitais em blogues. De uma forma geral, a maioria dos blogues não segue as práticas recomendadas na literatura de forma consistente, não estando, dessa forma, a usufruir de todos os benefícios de uma estratégia de comunicação digital por via desta ferramenta. Este estudo contribui para a literatura de marketing de conteúdo digital com aplicação em blogues de hotéis. Preenche uma lacuna existente ao nível do conhecimento, investigando de forma exaustiva o uso do marketing de conteúdo digital no uso de blogues que geridos por hotéis de 4 e 5 estrelas em Portugal. A metodologia usada pode ser usada no futuro no âmbito de outras tipologias de alojamento. Além disso, esta investigação enfatiza para a importância do uso de blogues de forma consistente e estruturada. Recomendações de marketing são oferecidas com o foco na gestão de marketing de hotéis com recurso a blogues.The main objective of this study is to examine if companies such as hotels follow the best practices recommended in digital content marketing (DCM) literature in relation to their blogs. More specifically, it is intended to analyze if the content shared by Portuguese hotels on their blogs adhere to the elements that literature highlights as important for developing engagement with the audience. In so doing, 22 hotel blogs were compared by highlighting the ones that follow the best practices and the reverse situation. This study is motivated by the scarcity of existing research on Portuguese hotels and their use of digital content marketing on their blogs. A content analysis approach using 11 categories (characteristics identified in literature) revealed that the good practices analyzed are important so that hotels optimize their blogs and, therefore, improve their relationship with users. The findings show that no blog brings together all the good practices examined. Of all the hotels studied, 2 hotel blogs stand out in comparison to the others by implementing the characteristics that literature points out as relevant in a good digital communication strategy via blogs. In general, the majority of blogs do not follow the practices recommended in literature in a consistent way, and therefore are not optimizing their blogs as a communication tool. This study contributes significantly to the digital content marketing literature with application on hotel blogs. It fills an existing research gap, by examining the use of digital content marketing via blogs in a hospitality context, with a focus on 4 and 5 star hotels. As a result, this research offers marketing recommendations addressed to hotels, considering the use of DCM with regards to blogs

The impacts of social media on leadership and organizational change in the U.S. Coast Guard : a first look

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2009.Statement of responsibility reads: by CDR James A. Passarelli, USCG.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 140-143).The U.S. Coast Guard faces a period of radical organizational change (known as "Modernization") in a time of asymmetrical threats to the U.S. and uncertain budget climates. In this time of uncertainty, a wave of New Media or Social Media (NSM) like blogs, social networking sites, file sharing and virtual worlds is sweeping the globe, connecting and networking people as never before. This thesis explores the impacts of New or Social Media on the U.S Coast Guard through two lenses: leadership and organizational change. There are three main themes to the thesis. First, I will present the reader with an introduction to New or Social Media along with a snapshot of the Coast Guard and its state of organizational change. Then, I will describe potential opportunities and challenges of NSM for the Coast Guard and strategies for leaders to engage in the medium. Lastly, I provide recommendations for NSM policies and actions for the Coast Guard going forward.James A. Passarelli.M.B.A

A treatise on Web 2.0 with a case study from the financial markets

There has been much hype in vocational and academic circles surrounding the emergence of web 2.0 or social media; however, relatively little work was dedicated to substantiating the actual concept of web 2.0. Many have dismissed it as not deserving of this new title, since the term web 2.0 assumes a certain interpretation of web history, including enough progress in certain direction to trigger a succession [i.e. web 1.0 → web 2.0]. Others provided arguments in support of this development, and there has been a considerable amount of enthusiasm in the literature. Much research has been busy evaluating current use of web 2.0, and analysis of the user generated content, but an objective and thorough assessment of what web 2.0 really stands for has been to a large extent overlooked. More recently the idea of collective intelligence facilitated via web 2.0, and its potential applications have raised interest with researchers, yet a more unified approach and work in the area of collective intelligence is needed. This thesis identifies and critically evaluates a wider context for the web 2.0 environment, and what caused it to emerge; providing a rich literature review on the topic, a review of existing taxonomies, a quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the concept itself, an investigation of the collective intelligence potential that emerges from application usage. Finally, a framework for harnessing collective intelligence in a more systematic manner is proposed. In addition to the presented results, novel methodologies are also introduced throughout this work. In order to provide interesting insight but also to illustrate analysis, a case study of the recent financial crisis is considered. Some interesting results relating to the crisis are revealed within user generated content data, and relevant issues are discussed where appropriate

The HANCI Donor Index 2012: Measuring Donors' Political Commitment to Reduce Hunger and Undernutrition in Developing Countries

Following a first phase of research that focused on developing countries, this second phase of the Hunger and Nutrition Commitment Index (HANCI) scrutinises donor government commitment to reducing hunger and undernutrition in developing countries. The HANCI Donor Index uniquely compares 23 donor countries for their relative performance in key areas contributing to hunger and undernutrition reduction. It uses 14 commitment indicators assessing donor spending and policy choices relating to agriculture, food security, nutrition, social protection, gender equity, climate change, and trade. The HANCI is calculated using secondary (government-owned) data. The report further presents findings from primary research in four donor countries: Germany, Ireland, the UK and the Netherlands.2DFID, IRISH AI

D i g i t a l i z a t i o n a n d N e w B u y e r B e h a v i o r i s C h a n g i n g B 2 B R e l a t i o n s h i p M a r k e t i n g

Problem definition: The increasingly informed customer will lead to an even greater demand for expertise and knowledge of marketers. Firms need to find new ways to utilize the informed customer as a co-creator of value by more proficiently analyzing behavior, both online and offline. An uncertainty lies in to which extent the operational standards of KIBS firms translate to their marketing and sales efforts, or to what degree they are using potential customers to help shape their value propositions. The research question that has been identified is how the relationships seen in knowledgeintensive B2B marketing are affected by the digitalization of society and the change in buyer behavior that is a result of these societal changes. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis will be to identify the effects of digitalization and changing buyer behavior on relationships seen across marketing and sales of knowledge-intensive services in a B2B context. This will lead to a recommendation for the case company’s future direction of its marketing and sales functions. Methodology: The research approach of this master’s thesis has been a combination of a descriptive and !! ! IV! Digitalization and New Buyer Behavior is Changing B2B Relationship Marketing Tobias Olsson Emil Uhlin an explorative study. The descriptive approach intends to describe the overall areas of the problem formulation, while the explorative approach aims to collect as much information as possible regarding these areas. The goal of research has been to put more weight on the explorative approach. The research is approached as a case study focusing on a company that is both B2B and in a sector that includes many interesting angles of the problem. Case company: The choice of Company X as case company for this thesis was rooted in three overall observations. First off, the area of digital marketing is currently seeing increased urgency in B2B. The sector of IT and business consultancy is also interesting. The companies in this sector often have many different ways of working within the same company. The choice of a B2B company is motivated by the fact that the new wave of digital marketing has seen greater advancements in B2C. B2B is historically stronger in much of the relationship marketing basics, like close network relationships. The digital advancements in B2B deviate from those in B2C, and are probably not as standardized. Lastly, an interesting aspect of Company X is that it offers business units on opposite sides of the spectrum in regards to overall digital advancements. Conclusions: Information really is the common denominator for everything that pertains to the power balance of supplier and customer. The authors believe that the presented framework provides a good intersection of assessing relational strength in B2B, the ability to grade strengths and weaknesses as well as opportunities and threats in digitalization, and lastly the level of current buyer insight. The models are secondary and may be modified, but the choice to observe relationships, digitalization and more in-depth buyer behavior should provide a holistic view for similar studies

The subfield of online journalism: a study of the legitimizing practices of online news organizations

Traditional news organizations exist within an apparatus of accountability, held together by their reputation and the professionalization of the occupation of journalism. Legitimacy in journalism has solidified over time; but with the emergence of online media, traditional journalistic standards have been challenged as online news organizations attempt to establish a new standard. This study explores the changing nature of journalism as a space of contested power relations and networked communities, focusing specifically on how online news organizations, born digitally, become legitimate. Based on close to 200 hours of interviews conducted over a period of six months at prominent online news organizations in the United States, this dissertation seeks to identify the manner in which online news organizations, specifically $\textit{Breitbart.com, The Drudge Report, and The Huffington Post}$, gain legitimacy in the subfield of online journalism. There exists a unique structured space internal to the subfield of online journalism – a subfield of practices and power relations – with online organizations accumulating varying degrees of social capital in order to legitimize their role within this evolving ecology. In relying on Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of the field, Mark Suchman’s work on organizational legitimacy, and Anand Narasimhan and Mary Watson’s work on field formation, this study outlines the conditions under which certain online news organizations can participate and gain legitimacy in this emerging subfield. I argue that three characteristics determine whether an online news organization can be considered legitimate; in analyzing these characteristics, I demonstrate how they help to create legitimacy in specific cases. If media scholars are to understand how online news organizations have emerged in recent years and become a key source for information, an interrogation of this unique space, in all of its complexities, is essential