Consumer opinions towards online marketing communication and advertising on social networks

• Author: Gheorghe Orzan - Otilia-Elena Platon
• Position: Professor, Ph.D, Faculty of Marketing, The Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest - Teaching Assistant, Ph.D.candidate, Faculty of Economic Sciences, ?Nicolae Titulescu' University, Bucharest
• Pages: 236-244

236 Lex ET Scientia. Economics Series

LESIJ NO. XIX, VOL. 2/2012

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CONSUMER OPINIONS TOWARDS ONLINE MARKETING

COMMUNICATION AND ADVERTISING ON SOCIAL NETWORKS

Gheorghe ORZAN∗

Otilia-Elena PLATON

Abstract

On the Internet, a medium that has already proven its effectiveness in marketing activities,

changes take place with astonishing speed. The recent explosion of social networking applications

and their number of users has captured the marketers’ attention. Companies have started to rethink

their relationships with consumers and adapt to the new online world. In this virtual world of social

networks the public is the key element. Consumers perceive the social network as a personal space

where they control the content. They decide on their own what they want to see and share with

others. Thus, in order to manage marketing communications effectively, marketers must know the

consumers’ opinions towards their presence in social networks.

Keywords: online marketing, online advertising, social networks, Social Media, marketing

research

Introduction

Knowing that, currently, social networks, blogs, forums and sharing sites are the main centers

of interest for Internet users, marketers have started to rethink their online communication strategies

and adjust to the new trend. Many companies are realizing that having a website and making it

visible and easy to find through search engines (SEO) is simply not enough anymore. Nowadays it is

vital that their online presence includes a Social Media component on sites like Facebook, Google+,

Hi5, MySpace or Twitter.

The specialists’ opinion, expressed by the American research firm MarketingSherpa, is that

“Social Media moved from the notion of novelty to the one of necessity, and it should be perceived as

an integrated element of the business communication strategy.”1

Analyzing the maturing of this field, MarketingSherpa also noticed that most marketers, who

use Social Media tools, relied themselves more on intuition and did not ou tline a precise plan to

conduct and measure the success of their campaigns. Thus, the effectiveness of the online marketing

activities was usually affected.

This situation may be the consequence of the fact that, in general, co mmercial messages

posted on social networks belong to less known brands or companies, with little experience in

promoting their products/services. Another explanation may be the fact that many companies didn’t

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∗ Professor, Ph.D, Faculty of Marketing, The Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest (email:

orzang@ase.ro).

∗∗ Teaching Assistant, Ph.D.candidate, Faculty of Economic Sciences, „Nicolae Titulescu” University,

Bucharest (email: otiliapl@yahoo.com).

1 Sergio Balegno, Social Marketing ROAD Map Handbook: A method for mapping an effective social media

strategy, (Warren, Rhode Island: MarketingSherpa LLC, 2010),

http:// www.marketingsherpa.com/heap/SocialMediaHandbookExcerpt.pdf