research paper on effectiveness of digital marketing

Digital transformation and marketing: a systematic and thematic literature review

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Published: 15 March 2023
Volume 2023 , pages 207–288, ( 2023 )

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Marco Cioppi 1 ,
Ilaria Curina ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7702-7664 1 ,
Barbara Francioni 1 &
Elisabetta Savelli 2

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This article provides a systematic review of the extensive and fragmented literature focused on Digital Transformation (DT) and marketing by identifying the main themes and perspectives (i.e., employees, customers, and business processes) studied by previous research. By mapping the DT literature in the area of marketing, 117 articles, published between 2014 and 2020, have been identified. Through the adoption of a content analysis process, a multi-dimensional framework synthesizing the DT and marketing binomial has been provided. Results identify two thematical patterns: the macro-themes, related to the main digital technologies adopted within the marketing function, and the micro-themes, related to the effect/impact of these technologies on marketing processes and activities. Concerning the micro-themes, findings show how they have mainly studied from the customer and business processes’ perspectives, thus identifying an interesting research gap related to the analysis of the DT-marketing phenomenon from the employees’ standpoint. Based on these results, the paper derives a research agenda by also providing theoretical and managerial implications. Theoretically, it is the first systematic and thematic review focused on DT and marketing. In particular, it analyses this binomial from a broad and comprehensive perspective, thus offering a synergistic framework of the existing literature, which allows an inclusive vision and understanding about the phenomenon. At the managerial level, the paper could help organizations to enhance their awareness about marketing areas and processes that could better benefit from digitalization, thus driving the overall transition of firms towards DT.

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1 Introduction and background

Over the last decades, digital transformation (DT) has received growing attention in the business literature since it represents a prominent feature for organizations to be leaders of change and competitive in their domain (Kraus et al., 2022 ). At once, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the DT phenomenon has experienced an abrupt acceleration (Priyono et al., 2020 ), as firms and organizations are forced to redesign their strategies and operating models through a massive adoption of technologies in order to respond to the crisis-caused changes (Hai et al., 2021 ; Hanelt et al., 2021 ). Therefore, the necessity of analysing the DT topic has become ever more crucial in the last few years.

Conceptually, DT refers to all changes that digital technologies can bring in a firm’s business model, concerning products, processes, and organizational structures (Hess et al., 2016 ). Starting from this definition, it appears clear the pervasiveness of this phenomenon, which represents a real transition toward a new reality made of risks and challenges (Horvat and Szabo, 2019 ; Kraus et al., 2022 ; Vial, 2019 ). DT, indeed, can change every aspect of business, especially the marketing one (Caliskan et al., 2020 ).

Notably, the connection between DT and marketing has become ever more decisive in the last two years. The critical changes related to the COVID-19 crisis have particularly altered the firm and consumer relations, forcing companies to modify their marketing strategies through the massive exploitation of the digital technologies. In particular, marketing currently represents one of the main functions requiring to be adapted to the DT in order to protect firms’ competitiveness (Caliskan et al., 2020 ). By following this research stream, some authors have tried to synthetize the main impacts of DT on marketing practices (Shkurupskaya and Litovchenko, 2016 ; Sunday and Vera, 2018 ), including (i) The increasing spread of information and communication technology (ICT) in the marketing communication channels; (ii) The opportunity to adopt real-time communication with customers; (iii) The development of new relationships between producers and consumers; (iv) The increasing effectiveness of the marketing activities through the monitoring of real-time data. Meanwhile, other authors have specifically focused their attention on the main digital technologies able to offer significant benefits to the marketing function (Ardito et al., 2019 ; Cluley et al., 2019 ; Giannakis et al., 2019 ; Ungerman et al., 2018 ) by also categorizing them on the basis of the marketing mix (Caliskan et al., 2020 ).

Despite the DT-marketing topic has received growing attention, to date, no systematic review exists concerning the analysis of the DT phenomenon with specific application to the marketing processes and activities. Notably, several studies have tried to review the DT literature from very restricted research areas (Hanelt et al., 2021 ) different with respect to the broader one of marketing, such as B2B relationships (Hofacker et al., 2020 ), business model innovation (Favoretto et al., 2022 ; Li, 2020 ), accounting (Knudsen, 2020 ), multinational enterprises (George and Schillebeeckx, 2022 ), leadership (Carvalho et al., 2022 ; Henderikx and Stoffers, 2022 ), quality management (Dias et al., 2021 ; Thekkoote, 2022 ), production applications (D’Almeida et al., 2022 ), business management adaptability (Zhang et al., 2021 ), stakeholder management (Prebanić and Vukomanović, 2021 ), and sustainability (Gomez-Trujillo and Gonzalez-Perez, 2021 ). Faced with this context, some authors have tried to analyse and systematize the previous DT literature within broader research areas such as the business and management (Kraus et al., 2022 ) and the organizational change (Hanelt et al., 2021 ). However, despite these contributions, until now, no study has focused on reviewing the literature dedicated to the binomial DT-marketing.

Starting from these assumptions, the present study aims to provide a comprehensive review of the extant literature focused on DT in the marketing area by identifying the main themes and perspectives of analysis. More in detail, the paper addresses the following research questions: (i) What themes have been studied by previous research on DT in the field of marketing? (ii) What are the main perspectives adopted by the research on DT in the field of marketing?

To answer these research questions, the study has been organized in two phases: while in the first one the DT literature has been mapped by focusing on all studies addressing the digital transformation and marketing topics during the period 2014–2020, in the second phase a synergistic framework with the main macro and micro themes characterizing DT in the marketing area (concerning the digital technologies use and effects, respectively), along with the related analysed perspectives, has been provided.

By doing so, this study informs the academicians about the recent evolution of DT literature on marketing-related topics. Additionally, by proposing a synergistic framework of results, the paper provides a solid support for discussing and delineating future research directions. Finally, the main results of this review could help organizations to increase their awareness about marketing areas and processes that could better benefit from digitalization, thus driving the overall transition of firms towards DT.

The remainder of the paper is structured as follows. Section 2 presents the methodology and Sect. 3 outlines the descriptive and thematic results of the study. Section 4 provides theoretical and managerial implications and proposes future research directions based on the main gaps in existing literature. Finally, Sect. 5 concludes the study by also discussing the main limitations.

2 Methodology

This study adopts the systematic review method (Tranfield et al., 2003 ) to detect, classify, and interpret “all the available research relevant to a particular research question, or topic area or phenomenon of interest” (Kitchenham, 2004 ; p. 1). Structurally, the review process has been divided into three phases: (i) Data collection; (ii) Paper selection; (iii) Content analysis.

The identification of specific keywords and terms represents the first systematic review step (Tranfield et al., 2003 ). In our research, the following string has been adopted: [“Digital transformation” AND “marketing”], with the final aim of identifying all the contributions simultaneously focused on these two topics, regardless of the subject area (e.g., business, management, etc.) and research approach (e.g., qualitative vs . quantitative). The Scopus database has been employed as it represents the broader abstract and citation database of peer-review literature, and it also contains most of the publications from other databases (Guerrero et al., 2015 ).

All the proposed document typologies have been included in the analysis (i.e., articles, conference papers, conference reviews, literature reviews) by applying the above string on their title, abstract, and keywords (Table 1 ). As for the time frame, contributions published between 2014 and 2020 have been considered following the study of Vaska and Colleagues ( 2021 ), which reveals a growth in interest toward DT field, particularly from 2014.

A total number of 134 publications have been identified and further selected by considering only those studies effectively focused on the investigated topics. At the end of this process, 117 documents have been retained and subjected to content analysis to identify the main DT themes and perspectives in the marketing field (Fig. 1 ).

Main steps of the literature analysis

Notably, the content analysis allows the “systematic and theory-guided reduction of a large amount of text data from any type of communication down to its essence by classifying the material into unifying categories” (Hanelt et al., 2021 ; p. 1163). It is distinguished from other qualitative procedures, such as the thematic one, since it permits to build category systems in line with the research questions, thus providing both qualitative and quantitative insights (Mikelsone et al., 2019 ).

3 Results and discussion

In the following sub-paragraphs, the descriptive and thematic results of the literature review will be presented.

3.1 Descriptive results

Concerning the yearly research trend (Fig. 2 ), a growing interest in the digital transformation-marketing topic emerged during the time-period under review. Particularly, we went from only one contribution published in 2014 to three in 2017; starting from 2018, the attention increased with 13 published articles, while the most significant peaks have been reached between 2019 and 2020, characterized by the higher production of contributions (45 in 2019 and 50 in 2020).

Year distribution of contributions

Table 2 ranks the sources with the highest number of published contributions focused on the investigated topic. Ninety-three sources have published the 117 reviewed papers with the more relevant contribution from the Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing (3,4%), followed by Industrial Marketing Management (3,4%), and IOP Conferences series: Materials Science and Engineering (3,4%), Communications in Computer and Information Science (2,6%), and Journal of Physics (2,6%).

Additional sources with only one published contribution are shown in Table 3 . Notably, fifty-seven sources are Journals, eighteen are conference proceedings, and two sources are book series. Concerning the Journals, those from a domain especially related to the business management, society, technology innovation, economics, and engineering have shown interest toward this specific issue. With respect to the conference proceedings, the main fields of study concern the smart trends, technology innovation management, computer science, and information systems. Finally, regarding the book series, they are specifically focused on the information and communication and tourism research streams.

The source’s distribution is informant about the main future publication opportunities in the area of DT and marketing. Equally relevant is the result related to the contributions’ ranking per citation since it allows to figure out the widespread and dissemination of the analysed research stream. Table 4 shows the top-ten contributions in terms of citations. Notably, the more cited contributions are very recent (published between 2019 and 2020) and mainly focused on the following topics: technological innovations as enablers for firms’ digitalization strategies (Ballestar et al., 2019 ; Gil-Gomez et al., 2020 ; Hausberg et al., 2019 ; Peter et al., 2020 ; Sestino et al., 2020 ; Ulas, 2019 ; Yigitcanlar et al., 2020 ) and business sustainability (Sivarajah et al., 2020 ), and the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on consumers’ (Kim, 2020 ) and firms’ digital behaviours (Almeida et al., 2020 ).

Finally, concerning the adopted methodologies, 93 (79,5%) contributions are based on qualitative methods, while the remaining 24 (20,5%) are quantitative in nature.

3.2 Thematic results

By employing the content analysis, it has been possible to extract the main DT themes and perspectives in the marketing fields. As for the DT themes, two main clusters have been identified:

Macro-themes related to the use of digital technologies within the marketing function;

Micro-themes related to the effects emerging from the use of digital technologies on marketing processes and activities.

3.2.1 Macro-themes related to the use of digital technologies

The identification of the most investigated digital technologies analysed in the marketing domain by the reviewed contributions represents the first result deriving from the content analysis. Appendix 1 displays the list of technologies along with their main conceptualizations. As shown in Table 5 , the majority of contributions (67,1%) have focused their attention on the analysis of specific digital tools. In particular, the social media channels (social media marketing) represent the most examined technology (being investigated by 9,4% of the selected studies), followed by Big Data (8,7%), mobile marketing (i.e., mobile technology and smart apps) (8,1%), Internet of Things (6,7%), Artificial Intelligence (6,7%), and Industry 4.0 (6,7%). The remaining technologies (i.e., Machine learning; Online collaborative/support platforms/systems; Virtual/Augmented Reality; Websites/SEO; Cloud infrastructures; Chatbots; Drones/Smart robots; Security Protection systems; 3D print) have experienced a reduced interest by the extant literature (less than 6% of the identified contributions). Finally, a not negligible percentage of studies (32,9%) has analysed the topic of digitalization without investigating specific technologies. Rather, they broadly referred to the “digitalization phenomenon” as an overall macro-theme investing the marketing area.

The sum of the identified macro-themes ( n = 149) exceeds the number of papers analysed during the review process ( n = 117) since some papers have simultaneously examined more than one macro-theme.

3.2.2 Micro-themes related to the effects emerging from the use of digital technologies

The second result achieved by the content analysis concerns the main effects (i.e., micro-themes) deriving from the adoption and exploitation of the already identified digital technologies (Par. 3.2.1 ) on the marketing function. The most examined effects fall within the following areas: customer relationship management, customer connectivity, and customer centricity (12,3%), human resources (10,3%), digital metrics (8,8%), customer experience/journey (8,3%), business process efficiency (8,3%), MarTech (7,8%), market knowledge (7,4%), communication policy (5,9%), and customer behaviour (5,4%). The remaining effects (i.e., product policy, sales processes; production; buying/consumption processes; value co-creation; supply chain; branding; customer service; etc.) received less attention, being investigated by less than 5% of the identified contributions (Table 6 ).

The sum of the identified micro-themes ( n = 204) exceeds the number of papers analysed during the review process ( n = 117) since some papers have simultaneously examined more than one micro-theme.

The content analysis allowed as to go deep into the study of each micro-theme by revealing both a detailed list of specific sub-themes (Table 7 ) and the main perspectives of analysis adopted in the reviewed manuscripts (Table 8 ).

Specifically, three main perspectives emerged from our study, namely employees, customers, and business. While the employee perspective focuses on the human resources and their coexistence with new technologies, the customer one is mainly related to the digital opportunities offered on the consumer side, especially concerning the overall shopping journey. Finally, the process-focused perspective is primarily concerned with the influence of digital technologies on the different business practices and procedures.

3.2.3 Macro-themes, micro-themes, and analysed perspectives: a combined overview

In this section, the macro-themes, micro-themes, and analysed perspectives will be combined with the final aim of building a comprehensive overview (Table 9 ).

By focusing on the first macro-theme (i.e., social media channels), no studies have specifically examined it from the employee perspective, thus identifying an interesting research gap. Conversely, research widely underlined the key-role of these tools from the business processes and customer perspectives. Concerning the first one, different contributions highlighted how social media support a multitude of business processes (e.g., segmentation, brand positioning, promotion, advertising, buying, after-sales), thus improving firms and marketing performance (Al-Azani and El-Alfy, 2020 ; Kazaishvili and Khmiadashvili, 2020 ; Lestari et al., 2019 ; Melović et al., 2020 ; Rebelli, 2019 ; Safiullin et al., 2020 ; Sivarajah et al., 2020 ; Ulas, 2019 ; Van Osch et al., 2019 ). At once, an equally relevant number of studies has also examined the social media impact from the customers’ viewpoint (Hahn, 2019 ; Kumar-Singh and Thirumoorthi, 2019 ; Rebelli, 2019 ; Yusmarni et al., 2020 ) by identifying the main advantages for them, such as their involvement and engagement in the value creation process and the access to personalized assistance services (Kazaishvili and Khmiadashvili, 2020 ; Sivarajah et al., 2020 ).

Big Data represent the second macro-theme extracted from the thematic literature review. These have been especially analysed from the business processes perspective, recognizing them as one of the most significant challenges and innovations of recent years within the DT framework. Almaslamani et al. ( 2020 ), for instance, explained how the Big Data adoption can lead firms to use intelligent market basket analysis, thus enhancing the relationship with customers. Similarly, the study of Miklosik and Evans ( 2020 ) analysed the impact of Big Data on the digital transformation of the marketing industry by examining the main challenges it faces from a data and information management viewpoint. At once, Sestino et al. ( 2020 ) provided interesting implications for marketers by underlining how the DT, enabled by Big Data, can positively influence many facets of business (e.g., collection of large-scale data allowing to identify emerging trends on consumer behaviour; creation of promotion campaigns with real-time data; creation of stronger bonds with consumers). By specifically focusing on the B2B market, the study of Sivarajah et al. ( 2020 ) demonstrated the Big Data capability to allow B2B firms to become profitable and remain sustainable through strategic operations and marketing-related business activities. Overall, the research offers interesting implications for all the stakeholders interested in understanding and exploiting the use of Big Data with the final aim of achieving business sustainability.

As for mobile marketing (mobile technology and smart apps), research has mainly examined it by focusing on the customer perspective. Indeed, mobile devices have deeply influenced customers’ behaviours and preferences toward online shopping (Sundaram et al., 2020 ) by also transforming them into an integral part of the value creation process. Meanwhile, mobile technology and smart apps have also been studied from the business processes viewpoint since they have become an excellent opportunity to analyse consumers in more meaningful manners, thus supporting the development of appropriate marketing strategies (Sundaram et al., 2020 ). Additionally, mobility, along with other digital technologies, is creating relevant opportunities for firms to transform themselves by impacting on their purchasing processes (Ulas, 2019 ) as well as on their distribution activities, since mobile apps represent omni-channel retail platforms allowing consumers to obtain products from different channels, such as e-commerce, modern markets, and traditional ones. In this way, the shopping experience streamlines and integrates itself across channels (Cahyadi, 2020 ). Conversely, even if the employee perspective has been less investigated, it represents an interesting field of study since the mobile technology is impacting, on a massive scale, the workplace (Attaran and Attaran, 2020 ). More in detail, it can raise employee engagement; increase productivity through the scheduling/automation of daily activities; enable real-time communications through different tools, such as group chats or one-to-one messaging. Moreover, the 5G advent could revolutionize the way employees work “in much the same way the Internet did in the 1980s” (Attaran and Attaran, 2020 ; p. 66). Notably, it can allow employees to (i) Fast download and upload files and documents; (ii) Quicker move data; (iii) Carry the office anywhere; (iv) Exploit resources such as real-time video interaction and smart conference/meetings rooms, thus maximizing the workplace productivity and efficiency, reducing travel time, and saving operational costs for remote employees; (v) Increase office collaboration; (vi) Synchronize and access to large amounts of data storage.

Another macro-theme widely analysed by the literature focused on the DT and marketing is Internet of Things, which represents one of the main megatrends related to the technological revolution (Hamidi et al., 2020 ). Extant research (e.g., Almeida et al., 2020 ; Chehri and Jeon, 2019 ) has particularly examined the main improvements provided by this technology in terms of business processes. Notably, Sestino et al. ( 2020 ) underlined how IoT can contribute to: (i) Design products/services based on consumers’ consumption experiences; (ii) Collect consumption data useful, for marketing managers, to identify new gaps, trends, or variables in understanding consumer behaviour; (iii) Identify consumers’ attitudes and choices on a large scale. At once, different studies (e.g., Almeida et al., 2020 ; Sestino et al., 2020 ) have also investigated the impact of IoT from the customer perspective by focusing on their ability to provide new types of services and high-quality products; as well as to improve the customer journey through more targeted promotions, announcements, and email marketing. Finally, even if the employee perspective represents the least investigated one, some authors (e.g., Almeida et al., 2020 ; Peter et al., 2020 ) identified several IoT advantages from this viewpoint, including the possibility of adopting mobile, flexible, team-oriented, and non-routine working methods, which allow the creation of digital workplaces; activating collaborative practices between all the staff’s levels; and communicating and disseminating corporate strategies, thus creating innovative workplaces.

Concerning the Artificial Intelligence (AI), it has been analysed from all the perspectives, especially the customer and business processes ones. Different studies investigated the advantages of the AI-based digital humans for customers, including the possibility to obtain better knowledge of their preferences and needs (Kumar-Singh and Thirumoorthi, 2019 ), to build an innovative and real-time relationship with the firms (Cherviakova and Cherviakova, 2018 ), to experience a completely new and interactive journey, and to receive personalized offers (Ianenko et al., 2019 ). From the processes perspective, AI significantly influences marketing processes and activities (Almeida et al., 2020 ; Ianenko et al., 2019 ; Sargut, 2019 ) through the analysis of the customers’ behaviours and the realization of more specific targeted profiles (Ianenko et al., 2019 ). AI also influences the distribution activities and, in particular, the automation of the ordering process of products and services (Cherviakova and Cherviakova, 2018 ). Moreover, by considering unexpected events, AI allows to recalculate new routes and to maintain constant contacts with clients and the logistics service providers. Literature (Cherviakova and Cherviakova, 2018 ) underlined the AI role in allowing the automatic placement of advertisements across channels, while Kumar-Singh and Thirumoorthi ( 2019 ) analysed the AI relevance also with respect to the buying/consumption process. Finally, it has been recognized the importance of AI with respect to both sales (Almeida et al., 2020 ) and after-sales processes, as it permits to better examine the customers’ opinions about products/services, and to identify their satisfaction level as well as the possible enhancements that could be applied to the firm’s offering. Concerning the employee perspective, AI–by representing a disruptive technology–has significantly influenced the labour relations model and, in particular, the knowledge sharing among employees (Almeida et al., 2020 ; Subramani, 2019 ; Ulas, 2019 ). Therefore, it becomes fundamental to enhance the employee training toward this digital tool, which is becoming more and more integrated into the workplace (Yigitcanlar et al., 2020 ).

By representing a multifaceted term, the Industry 4.0 has emerged as an additional macro-theme related to the DT-marketing binomial. Notably, research (e.g., Chehri and Jeong, 2019 , Del Giorgio and Mon, 2019 ; Hamidi et al., 2020 ) has mainly investigated this topic from the customer and business processes perspectives, especially by focusing on the main principles behind it, namely 5c (i.e., Cooperation, Conversation, Co-creation, Cognitivity, Connectivity). This technology has created the basis of the digital ecosystem, thus offering the key ability, for firms and customers, to exchange data in real-time (Nosalska and Mazurek, 2019 ). By specifically focusing on the business processes perspective, an interesting point of view has been provided by Naglič et al. ( 2020 ), who analysed the Industry 4.0 macro-theme in combination with the export market orientation/export performance micro-theme. The authors offered a framework on how companies can enhance their export performance through the knowledge related to the Industry 4.0. Overall, their study detected how firms that invest in digital technologies, by effectively embracing DT, are better prepared to compete internationally, thus achieving better export performance.

Also the Machine Learning (ML) macro-theme has been mainly analysed from the business processes perspective. In particular, some studies have tried to identify the main ML implications on DT in marketing (Miklosik and Evans, 2020 ) by investigating the advantages this technology can bring from this perspective (Kazaishvili and Khmiadashvili, 2020 ; Miklosik and Evans, 2020 ; Polyakov and Gordeeva, 2020 ; Sargut, 2019 ). Literature focused its attention on the social media analysis (e.g., sentiment analysis on social media); packaging; product and purchasing decision-making; and advertising (e.g., interactive ad placement and targeting ads). Given that ML is a subset of AI, the literature focused on ML usually underlined, from the employee and customer perspectives, advantages very similar to the AI-related ones. More in detail, from the customers’ perspective, ML can offer personalized shopping experiences thanks to its ability to deeply know their preferences and interests. Conversely, from the employees’ viewpoint, literature mainly highlighted the key impact of ML on knowledge building and sharing (Subramani, 2019 ).

Concerning the online collaborative/support platforms/systems macro-theme, it emerges how it has been equally analysed from the employee and business processes perspectives. From the employee perspective, Azeredo et al. ( 2020 ) provided a proposal for the realization of an online business consulting plan through the adoption of an online collaborative platform called LexDoBusiness. More in detail, the research aimed to analyse the acceptability of this platform, which offers several benefits, especially for what concerns the levels of cohesion and cooperation between the actors involved in the business plan. In their study, Bhatnagar and Grosse ( 2019 ) underlined the relevance of a digitalized agile workplace since it allows to make employees more productive and satisfied. Similarly, Minculete and Minculete ( 2019 ) emphasized the key role of education and training actions aimed at providing staff members with the required skills for the new technologies and systems adoption. By specifically focusing on the business processes perspective, Bruskin et al. ( 2017 ) examined the development of support systems for decision-making in terms of marketing by specifically focusing on the analysis of the business effects from the adoption of similar systems.

As regards the virtual and augmented reality, literature has mainly examined it from the customer and business processes perspectives. For what concerns the first viewpoint, the majority of studies have investigated the consumers’ propensity to interact with this tool (Voronkova, 2018 ). Additional researches have focused their attention on the new opportunities deriving from adopting virtual and augmented reality for personalized online shopping experiences (Kim, 2020 ). From the business processes perspective, the virtual/augmented reality has been particularly examined with respect to the communication and advertising procedures. Notably, extant research underlined how firms can adopt the virtual reality technology to promote products and services in innovative and visual ways (Voronkova, 2018 ).

For what concerns the last identified macro-themes (i.e., websites/SEO; cloud infrastructure; chatbots; drones/smart robots; security protection systems; 3D print), results have already revealed a minor attention dedicated to them by the extant research (Table 5 ). By focusing on the websites/SEO topic, the customer and business processes perspectives represent the most investigated viewpoints. Existing studies have particularly analysed the websites topic with respect to the customer relationship management/customer connectivity/centricity (Ballestar et al., 2019 ) and customer experience/journey (García et al., 2019 ) micro-themes. With regard to the business processes perspective, the reviewed contributions have especially deepened the micro-themes of branding, communication policy, and business process efficiency. Specifically, Natorina ( 2020 ) underlined the need to implement effective marketing strategies within the DT scenario by specifically focusing on the search engine optimization (SEO). Overall, the author highlighted how the SEO represents an integral component of a successful marketing strategy since it increases the organic traffic and conversion by also enhancing the firms’ attractiveness in the sight of the Internet users.

Concerning the cloud infrastructure, it has been especially analysed from the customer perspective (Ulas, 2019 ) by investigating its impact on consumers’ preferences and behaviours. At the same time, the cloud infrastructure has also increased the human resources capabilities (Ulas, 2019 ) and improved the business processes. Notably, Kumar-Singh and Thirumoorthi ( 2019 ) shown that cloud-based digital infrastructures allow firms to increase agility, maximize resources, and improve services by also reducing operational costs. The authors also underlined the importance to analyse the impact of this technology from the demand side in order to examine how it can impact on customer preferences and behaviours.

As for the chatbots, these have been analysed from the business processes perspective and, to a lesser extent, from the employee one. Hence, an interesting research gap emerges with respect to the customer viewpoint. In particular, concerning the business processes perspective, Damnjanovic ( 2019 ) proposed a case study analysing the international positioning and go-to-market strategy of a chatbot solution, namely Weaver, which can be defined as an AI-based firm platform allowing to facilitate and simplify the sales processes. In the same year, the study of Sargut ( 2019 ) offered an insight related to the SMEs awareness, readiness, and capability in facing the DT challenge. Almost all the interviewed SMEs have confirmed to be interested in the DT subject and ready to implement chatbots and/or voice-operated machines in their business activities and processes.

Even if results underlined scarce attention of the recent literature on the robotics macro-theme (with the few identified contributions focused on the employee and business processes perspective), with the advent of the COVID-19 and the consequent reduction of human contacts, this topic will probably obtain, in the future, greater emphasis. Notably, robots will be increasingly adopted not only in order to substitute human resources but also to interact with customers. Indeed, robots “are expected to be progressively more autonomous, flexible, and cooperative” (Almeida et al., 2020 , p. 102).

As for the last identified macro-themes (i.e., security protection systems and 3D print), while Li et al. ( 2020 ) emphasized the need to establish a new generation of security protection systems to increase the business processes efficiency, Ulas ( 2019 ) especially highlighted the key relevance of 3D printers in the process of new products development and design.

By considering the residual (but not irrelevant number of) contributions referring to the digitalization phenomenon as a broader macro-theme of analysis (i.e., digitalization phenomenon), it emerged an overall preference towards the adoption of a business processes and customer perspective. With regard to the former, two of the most investigated effects are the so-called “digital metrics” and “business process efficacy”. Indeed, the digitalization phenomenon has profoundly affected the analysis of the firms’ performance. Hence, the adoption of digital tools allows firms to precisely monitor and measure their social ROI (Return on Investment) in a totally new and disruptive way compared to the past. In particular, by measuring online reactions (e.g., customers’ views, likes, comments, shares), the digital metrics can contribute significantly to evaluating an ad campaign in real-time, thus permitting to modify it accordingly (e.g., Bughin et al., 2019 ). Moreover, a number of contributions focused on the business processes perspective has specifically analysed the role played by the digital tools in increasing the quality of the firms’ processes, thus elevating their levels of operational and organizational excellence (e.g., Kuimov et al., 2019 ). On the other hand, from the customer perspective, literature has mainly investigated the impact of the digitalization phenomenon on the customer journey (e.g., Taylor et al., 2020 ) and on the relationship management between firms and customers (e.g., Barann, 2018 ).

After the content analysis process has been concluded, Appendix 2 has been created, displaying the classification of the articles based on the following categorizations: (i) Author/s; (ii) Title; (iii) Source; (iv) Year of publication; (v) Analysed macro-theme; (vi) Analysed micro-theme with (vii) The respective analysis perspective (i.e., EP, CP, BPP).

4 Implications and future research agenda

4.1 general discussion.

Both the descriptive and thematic results of this study provide interesting insights into the analysis of the DT-marketing topic, while crafting new propositions for future research agenda.

Descriptive data highlight the growing focus of the literature on the digital transformation-marketing topic over the last few years, with the majority of contributions published between 2019 and 2020. Notably, only nine publications have been found in the four-year period 2014–2017, while thirteen publications were reviewed in 2018, forty-five in 2019, and fifty in 2020. The publication sources are highly fragmented, given that ninety-three sources have published the 117 reviewed papers. The more cited contributions—besides being published between 2019 and 2020—have especially focused on the impact of the digitalization phenomenon on (i) Customer relationship management (Ballestar et al., 2019 ; Gil-Gomez et al., 2020 ; Hausberg et al., 2019 ; Peter et al., 2020 ; Sivarajah et al., 2020 ), (ii) Its coexistence with the human resources (Almeida et al., 2020 ; Gil-Gomez et al., 2020 ; Ulas, 2019 ; Yigitcanlar et al., 2020 ), and (iii) The improvement of the business processes’ performance (Sestino et al., 2020 ) by specifically focusing on market knowledge (Hausberg et al., 2019 ), communication (Ballestar et al., 2019 ), product development (Ulas, 2019 ), and sales activities (Almeida et al., 2020 ). Moreover, the majority of contributions here analysed has employed qualitative methods. Overall, these data, while suggesting an increasing interest by the scientific community towards the DT-marketing phenomenon, depict the absence of sources systematically and continuously dealing with this field of study, a dominant focus on certain issues, and the need to improve the adoption of quantitative methods in future research, both to validate previous research findings and to make them more generalizable.

Concerning the research questions guiding this study and, in particular the analysed themes (RQ1), these can be grouped on a twofold level concerning (i) The study of digital technologies employed in the field of marketing ( macro-themes) , and (ii) The impact of such technologies on specific marketing activities ( micro-themes ). Overall, the literature analysis suggests an increasing pervasiveness of digital technologies in the marketing field. The use of such technologies, in fact, affects the consumer behaviour, as well as the way marketers work and marketing activities are managed and organized. In particular, it is worthy to note that DT involves the most operational marketing activities (e.g., Caliskan et al., 2020 ), such as sales (e.g., Almeida et al., 2020 ) and communication policies (e.g., Alassani and Göretz, 2019 ; Dasser, 2019 ), allowing a general increase in these processes’ quality. Meanwhile, DT also affects the analytic and strategic areas of marketing, improving the opportunities to reach new groups of consumers through the systematic use of digital technologies (such as Big Data) that allow a deeper segmentation of the market (e.g., Almaslamani et al., 2020 ). It supports the development of new branding strategies and the increasing visibility of brands, thanks to the use of online and social channels (e.g., Kazaishvili and Khmiadashvili, 2020 ; Melović et al., 2020 ). Moreover, DT impacts on companies’ innovativeness, helping the implementation of more effective and efficient innovative processes (Calle et al., 2020 ), and changes the overall relationships between firms and consumers by encouraging a customer-centric organizational culture (Cherviakova and Cherviakova, 2018 , Graf et al., 2019 ) and the customer participation in the value creation process (Hughes and Vafeas, 2019 ). According to Dasser ( 2019 ), DT also implies a deeper change of marketing by elevating its strategic role as a catalytic accelerator in the digital business transformation journey.

These studies are driven by different perspectives of analysis (RQ2). The majority of research considered in this review employed a business process perspective by examining how digital technologies impact on specific marketing processes, such as sales and communication management. Nevertheless, by focusing on the main investigated topics, findings reveal that the existing research has been principally guided by a customer perspective, i.e. the way in which digital technologies are transforming customers’ behaviour, experience, and relationship with companies, followed by the business processes perspective concerning the investigation of potential improvements occurring in the area of marketing analysis and control. The employees’ perspective emerges as the less relevant among the others, despite it includes a critical part of the literature focused on the relationship between DT and human resources management. More in detail, as it emerged from our dataset, the employees’ perspective mainly characterized the first publications, investigating how digital technologies are enhancing (and requiring) the development of new marketing and business skills dealing with DT (Kwon and Park, 2017 ; Van Belleghem, 2015 ). Over the time, the scientific attention has been moved increasingly towards the customer and business processes’ perspectives. Most of the contributions published in 2020, indeed, dealt with the analysis of the DT phenomenon from the consumer viewpoint, specifically investigating the management of the customer-firm relationship (e.g., Gil-Gomez et al., 2020 ; Sivarajah et al., 2020 ), and from the business processes’ viewpoint, especially analysing the key relevance of the digital tools in measuring the firms’ performance in the social sphere (e.g., Al-Azani and El-Alfy, 2020 ; Lin et al., 2020 ). Probably, this growing interest of the research derives from the advent and unleashing, during 2020, of the COVID-19 health crisis that has led companies to almost completely digitize the relationship with customers due to the limitations imposed by the anti-COVID-19 decrees.

All these findings provide several contributions both theoretically and practically.

4.2 Theoretical implications and research gaps

From a theoretical standpoint, this is the first study that offers a systematic and thematic review of the existing literature on DT and Marketing, while previous reviews, in the marketing field, have been very narrow in perspective. Hofacker et al. ( 2020 ), for example, examined the relevant literature on digital marketing and B2B relationships, while Miklosik and Evans ( 2020 ) focused on the impact of big data and machine learning on marketing activities. Our review, instead, addresses the DT-Marketing binomial from a wider and more comprehensive perspective, including all prior research dealing with DT in the marketing area. By doing so, this study outruns the scope of prior reviews that have been often limited to certain domains, and provides a comprehensive framework that offers a synergistic view of the existing literature, which allows a more inclusive vision and understanding about the phenomenon.

By doing so, this review also permits to highlight some relevant research gaps on which future studies might focus on.

From the combined overview between macro- and micro-themes, the main research gaps relate to the necessity of deepening the analysis of the impact of specific macro-themes from the employee (i.e., social media channels, big data, mobile marketing, Artificial Intelligence, Industry 4.0, Cloud infrastructure, Virtual/augmented reality, and websites), customer (i.e., Social media channels, Big Data, Industry 4.0; Internet of Things; Machine Learning; Websites; Chatbots), and business processes perspective (i.e., Mobile technology; Artificial Intelligence; Virtual/Augmented reality; Cloud infrastructure; Drones/Smart robots).

Besides that, the variety of analysed studies, while manifesting the pervasive use of digital technologies in the marketing field, reveals that the extant literature is quite fragmented and even sparse with regard to specific micro-themes. Some topics, like customer service, smart factories, consumer behaviour, have been investigated by few contributions, thus highlighting potential opportunities for further studies. In this respect, our review can be viewed as a solid basis for additional discussion and research within each perspective emerged from the analysis (see Fig. 3 ).

Areas of future research on DT and Marketing

More in detail, the findings reveal that the employees’ perspective is worthy of further attention, as it is the less investigated one. Although several contributions (n. 21) focused on DT and human resources by highlighting the need for enhanced skills in using technology (e.g., Dethine et al., 2020 ; Ulas, 2019 ), the development of new prominent job positions for the future (e.g. digital marketing manager; social media manager; big data/data analyst) (e.g., Di Gregorio et al., 2019 , Hafezieh and Pollock, 2018), and the critical role of training and educational actions enhancing the appropriate use of digital technologies in the marketing context (Yigitcanlar et al., 2020 ), other themes have been under-investigated. In particular, only two papers dealt with the subject of smart technologies by investigating how they can help cities to face the increasing urbanization (Visan and Ciurea, 2020 ), and their importance for establishing a predictive maintenance of production systems, which can increase the process quality (Chehri and Jeon, 2019 ). The application of smart technologies can also redefine the way people conduct business, bringing benefits in terms of productivity and employee well-being (Papagiannidis and Marikyan, 2020 ). Thus, there is scope for considering, in future research, how smart technologies are used to conduct marketing activities and how they are changing the way marketers work and organize their processes.

Under the customer perspective, several topics might deserve attention in future research. Most of the analysed contributions addressed the impact of DT on firms/customers relationships, highlighting the need for new forms of interaction and collaborations with customers due to changes in behaviour. Several scholars recognized the advantage of DT as it allows to establish innovative and real-time relationships with the market (e.g. Almaslamani et al., 2020 ), to engage customers in the value creation process (e.g. Saravanabhavan et al., 2020 ; Taylor et al., 2020 ), and to provide customers with more interactive and personalized experiences (e.g. Taylor et al., 2020 ; Venermo et al., 2020 ). However, our findings suggest that other topics, although relevant, are still at the begin of their investigation. Only three contributions focused on customer service (Lieberman, 2019 ; Lin et al., 2020 ; Safiullin et al., 2020 ), especially revealing the role of digital tools in the online customer service and the importance of electronic services for improving customer satisfaction (Lin et al., 2020 ). A recent study (Galvani and Bocconcelli, 2021 ) revealed that a new business model is emerging in the BtoB context characterized by an overall revolution towards the digital servitization strategy, which replaces the traditional product-centric paradigm. Hence, future research could investigate whether and how the digital servitization strategy is currently implemented in the BtoC context, which opportunities and benefits can offer—especially concerning the firm-customers’ relationship, and how marketing managers can act to face the imperative complexity linked to its adoption. Another theme receiving increasing—but still few—attention concerns the buying/consumption processes. Few scholars analysed the impact of digital tools on customers buying processes (Kim, 2020 ), the increasing use of e-commerce (Cahyadi, 2020 ), and structural changes occurring in consumption during COVID-19 pandemic (Kim, 2020 ). However, the identification of consumption patterns and trends has been always a central topic in the marketing literature, as proved by the wide number of literature reviews, even focused on specific areas such as electronic word of mouth (Huete-Alcocer, 2017 ), online consumption (Hwang and Jeong, 2016 ), or COVID-19 crisis (Cruz-Cárdenas et al., 2021 ). Therefore, continuing the research on DT and consumption/buying behaviour is desirable to properly adapt the marketing management with the aim of satisfying specific market needs and expectations, as well as realizing a stronger engagement of customers in the value creation process, which is getting more and more attention within the recent marketing and management literature (Fan and Luo, 2020 ). Besides, future studies on DT and consumption/buying behaviour might also employ modern research methods, such as neuromarketing. We found only one contribution based on the analysis of the use of advanced methods in the field of artificial neural networks (Polyakov and Gordeeva, 2020 ). However, neuromarketing could contribute to overcome several limitations associated with traditional data collection method (i.e. self-report data), while allowing to capture unconscious brain processes that relate to consumer decision-making (Sung et al., 2021 ).

Finally, an additional space for future research emerged from our review of publications is related to the business processes perspective. This area shows the greatest potential for exploration, given the richness of themes it includes. In this perspective, in fact, except for some activities related to marketing analysis and control, and operational policies—especially product and communication ones—the rest of the literature appears very fragmented and scarce. Notably, specific attention might be devoted to DT and export process management, as Naglič et al. ( 2020 ) found that firms which invest in DT are better prepared to compete internationally and achieve better export performance; branding strategies, as they have been recognized as critical for marketing competitiveness (Kazaishvili and Khmiadashvili, 2020 ), drivers/barriers and risks associated to DT implementation in the marketing areas; and sustainable/social opportunities and treats that digital technologies can bring with them, as they can differently affect the success of human-centric marketing programs in the digital environment (Agafonova et al., 2020 ). All these topics have been very little investigated by previous research, while deserving increasing attention given their relation with companies’ success and long-term competitiveness.

4.3 Practical implications

Regarding the practical contributions, our review offers a number of suggestions to marketing managers as it analyses the DT-Marketing binomial both internally (i.e. on the firm level) and externally (i.e. on the inter-firm level). This approach results from the recognition of different perspectives of analysis adopted by prior research, which combines contributions focused on the management of internal processes and marketing activities with studies investigating the DT phenomenon from a customer-based viewpoint. Consistent with our twofold approach of analysis, the practical implications deserving particular attention can be summarized into two main groups concerning (i) The changing role of marketing in the company resulting from the increasing use of digital technologies, and (ii) The changing relationships between firms (and marketing) and external stakeholders (especially consumers).

Literature suggests that DT could improve the strategic role of marketing within the firm, as it enhances the marketing capability to analyse the market scenario and to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the demand (Papagiannopoulos and Lopez, 2018 ), which, in turn, can support new products development that are better aligned with customers’ expectations (Kuimov et al., 2019 ). Overall, digital technologies can help companies to become data-driven subjects, where marketing covers a central position given its informative and intra-firm coordinating role. However, the full exploitation of such opportunities means change, at both cultural and structural levels. Our review, in particular, reveals that DT requires a cultural upgrading, to cope with DT and its effects on the business (e.g., Álvarez-Flores et al., 2018 ; Dethine et al., 2020 ), the enhancement of internal competences in the field of technology (Ulas, 2019 ), the development of new job positions (Di Gregorio et al., 2019 ), and the gradual adoption of new working habits and patterns (Minculete and Minculete, 2019 ). Of course, educational and training activities become prominent to support such changes, passing through the acquisition of new skills from the market labour, as well as through the enhancement and conversion of internal resources. Besides training programs, organized both internally and externally in collaboration with private and public institutions such as high schools and universities, companies could also provide ad hoc rewards to encourage the commitment and interest of marketing employees in digital innovation.

The second group of advices concerns the changing relationships between firms (and marketing) and external stakeholders (especially consumers). DT affects the customer behaviour and changes his ability to communicate with the company (e.g., Caliskan et al., 2020 ), to be engaged in the value creation process (e.g., Taylor et al., 2020 ), and to live personalized consumption experiences (e.g., Fokina and Barinov, 2019 ). All this implies a general re-thinking about the firm-customer relationship management. Consumers are becoming empowered subjects that no longer accept the role of passive receivers of marketing initiatives (Acar and Puntoni, 2016 ) and companies need to open to their customers, accepting their participation in the marketing decision-processes. Undoubtedly, the use of social-media platforms can be decisive to create engaging content and connect with customers, improving the interaction and the dialog with them, for example by responding to a specific comment or complaint (Acar and Puntoni, 2016 ). However, digital technologies can be also used to create more advanced tools that are able to strengthen the connection between brands and customers, such as crowdsourcing, co-creation, and/or brand communities. These platforms can be used successfully by firms to improve the dialog with customers and their involvement in several marketing processes, such as the selection of an advertising campaign and/or the creation of new product ideas.

Acknowledgements

This publication includes, among the authors, a researcher awarded with a fixed-term type A research contract on innovation topics as per art. 24, para. 3, of Italian Law no. 240 of 30 December 2010, co-financed by the European Union—NOP Research and Innovation 2014-2020 resources as per Italian MD no. 1062 of 10 August 2021.

Open access funding provided by Università degli Studi di Urbino Carlo Bo within the CRUI-CARE Agreement.

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Cioppi, M., Curina, I., Francioni, B. et al. Digital transformation and marketing: a systematic and thematic literature review. Ital. J. Mark. 2023 , 207–288 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43039-023-00067-2

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1. Introduction

It is reported that, in December 1995, internet users were only 16 million. On the other hand, in June 2019, the number increased to 4,536 million which cover 58.8% of the total world population that amounting to 7.71 billion ( Busca and Bertrandias, 2020 ). It is estimated that everyday people spend, on average, 6 h and 42 min online and by 2021, 73% of e-commerce sales will be generated through the mobile platform ( Mandal, 2017 ). Moreover, the 4 th industrial revolution has begun with the invention of web 4.0, the internet of things (IoT), blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), big data analytics and 4g/5g internet speed ( Kerren, 2014 ). These technological inventions have significantly affected the lifestyle of consumers and the way marketers communicate with their customers. In 2004, Facebook came into the market, followed by many other social networking sites in later years. People had accepted these social media at an exponential rate affecting the way people communicated and interacted with each other.

After the induction of world wide web technology, people have become used to the virtual world. When people (e.g., customers) shifted to the internet or virtual marketplace, marketers focused their marketing attention on this market. Consumers are spending more time on social media for a variety of purposes ranging from brand information searching to the final purchase of products. Consumers’ shifting from traditional media to digital media enables marketers to reach, notify, engage, sell to, study about and provide services to the targeted audience more effectively and efficiently. Responding to this fundamental shifting of consumers from traditional to digital media, marketers are continuously trying to grab the opportunity by devising product, price, place and promotion strategies for this marketplace. Therefore, scholars have investigated different aspects of digital marketing (DM).

While reviewing the literature, it is noticed very few research studies were focused on identifying and analyzing the development of themes and clusters in this arena by applying bibliometric analysis ( Ghorbani et al., 2021 ; Kim et al., 2019 ; León-Castro et al., 2021 ). Ghorbani et al. (2021) conducted a bibliometric analysis to identify key trends and patterns in the field of DM by investigating 924 research articles published in the Scopus database. However, given the importance of digital marketing, more systematic literature reviews are necessary for this field. Kim et al. (2019) undertook a bibliometric analysis that was more focused on digital marketing communication (DMC) and hence, studies other than DMC were ignored. León-Castro et al. (2021) covered only a web of science database to run a bibliometric analysis on digital marketing, but the keywords focused on more specific aspects of DM such as “influencer”, “ewom”, “youtube”, “instagram” and “facebook”.

However, finding out how scholarly works on digital marketing practice and theory have been developed over time and contributed to DM literature is limited. Analyzing which journals, countries and authors are contributing more in the field of digital marketing was also nascent. The authors have exactly taken the endeavour to address these issues. Since this study will analyze all the major scholarly articles that are published in the Scopus database, it will pave the way for future researchers who intend to research digital marketing.

Considering the limitations of the past studies on DM, the study has been undertaken to serve several purposes such as a) to identify the evolution of DM literature over time by applying a bibliometric analysis; b) to assess and synthesize 925 Scopus papers and offer future research directions in the field of DM.

The significant contribution of this study includes identifying which are the journals and authors that contributed the most in the development of digital marketing. It also contributes by explaining the emergent themes in DM along with identifying the most cited journals in this sector. Moreover, the co-citation networks that exist between most cited researches and the schools of thought that exist in co-citation networks have also been investigated thoroughly.

This paper is organized into several parts. The following section contains a literature review followed by the research methodology. The next section includes results and discussion from the bibliometric analysis of the articles published in Scopus between 2000 and 2019. The final part of the paper includes the conclusion and implications from theoretical and practical perspectives along with limitations and future research directions.

2. Literature review

With the advent of social media and development in the web and mobile apps technologies, communication has become much easier than that of past decades ( Khomenko et al., 2020 ). Since modern customers are spending their time in digital media, marketers have also developed strategies and tactics to reach them through these media. Therefore, a significant amount of scholarly research had been conducted on different aspects such as search engine optimization, social media marketing, affiliate marketing, content marketing, video marketing and many others ( Jimenez, 2020 ). This study presents an intensive analysis of scholarly works done and published by scholars from different countries on this revolutionary field of marketing between 2000 to 2019. Digital marketing opens up new opportunities for reaching, informing, and engaging consumers, as well as providing and selling goods and services. Digital marketing is projected to remain at the forefront of the technological transition in the future ( Ko, 2019 ; Lamberton and Stephen, 2016 ; Martín-Consuegra et al., 2018 ). Millions of people's daily lives have been transformed by digital marketing through social and mobile media, which has expanded into popular social media practices and often leads to the formation of customer relationships ( Fujita et al., 2017 ; Han et al., 2016 ; Kim, 2018 ; Woodside and Mir, 2019 ).

As more marketing researchers and professionals have dedicated themselves to digital technologies, the speed of transition has quickened. The digital marketing model has changed from selling unique goods and services to marketing campaigns that are introduced across digital platforms to now make use of digital resources. Social media has existed for over the past decade for several different purposes such as blogging, video and photography/photo-sharing using mobile phones ( Fujita et al., 2017 ; Han et al., 2016 ; Kim, 2018 ). Virtual technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR) seem to be replacing traditional approaches to marketing suggesting new territory for marketing researchers to pursue ( Brodie and Juric, 2018 ; Guercini et al., 2018 ; Kim and Yang, 2018 , J. Kim et al., 2018 ; Taylor and Costello, 2017 ; Zhang and Dholakia, 2018 ).

Marketers soon noticed the networking advantages of social networks like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, and LinkedIn, and invested $51.3 billion on global social network ads in 2017, up 55.4% from 2016 ( Cooper, 2020 ). The amount spent on digital ads is expected to rise 17.7% in 2018, accounting for $273 billion (44%) of the $629 billion spent on advertising globally ( McNair, 2018 ). In 2017, mobile ad spending rose by 39%, and it is projected to rise by another 27% in 2018, accounting for 55% of all digital ad spending ( Magna Global, 2017 ). The growing concentration of advertising dollars demonstrates digital marketing's effectiveness in targeting audiences and achieving growth goals such as increased revenue, brand recognition, consumer loyalty, lead generation, and lower customer acquisition and service costs ( Labrecque et al., 2013 ; Lamberton and Stephen, 2016 ; Tuten, 2020 ).

The way businesses market themselves is changing as a result of social media, posing new obstacles as well as opportunities ( Arora and Sanni, 2019 ; Dwivedi et al., 2015 , 2017 ; Hossain et al., 2019 ; Nisar et al., 2018 ; Wang and Herrando, 2019 ). Digital marketing, whether used inappropriately or by unskilled practitioners, may harm businesses ( Aswani et al., 2018 ). As a result, businesses must gain social media expertise ( Braojos-Gomez et al., 2015 ). Companies should focus on aligning their digital marketing strategies with their overall business goals ( Tafesse and Wien, 2018 ; Thorpe, 2018 ). When used strategically, social media marketing may lead to increased consumer satisfaction and perceived value ( Chen and Lin, 2019 ; Pacauskas et al., 2018 ), co-creation ( Kamboj et al., 2018 ; Zhang et al., 2017 ), brand loyalty ( Laroche et al., 2013 ; Shanahan et al., 2019 ) and positive attitude ( Laroche et al., 2013 ).

Furthermore, social media has opened up new avenues for marketers to obtain audience experience by researching online user-generated content, electronic word of mouth (eWOM) conversations ( Chang et al., 2019 ; Liu et al., 2019 ; Xu et al., 2017 ), and online communities ( Chang et al., 2019 ; Habibi et al., 2014 ; Liu et al., 2018 ). Consumer reviews are a large part of social media, and they throw up questions about content accuracy, credibility, usefulness, and validity ( Ismagilova et al., 2017 ; Kapoor et al., 2018 ; Singh et al., 2017 ). Consumer preferences and purchasing habits can be affected by online feedback, which can affect a company's results ( Ismagilova et al., 2020 ; Kawaf and Istanbulluoglu, 2019 ; Shareef et al., 2018 ; Yerasani et al., 2019 ).

A variety of factors can influence digital marketing activities and practices. Some research, for example, looked at the impact of new laws on digital marketing ( Hemsley, 2018 ; Sposit, 2019 ). Furthermore, social media marketing research has begun to concentrate on developing markets, where the adoption rate of social media marketing is lower than the developed countries ( Christino et al., 2019 ; Liu et al., 2019 ). Some businesses in these developing countries continue to rely on conventional media for product and service ads because they are more trustworthy than social media platforms ( Ali et al., 2016 ; Olanrewaju et al., 2020 ). Therefore, this article aims at assessing different paradigms of published articles on DM and finding out how these studies evolved. In addition, finding out what are the dominant themes in this area of research is also a concern of this paper.

3. Methodology

Bibliometric analysis along with a citation and co-citation analysis presents a powerful way to analyze the patterns and characteristics of already published papers in any scholarly field. It may also help to find out the school of thought, if any, in any specific area of study ( Mandal, 2017 ; Christie, 2008 ). The bibliometric analysis takes the objective philosophy and employs a quantitative investigation method on written documents (i.e., journals, books, websites). Citation and co-citation analysis focus on finding out the emergent themes in specific areas of study, the impact of different journals and different schools of thought ( Nyagadza, 2020 ). Going beyond merely counting and collating citations, previous studies have pointed out the nature and course of development of a discipline to assess which journals and authors have created value to other researchers by collaboration.

Bibliometric studies, such as citation and co-citation analyses, are useful for delving into the trends and characteristics of what has been written, making it easier to explore, organize, and articulate work done in a particular discipline ( Diodato, 1994 ; Ferreira et al., 2014 ). Bibliometric analyses can help to guide collection growth, define institutional scholarship strengths and citation/co-citation trends, and identify possible schools of thought in a discipline ( Lewis and Alpi, 2017 ). For a comprehensive investigation of written source documents (e.g., academic journal papers and books), bibliometric research uses citation and co-citation analyses as an analytical tool for inspecting part or the entirety of a scholarly discipline ( Diodato, 1994 ; Ferreira et al., 2014 ; Nerur et al., 2008 ; Ramos-Rodríguez and Ruíz-Navarro, 2004 ; Shafique, 2013 ).

The researchers have adopted objectivist research philosophy since it focuses on quantitative methods of analysis and bibliometric analysis is a powerful quantitative tool to analyze published documents in any scholarly area ( Diodato and Gellatly, 2013 ). The authors have mined the bibliometric data from the Scopus database with the keyword “Digital Marketing”. Digital marketing is the common keyword across different papers, however, articles with other related keywords such as “social networking online”, “social media sales”, “electronic commerce”, “data mining”, “information systems” were considered. Scopus database was selected by the authors since they had authorized access to this database only. Hence analysis on other prominent databases such as Web of Science can be considered in future research.

After loading the dataset, it is observed that it contains 935 articles in total starting from 1982. However, the authors have applied the “publication year” filtering strategy and kept the data from 2000 to 2019. This period is chosen since the proliferation of the internet began in the 21st century. In the case of “document type”, all types of documents (i.e., article, book, book chapter, conference paper, conference review, editorial, short survey, note review) were considered. All types of documents were considered since the author had applied only one keyword “digital marketing” for retrieving data and it only produced 935 articles. In addition, the authors wanted to investigate the theoretical and practical development of digital marketing throughout every scholarly research field and understand the relationship among them. Other studies also applied a similar technique to represent the whole DM research ( Ghorbani et al., 2021 ). About “total citation”, the full range of citations from 0 to 305 were considered since the authors wanted to consider both highly cited articles and lowly cited articles and this helps to identify the difference between good work and mediocre research work. In addition, about “source by Bradford Law Zones”, all the sources were considered. This filtration has produced 925 papers finally which are to be analyzed. After retrieving the data from the Scopus database, with the help of the bibliometrics package of R programming, the data were analyzed.

4. Results and discussion

4.1. summary statistics.

This chapter presents analysis and findings from bibliometric analysis of 925 documents related to digital marketing published between 2000 and 2019. Table 1 presents the summary findings from the analysis. The documents that were published in this period in the Scopus database received 5.076 citations on average. The higher average citations per document indicate a speedy growth of scholarly papers in the field of DM. The results also showed that 2015 unique authors have contributed to the digital marketing field in this period, who got impressions of 2359 times. In addition, single-author documents counted as 262. On average, 2.18 authors contributed to completing each document while every single author contributed to at least 0.459 documents. Documents per author counted to 0.459 while co-authors per document are 2.55. This signifies that in the development of digital marketing, a good amount of research studies are done in collaboration with other authors which is again confirmed in the collaboration index of 2.71. However, a significant amount of single-author articles are also undertaken.

Table 1

Summary statistics.

4.2. Performance analysis

Figure 1 showed the key trends in annual scientific production in the DM field. The timeline can be broadly divided into two main decades with varying trends in annual publications. Although research on digital marketing and related topics had begun as early as 2000, digital marketing studies were almost overlooked by the researchers during the first decade (2000–2010). Therefore, the actual proliferation commenced after 2010 meaning in the second decade (2010–2020) and as time passes, research in this domain has grown exponentially. This growth can be attributed to the increasing number of internet and social media users in the 2000s ( Ghorbani et al., 2021 ). When we see the research development from the perspective of Pareto's law, in only 4 years' time period (2016–2019), 70% (648) of the research papers were published in Scopus on digital marketing. Contemporary studies are found to focus more on marketing science issues accompanied by modern information technology tools and techniques such as artificial intelligence, big data, deep learning etc.

Annual scientific production in digital marketing.

4.3. Relationship between authors, keywords and sources

Figure 2 contained three field analyses showing the relationship between authors, keywords and sources where the left column contained the name of authors, the middle column contained keywords and the right column contained the journal name. This confirms that most of the authors have considered digital marketing as their keyword. However, “social media marketing”, “internet”, “machine learning”, “web 2.0”, “social networks”, “customer relationship management”, “Facebook”, “Twitter” and many others closely related keywords with digital marketing had also been used in different research articles. A new trend is represented by social media for companies that strive to communicate with their customers using both online and offline media. For example, popular social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and corporate blogs are increasingly used by the Fortune 500 companies in their marketing communication campaigns ( Markos-Kujbus and Gati, 2012 ). Previous researchers who used digital marketing as their keyword also found to include the above-listed keywords. But this is also clear from the data that focus on digital marketing is higher than any other keywords. The reason for this consideration can be justified with the proliferation of the use of digital marketing compared to other semantic terminologies which can also be used to mean the same thing. Almost every journal contributed equally, although some journals such as Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice, are pioneering the advancement in this field. Although mobile marketing is a powerfully dominant domain of digital marketing ( Cheng et al., 2013 ), this area is yet to be explored. Therefore, future researchers can contribute to this domain.

Three field analyses in digital marketing.

4.4. Performance of academic journals

To identify the most contributing journals, Figure 3 showed that the “Journal of Direct Data and Digital Marketing Practice” had the highest contribution in this domain. This journal solely published 46 research papers within the specified period amounted to almost 5% of the total publications. However, this journal of Springer has last published articles in June 2016 and till then it is not being published anymore. That means the top-most contributing journal is out of the market and thereby creating a gap in the field and providing other journals to fill the gap. “Journal of Digital and Social Media Marketing” has published 10 papers and “Journal of Marketing Education” has also contributed 10 papers in this domain. Moreover, another critical point to be noted here, the Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing is not on the top contributing list, although this journal is contributing significantly in the domain with its strong editorial board.

Most contributing journal in digital marketing.

4.5. Source growth of digital marketing over time

As we explained earlier in this paper, “Journal of Direct Data and Digital Marketing Practice” had contributed the most in the digital marketing research area. However, the contribution of this journal has decreased significantly in recent times (see Figure 4 ). On the contrary, the contribution of sources like the “International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering” is increasing exponentially. Adobe Research, Amity University, Yonsei University are found to be the most contributing parties in the scholarly publications on digital marketing. However, other universities such as Chaoyang University of Technology, Jaypee Business School, and the University of Florida have also kept significant contributions in this domain.

Source growth of digital marketing over time.

4.6. Contribution by countries

In the case of the contribution of different countries in scholarly works on digital marketing, the bibliometric analysis found that the USA had contributed the most (223 papers). Surprisingly researchers from India have achieved the second position in contributing to this emerging field of study (187 papers). However, this is a powerful point that in the case of MCP or author collaboration with the authors from other countries, the USA ranked 1st while the UK ranked 2nd. India's authors have not secured the second position in this area. In addition, the UK has kept a significant amount of contribution and other countries such as Indonesia, Spain, Korea, Portugal, Brazil, and France's contributions are average.

As the contribution from the USA, UK and India are the most, theoretically, this is expected that collaboration among researchers in these countries would be the highest. This expectation is confirmed with this Figure 5 . As a country Australia does not have many contributions, however, different authors from this country have collaborated significantly with authors from other countries. From a continental analytical point of view, it is observed that North America and Europe contributed the most followed by Asia. However, South America and Africa are completely void of any kind of notable contribution. This can be attributed to the economic and demographic development of the countries. Most of the countries in South America and Africa are not developed as other contributing countries. Another interesting insight is also observed in this analysis, which is the “North-South gap”. Countries located north of the equator are observed to contribute more than the countries located south of the equator.

Authors' collaboration around the world.

4.7. Bibliographic links of academic journals

This bibliometric analysis identified 3 dominant research clusters in digital marketing, as illustrated in Figure 6 . Each cluster has a significant amount of difference from other clusters. As identified with the analysis, the biggest cluster in digital marketing is about strategic planning with digital marketing. Another dominant research domain in digital marketing focuses on mobile marketing with apps development. In addition, the third cluster on digital marketing concentrates especially on dealing with demographic profiles of customers along with website marketing metrics. In addition, the word-cloud analysis expresses which keyword was discussed the most in these 925 papers published from 2000 to 2019 in Scopus. Digital marketing is the central word which is accompanied by other dominant keywords such as commerce, marketing, social networking online, social media sales and internet. Another amazing insight generated from this cluster analysis, e.g., three clusters represents three different facets of marketing; the green-coloured cluster represents societal and humane aspects of marketing while the red- coloured cluster represents the fundamental philosophical and strategic aspects of marketing (i.e., consumer behaviour, strategic planning, information management, social media, public relations) and the blue coloured cluster represents the recent development of digital marketing because of the proliferation of extensive data generation (i.e., database management, data mining, artificial management). But here one inconsistency can be noticed that theoretically big data analytics should fall in the blue coloured cluster but here it falls in the red coloured cluster and the authors are unable to explain the reason for this which can also be considered as a limitation of the article. Although digital marketing has received its importance after the advent of social media after 2000, it is considered in the red coloured cluster. That means digital marketing must be considered as the fundamental part of marketing and it must be given its due importance from the implicational aspect while the theory and philosophy remain the same.

Cluster analysis in digital marketing research.

5. Conclusion and implications

The bibliometric study provides a comprehensive picture of specific research fields and enables researchers to focus on unique areas to add new results and knowledge to the literature ( Ghorbani et al., 2021 ). In summary, this can be firmly claimed that the growth in the field of DM research has started in 2014. Three dominant themes of study have been developed including a strategic framework, mobile marketing and apps development and demographic analysis with web analytics. As a country, USA, UK and India contributed the most to this development. In the last half-decade, digital marketing has evolved as a buzzword. Revolution has been created by electronic commerce in business by transforming the physical aspect of delivery to the virtual aspect of marketing and selling. Digital marketing has become an integral part of any marketing and sales strategy ( Bhojaraja and Muniraju, 2018 ).

Analysis of the DM literature through bibliometric analysis will assist both the academicians and practitioners in various ways. First of all, this study will inform academic researchers and digital marketers regarding the evolution, trends and history of digital marketing. This paper will also inform about the most researched domains under DM, hence, enables researchers to identify research gaps to be filled by further studies in the future. The analysis shows that digital marketing is the single most keyword used in most of the studies. The other areas along with DM should also be investigated including consumer behaviour, social networks, machine learning, big data, advertising, mobile marketing, web 2.0, branding and so forth. Secondly, the study shows that research on DM has received tremendous focus since 2010 due to the growth of the internet and social media. As social media allure customers to speak for the brands, global companies increasingly focus on digital marketing as an effective tool of brand communication ( Bhuyan and Rahman, 2014 ). Thus, digital marketers should ensure the best use of digital media in brand communication. Third, the analysis reveals that DM literature is the most prevalent in the countries like USA, UK and India. Future researchers should focus on other parts of the world especially the developing countries regarding the prospects of digital marketing.

Finally, there are three dominant clusters are identified from the analysis. Strategic planning with digital marketing is the largest cluster suggesting the significant domain for both researchers and policymakers. After happening the latest technological revolution in businesses, digital marketing has become more prominent and widely practised. The methods of traditional marketing are completely replaced by those of digital marketing. Nowadays, marketers are forced to use the internet and digital technology for selling and promoting their products and services. Therefore, both the prospects and challenges of digital marketing must be properly detected and analyzed by marketers to set the best marketing plan and communication goals ( Bhojaraja and Muniraju, 2018 ). Mobile marketing with apps development is another domain identified from the cluster analysis. The rate of smartphone penetration and mobile applications is going up day by day due to availability and affordability. Therefore, markers should adopt mobile marketing such as banner ads on apps, SMS marketing and so forth to reach the target customers. The last research cluster is demographic profiles of customers along with website marketing metrics. The outcomes of marketing investment can easily be measured using digital marketing metrics. The effectiveness and quality of online content can also be evaluated and audited with the help of digital marketing ( Bhojaraja and Muniraju, 2018 ).

5.1. Limitations of the study and future research direction

This study does not include the major works indexed in another significant database (i.e. web of science), which is the major limitation of the study. In addition to that, documents were explored using the only keyword “Digital Marketing”, hence, other relevant keywords were not considered. Only one keyword is chosen to keep the analysis simple and to make it easier for the authors to interpret the analysis. Hence, further researches can be conducted to get a more holistic view by considering other strongly related keywords such as “online marketing”, “social media marketing”, “email marketing”, “affiliate marketing” and “mobile marketing”.

In future, how big data analytics and artificial intelligence are going to affect the digital marketing landscape can be explored. How marketing research has been shaped in the digital marketing field can also be an interesting pathway to pursue future research. Why USA, UK and India have contributed the most, on the other hand, why Canada, Australia, Germany, Russia, France and others are lagging in contributing to this field should also be analyzed.

Declarations

Author contribution statement.

All authors listed have significantly contributed to the development and the writing of this article.

Funding statement

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Data availability statement

Declaration of interests statement.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

No additional information is available for this paper.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Dr Md. Abul Kalam Azad, Associate Professor, BTM, Islamic University of Technology for helping to retrieve the (.bib) data file from the Scopus database.

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The influence of digital marketing on recruitment effectiveness: a qualitative study

European Journal of Management Studies

ISSN : 2183-4172

Article publication date: 30 November 2020

Issue publication date: 24 December 2020

The purpose of this paper is to unfold how different digital marketing tools and strategies influence recruitment effectiveness. More specifically, it focusses on understanding if, and how, information sources’ credibility, content marketing, and organisational reputation influence candidates’ decision to apply for a job in the Portuguese market.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative research, aligned with a content analysis, was conducted to focus on the insights from the 21 participants interviewed, to understand their thoughts and experiences regarding the subject.

The results show that digital marketing tools owned by the company are seen to be more credible and more relevant for the job application decision. LinkedIn is considered to be a more credible platform for advertising job openings than Facebook. In terms of content marketing, LinkedIn has a positive influence on candidates’ decision, as well as companies’ reputation.

Practical implications

This study provides practical implications which are useful for both HR and marketing managers, namely, the implementation of an integrated marketing communication strategy, the reinforcement of the company’s website and LinkedIn page and a presence on universities’ platforms, and also in terms of the information that content marketing should focus on.

Originality/value

This research paper incorporates marketing insights into a well-known HRM subject – recruitment, and thus adds further knowledge to the literature and prepares the ground for researchers who wish to explore this subject further.

Digital marketing
Brand relationships
Corporate reputation
Recruitment
Job advertisement

Rodrigues, D. and Martinez, L.F. (2020), "The influence of digital marketing on recruitment effectiveness: a qualitative study", European Journal of Management Studies , Vol. 25 No. 1, pp. 23-44. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJMS-09-2020-002

Emerald Publishing Limited

Published in European Journal of Management Studies . Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence maybe seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode

Introduction

According to Judy (1999) , the demand for highly skilled and well-educated employees is constant, which subsequently leads to an increase in the educational requirements for both specialists and entry-level employees. Elving, Westhoff, Meeusen, & Schoonderbeek (2013) believe that this occurs because high-quality employees are fundamental to strengthen an organisation and have a positive influence on the organisation’s reputation. A survey conducted by Capgemini Consulting in 2013 suggests that 70% of the organisations surveyed were concerned about the ability to recruit and retain talent in the current competitive marketplace, and not surprisingly, those which lag behind in adopting digital tools overlap with those which are most likely to confront challenges in recruiting and retaining talent ( Spitzer, Vernet, Soderstrom, & Nambiar, 2013 ). Furthermore, the ability to attract and retain employees is seen to be the most important determinant of an organisation’s effectiveness by several authors ( Breaugh, 2016 ; Chapman et al. , 2005 ; Johnson, 2014 ; Rajan, 2015 ; Singh and Finn, 2003 ), and, according to Johnson (2014) , companies should take a more proactive approach which involves recruitment, marketing and branding.

This study was conceived in this context and aims to contribute to furthering the HRM literature on the subject of recruitment effectiveness, by complementing it with marketing insights, especially with regards digital marketing. Because each market has its own specificities, the scope of the study is the Portuguese market, although it would be interesting to attempt to replicate this study in other countries, to assess the reliability of its methodology. The goal of the research is not only to add further knowledge to the literature, but also to provide a clear and practical understandings for managers.

Recruitment: the definition and importance of information technology

As mentioned above, hiring talented individuals is crucial, and can often be a difficult task. Recruitment can be defined as being the process which determines the number and type of applicants who apply for a certain job opportunity, which involves the advertising carried out from the moment that the company decides to hire, to when candidates apply, providing a pool of potential candidates, who then integrate in the selection process (Silvertzen et al. , 2013). Recruitment is also known as the stage of attraction, whereby the process implies the development of a marketing strategy which is similar to the process which is used for products or services – namely, by setting the values, the selling proposition, the target audience and also the communication channels. According to Roberts (1997) , the process of attracting candidates to apply for a job requires a balance, as managers need to achieve a sufficient pool of candidates – in terms of quantity and quality, to make good decisions.

Who to recruit?

How to advertise the job position?

What message needs to be communicated?

Who are the recruiters?

There is no doubt that the way that the recruitment process is carried out influences the quality of the individuals that the company hires, their initial performance, the training required and, finally, the retention rate. Accordingly, if the recruitment process is carried out badly, then the company could end up hiring unqualified applicants, leading to a low performance and a lack of diversity, or even failing to attract applicants who would be a better fit ( Breaugh, 2016 ; Elving et al. , 2013 ; Johnson and Gueutal, 2011 ; Singh and Finn, 2003 ).

When it comes to the methods of advertising job openings, several authors ( Breaugh, 2016 ; Johnson, 2014 ; Paolini & Duguay, 2012 ; Singh & Finn, 2003 ) defend that companies have a wide range of options, the most common and broadest ones being employees’ referrals, the company’s website, job boards, social networking sites (SNS) and college recruitment, among others. Singh and Finn (2003) go even further, by stating that, in the past, companies mostly used low-tech methods, such as newspaper advertisements and employees’ referrals, but recently this is changing, mainly because of the substantial impact of information technology.

Spitzer et al. (2013) believe that digital marketing can revolutionise the way that HR processes are managed today. Technology – especially internet-based communication tools and social media – has already changed recruitment, as it reduces costs significantly and allows organisations to reach passive candidates more easily and enables them to be able to customise the recruitment message to different targeted groups, or even individuals – which ultimately prepares the ground for the development of relationships with prospective candidates through social networking sites ( Breaugh, 2016 ; Caers & Castelyns, 2011 ; Nikolaou, 2014; Richard, 2010 ; Singh and Finn, 2013; Spitzer et al. , 2013 ). Furthermore, according to Johnson and Gueutal (2011) , the so-called e-recruiting is a solution for reaching various organisational goals, such as the improvement of recruiting efficiency and cost reduction, as well as increasing the quality and quantity of applicants, while increasing the objectiveness and standardisation of practices and the convenience for applicants.

Companies use digital marketing to connect with their target, whilst at the same time building conversations and engagement through multiple touchpoints ( Rajan, 2015 ), which enables them to leverage their employer branding and attraction and retain employees ( Sivertzen, Nilsen, & Olafsen, 2013 ). Cappelli (2001) defends that companies can promote themselves affordably and effectively by using the internet’s power of spreading information through informal networking, which provides valuable content for the targeted groups, whilst collecting information on potential candidates at the same time. Rajan (2015) defends that it is increasingly relevant for HR managers to work with marketing managers to identify potential employees and to connect and engage with them and use this network to fulfill recruitment needs. Furthermore, the use of internet in recruitment is a win-win solution for both HR managers and job seekers alike – as candidates are searching for tech-savvy employers, whilst companies aim to build a brand which is attractive and achieves visibility for its job postings, which requires the use of digital marketing ( Johnson, 2014 ; Ladkin & Buhalis, 2016 ; Paolini & Duguay, 2012 ; Silvertzen et al. , 2013).

Digital marketing: definition, tools and strategies

Kannan and Li (2017 , p. 23) define digital marketing as being the process that uses digital technologies to “acquire customers and build customer preferences, promote brands, retain customers and increase sales”. Accordingly, in the recruitment perspective, digital marketing enables a company to attract and engage potential candidates and to promote a two-way interaction, with the goal of retaining the most adequate candidate for its recruitment needs, using promotional techniques that go beyond the internet ( Yasmin, Tasneem, & Fatema, 2015 ). To improve employer attractiveness, organisations nowadays use these different forms of communication to reach candidates, connect with them, and build a positive employer image ( Puncheva-Michelotti, Hudson, & Jin, 2018 ).

Over the past years, a great deal of research has been focussed on digital marketing – as this is still a developing subject. One aspect that represents a different perspective regarding the current literature is the classification and division of digital marketing tools. For instance, Goldfarb (2014) defines digital marketing as “online advertising”, and establishes three general categories, namely, search advertising, classified advertising and display advertising. Yasmin et al. (2015) define a set of the most important elements of digital marketing, which consist of online advertising, email marketing, social media, text messaging, affiliate marketing, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Pay per Click (PPC). Finally, Batra and Keller (2016) highlight six key online communication options, which include search advertisements, display advertisements, websites, email, social media and mobile phones.

As the focus of this study is recruitment, one cannot pass without mentioning those digital marketing elements which are specifically designed for recruitment, which, according to Johnson and Gueutal (2011) , include the corporate recruiting website, general online job boards (e.g. Monster, HotJobs), industry-specific job boards and regional job boards. However, just using one of the elements presented above would represent a limited vision of what digital marketing entails, especially with regards the recruitment environment. Therefore, the optimal solution is to create a combination of the elements of the digital marketing tools which fit the recruitment overview, which is shown in Table 1 .

In addition, the literature highlights a distinction between paid, earned and owned media, as these all have an influence on marketing strategy and are used together to ensure that the message is received multiple times and that it creates awareness, engagement and retention ( Bonchek, 2014 ; DiStaso and Brown, 2015 ; Stephen and Galak, 2012 ). Several authors have contributed to the definition of these types of media ( Baetzgen and Tropp, 2015 ; Boncheck, 2014; DiStaso and Brown, 2015 ; Stephen and Galak, 2012 ), stating that paid media is the category of media for which marketers have to contact a third-party organisation, which includes print, television and radio. Its main advantages are immediacy and scale, although these are being challenged by low credibility. Earned media includes all the media activity that the company does not generate directly, which results from public relations, press mentions and word-of-mouth (WOM). Earned media is also considered to be the most credible type of source, although it lacks control over the content, which can result in negative publicity. Finally, owned media represents all those channels which are under the direct control of the company, such as corporate websites and social media pages, which are made available without any media-buying costs. Table 2 shows how digital marketing tools can be distributed between paid, earned and owned media. In addition, social media can be seen to be both owned and earned media, because nowadays brands own their own channels and pages, although they do not control the WOM marketing which is created on these platforms ( Bonchek, 2014 ; Stephen and Galak, 2012 ).

Content marketing is a digital marketing strategy which represents the process of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content which is not directly connected to the product, service or the job opening itself, with the objective to attract and engage the target audience ( Baetzgen and Tropp, 2015 ; Kee and Yazdanifard, 2015 ; Rowley, 2008 ). According to Baltes (2015) , content marketing has become a crucial aspect for successful digital marketing which enhances candidates’ perception of credibility during the recruitment process, and thus positively influences their decision to apply for a job. Companies are beginning to realise that using digital tools in marketing is worthless if it they are not accompanied by a content marketing strategy which focusses on storytelling ( Pulizzi, 2012 ). Companies can distribute content through their website, social media pages and email marketing, as well as other owned channels – creating value and using data to tailor the message, which represents an overall valued strategy in the present information-driven context – where individuals are looking for evermore information to guide their decision-making process ( Bonchek, 2014 ; Kee and Yazdanifard, 2015 ). Furthermore, companies are still struggling with the ability to create truly engaging content for candidates which delivers positive and meaningful results ( Pulizzi, 2012 ).

Hypotheses development

Hanssens and Pauwels (2016 , p. 177) clarify effectiveness as being the “ability to reach the goal”, and therefore overall recruitment effectiveness corresponds to the ability to hire the most-suited candidates. More specifically, this is achieved by influencing the target candidates’ decision to apply for a job ( Chapman et al. , 2005 ; Maurer and Liu, 2007 ). Although a growing amount of literature is focussed on the effectiveness of online advertising in the marketing context ( Goldfarb, 2014 ), Maurer and Liu (2007) believe that the literature is still failing to provide a theory-based understanding of how digital marketing contributes to the success of recruitment. Therefore, the goal of this study is to understand the impact of digital marketing on recruitment effectiveness, by focussing on how different tools and strategies influence candidates’ decision to apply for a job, which culminates in the research question: “Do different digital marketing tools and strategies influence candidates’ decisions during the recruitment process, and if so, how?”.

Our objective is to add to the various hypotheses which have already been developed in the literature on human resources management and marketing fields, by carrying out a more knowledgeable research which contributes significantly to the current literature, while aiming to encounter findings which can be easily understood and can be used for managerial decisions.

When it comes to the candidates’ decision to apply for a job, the information provided by the digital marketing tools owned by the company is less relevant than that provided by earned media.

Fisher et al. (1979) believe that candidates assign different levels of credibility to the information that they gather through several sources, as the format of the presentation of the information can be as important as the information itself ( Allen et al. , 2013 ). Source credibility has two main dimensions: trustworthiness and expertise. Trustworthy sources are those which candidates perceive are not trying to persuade or influence them, and thus, sources which are independent of the company are generally seen to be more credible. On the other hand, candidates attribute more credibility to sources which they believe are knowledgeable about the subject ( Fisher et al. , 1979 ; Pornpitakpan, 2004 ).

Job advertisements placed on LinkedIn are perceived to be more credible than those placed on Facebook.

Content marketing has a positive influence on candidates’ decision to apply for a job.

Organisational reputation is more relevant for the decision to applying for a job than information transmitted through the digital marketing tools owned by the company.

Research approach

As mentioned above, the existent literature still fails to provide a theory-based understanding of how digital marketing contributes to recruitment effectiveness ( Maurer & Liu, 2007 ). Therefore, the best approach for the research carried out for this study is qualitative research, because of its capabilities to collect and analyse open-ended answers which illustrate respondents’ points of view regarding a topic about which little is known to-date ( Patton, 2002 ; Strauss & Corbin, 1990 ).

the body text – the starting point of the research;

the research question – the research aim, which guides the study and also includes the hypotheses;

the context – the conceptual environment selected by the researcher which gives sense to the body text;

the analytical construct – which represents what is already known about the topic, to avoid overlapping;

inferences – which are intended to answer the research question and hypotheses; and

validating evidence – which assures the contribution to the existing literature.

Content analysis also allows the researcher to analyse relatively unstructured data better, with the aim to comprehend people’s cognitive schemas, as well as the meaning and communicative roles which the data represents for individuals ( Kripperndorff, 2004 ; Schreier, 2014 ; Weber, 1990 ).

Data collection procedure and sample

As stated above, the study focusses on the Portuguese market, with the objective to understand its specificities and provide managers with a more comprehensive view. The data was collected through a semi-structured one-to-one interview (see script in Table 3 ), which aimed to examine the research topic from the perspective of the interviewee and to understand how and why they have this particular perspective ( King, 2004 ). The interview was also tested on two individuals to better adapt the script to new topics that emerged. Sampling was carried out by selecting the participants based on their knowledge and experience of the topic, together with snowball sampling, whereby new participants were contacted after asking a first selected group of respondents who to interview next ( Kripperndorff, 2004 ; Patton, 2002 ). The requirements also included asking certain questions to ensure that the participants were currently employed or had looked for a job during the past year, and that they used LinkedIn for their job search.

The interviews were carried out during October, 2017, either face to face, via phone or by Skype. All participants were first introduced to the study and then asked for their permission to audio-record the interview. On average, the interviews lasted for half an hour, and the data was further transcribed verbatim to ensure its correct analysis. The study counts with 21 Portuguese participants, 11 of whom are women and 10 are men, with an average age of 22.8 years old, ranging from 21 to 27. The interviewees came from a wide range of geographic locations, and either had a Bachelors (28.6%) or a Masters degree (71.4%). Additionally, 23.8% are currently in full-time study, 42.9% are currently in full-time employment and 33.3% are working and studying simultaneously (for a more comprehensive view, consult Table 4 ).

Data analysis

initial coding – reading each transcript and attaching codes to interviews’ extracts;

coding dictionary – development of a list of codes, sub-codes linked based on their conceptual and logical similarity; and

relationships – establishing and clarifying relationships among codes ( Murphy, Klotz, & Kreiner, 2017 ; Saldaña, 2009 ).

This process was carried out using the MAXQDA software, to ensure a more structured approach. The coding dictionary can be seen in Table 5 .

After the data was analysed, the coding dictionary was developed to systemise the findings and also participants’ opinions and insights. Additionally, Figure 1 shows the research model overview and the relationships found between the major constructs. In this segment, the results are presented within each hypothesis to give a better outline of the ideas found, which are highlighted by quotes extracted from the interviews.

Information from owned versus earned media

On the subject of digital marketing tools, participants were questioned about the relevance of these tools for their decision to apply for a job and their credibility. The results show that tools owned by the company seem to rank higher for both questions, which thus fails to support H1 . The data shows that owned media tools are seen to be more credible and that candidates regularly “search more on the company’s website” or the company’s LinkedIn page “to confirm the information” which they see on other platforms, as they seek tools “that can give more detailed information and that is trustworthy at the same time” (Interview H). Furthermore, owned media tools are also those for which more importance is attributed for the decision, as they are “generally more interactive and more representative of the brand” and can give a more personalised experience (Interview O). Nevertheless, some participants have shown doubts regarding the information provided by the company, because “it is the information they want to present, and not necessarily the truth” (Interview F). This represents the constant battle that candidates face because while, on one hand, they seek information from the company, on the other hand, they are also aware that such information can be embellished to persuade them to apply for the job.

Additionally, earned media tools can also be important for the decision, especially platforms provided by universities and job boards, as these offer a larger quantity of job openings and allow candidates to discover new companies and job functions. Besides, on universities’ platforms, candidates feel that “companies that advertise there are expecting a profile” similar to theirs, which “increases the chances of being called for an interview” (Interview K). Moreover, these tools are also seen to be credible, mostly because of the importance that candidates attribute to WOM and the opinions of acquaintances who worked in the company, as this can provide “a more realistic view” of the offer, even though such an opinion needs to be weighted “because the subjectivity of third parties can also lead to a bad interpretation” (Interview E).

Credibility: LinkedIn versus Facebook

In general, all interviewees agreed that LinkedIn is the better choice in term of credibility, which supports H2 . They feel that the platform “has a more formal environment than Facebook”, because LinkedIn was built for that specific purpose and provides a structure to advertise job openings, which makes them “more informative and professional” (Interview D). Therefore, the credibility of LinkedIn can be explained by the fact that candidates perceived it to be a more professional and trustworthy platform. On the other hand, Facebook is generally seen to be less credible, because of its personal environment, which creates doubts regarding whether the job opening actually exists, or not, and also the intentions of the recruiters. In addition, because Facebook is a platform which was not built for the purpose of recruitment, it lacks structure and provides less information. However, advertisements on Facebook can be seen to be credible if they are posted on groups with alumni or specific audience and redirect the user to the company’s website, LinkedIn page or an email address, and also when candidates know personally the person whose Facebook account is advertising the job opportunity, or if they associate the person with a closer group, and therefore they are more comfortable to ask questions and ultimately to apply for the job in question.

Influence of content marketing on recruitment effectiveness

The collected data shows that content marketing has a positive influence on candidates’ decision to apply for a job, which supports H3 . Interviewees see content marketing as being a differentiation factor for companies, allowing them to provide more information about themselves and their culture, and “assuming that the job openings are identical” they seem to be “more inclined for a company which has that kind of strategy and initiative” because “it is a way to present itself to the exterior”, which “gives a better perspective for whoever wants to apply” and “provides more realistic expectations” (Interview E). However, several participants also stated that although content marketing influences them, “it is not something essential” (Interview K) – i.e. it does not represent a major or eliminatory role in their decision. Furthermore, some individuals believe that the perception and influence of content marketing can differ from industry to industry, and job area to job area, because “there are several types of companies” and each must “understand if it makes sense for them have that concern, or not” (Interview J). There is also the risk of attracting candidates to the industry with the provided content, but not necessarily to the company itself.

Interviewees were also questioned about what information they seek to support their decision to apply for a job, and the answers focussed on the job offer itself, “the type of job, the functions” and the requisites (Interview A), the company and “the type of culture” (Interview B). In addition, some HR factors were highlighted, such as turnover rates and training, as well as the team members. Although most of the individuals who mentioned salary stated that it was not so important as to have to be present in the job advertisement, the truth is that salary was mentioned quite a lot.

Reputation versus information provided through tools owned by the company

The data suggests that reputation has a big influence on the candidates’ decision, whether it is from what they hear through WOM, the media or other platforms such as Glassdoor, where employees can give their opinion, which supports H4 . Reputation is not only seen as being quite important, but it almost has the power to “make other things that might be questioned when assessing a company less relevant”, such as the job function per se , or the touchpoint where candidates see the advertisement, and “make external sources (…) less relevant” (Interview O).

Individuals seem to be more willing to apply for a company that has a positive reputation, which has existed for several years and which has a more established presence in the market, as “by principle, reputation tells you that it is a good place to work, and that it could be a good school and a place to learn and develop as a person and as a professional” (Interview U). Regarding negative reputation, opinions seem to be split, with most interviewees stating they “would not like to work for a company with a negative reputation” (Interview A), especially in cases of corruption and other scandals, or the mistreatment of employees – all of which decreasing their willingness to apply for a job there. In contrast, negative reputation can be surpassed for some participants if the company in question is one where the candidate “really want(s) to work for and that matches the need at the moment” (Interview H), making them “willing to confirm” for themselves (Interview S).

Furthermore, most participants think that reputation “has more influence than what the company is actually saying” on their owned tools (Interview B). For reputation has more diversified sources, and participants “prefer to inform” themselves “through comments of people who work in the company” – because that information is “more credible and closer to the truth” (Interview C). Nevertheless, it is also relevant to state that some interviewees do not feel that reputation has an influence on the decision to apply, especially in the case of smaller companies or startups, as these are not sufficiently established to have created a reputation for themselves.

The goal of this study is to understand the influence of digital marketing on recruitment effectiveness and contribute to the existent literature on the subject with new findings or a further confirmation of established ideas. To start with, the findings of this study challenge the conventional idea that owned media is the least credible type of media, which has been defended by several authors ( Baetzgen and Tropp, 2015 ; O’Neil & Eisenmann, 2017 ). Our results show that in the recruitment environment, owned media tools are considered to be more credible, which is an essential characteristic for sources and their influence on how information is processed ( Van Hoye & Lievens, 2005 ). Furthermore, owned media tools are seen to be more capable of providing detailed and relevant information, which makes them the most important type of sources to support the decision to apply for a job. Company’s websites and LinkedIn page are the most preferred and the most frequently referred tools, with candidates even associating certain traits about the company and its culture to how the information is exposed on these channels.

Nonetheless, for companies, the question is no longer whether they should join the digital conversation or not, for the pressure to adopt an online presence is so significant that it is impossible to ignore it. The adoption of this strategy establishes ground for mutually satisfying long-term relationships with the audience – which in this case of this study are potential candidates. According to Tiago and Veríssimo (2014) , Portuguese companies embrace digital presence mainly because of external competitive pressure and internal efficiency, with the objective to build their brand, improve knowledge and improve communication flows.

Regarding social media, not surprisingly, LinkedIn was established to be more credible than Facebook, because of its trustworthiness and expertise ( Fisher et al. , 1979 ; Pornpitakpan, 2004 ), as it is a platform which is specifically structured for that purpose and it is more professional and informative.

This study shows that content marketing makes the company more attractive as a potential employer and enables it to differentiate itself from competitors, which has a positive influence on the decision to apply for a job. Moreover, content marketing also allows candidates to gather more information to support their decision. Research shows that a larger amount of information increases the perception of credibility and results in a greater possibility of applying for a job. Furthermore, the more specific the message, the greater the interest in the job opening and the more attention candidates give to the message – which can result in a better person–organisation fit ( Allen et al. , 2007 ; Breaugh, 2013 ). Lievens and HighHouse (2003) defend that candidates’ initial attraction to a company can be explained by instrumental attributes, i.e. concrete and factual attributes regarding a job and the company (e.g. salary), as well as symbolic attributes, i.e. subjective and intangible attributes that describe a job or the company (e.g. being innovative). Nevertheless, Allen et al. (2007) defend that questions remain unanswered about the usefulness of the information that is collected throughout the different stages of the job search.

Finally, the study confirms that reputation is a major part of the decision process, as the image that candidates create of the company deeply influences their perspective about what the company says and how they react to it – whether this image is created through their own experiences, or through the experiences and opinions of others. Ultimately, this image has an impact on their decision to apply for a job ( Cable & Graham, 2000 ; DiStaso & Brown, 2015 ). The study also suggests that reputation is more important than what the company actually says, as candidates have doubts whether the information the company provides is entirely real and accordingly seek other sources on which to base their decisions. WOM is especially relevant in this new digital era and it represents an interpersonal communication, that is independent of the company and which can transmit positive or negative information ( Van Hoye et al. , 2016 ). Furthermore, Collins and Stevens (2002) found that positive WOM has a strong effect on organisational attractiveness, and the study of Van Hoye and Lievens (2005) established that negative WOM has an even larger impact than positive WOM. This is perhaps the biggest fear of organisations in this digital and social world, as information can spread so quickly and get out of control so easily, that it can either ruin or build a company’s reputation in a few tweets or Facebook publications ( Kluemper, Mitra, & Wang, 2016 ; Malita, Badescu, I., & Dabu, 2010 ).

Theoretical contributions

The results show that owned media is a credible source of information in the recruitment context, challenging the conventional idea that refers to the contrary ( Baetzgen & Tropp, 2015 ; O'Neil & Eisenmann, 2017 ). The findings even suggest some reasons why owned tools are more relevant for the decision to apply for a job, namely, because they provide more information, they are more trustworthy, professional, personalised and interactive; they provide the opportunity to have a direct contact with the recruiter; and also because other sources redirect to them (especially earned tools, such as job boards and universities’ platforms).

In spite of this finding, possibly, our greatest contribution to literature on this subject is the identification of the parameters which can lead to more credible job advertisements on Facebook, namely, the use of groups with alumni or a specific audience; redirection to the company’s website, LinkedIn page or email address; familiarity with the recruiter; and the possibility to ask questions in an informal context (Fatkin & Lansdwon, 2017).

With regard to information, the study presents the following categories of information which have an influence on candidates’ decision to apply for a job: the job offer itself and its functions, requisites and type of contract; the company, the industry where it works and its culture, vision, products and services; the salary, where its mere reference in the job advertisement is seen to be a plus for the respondents; human resources factors, such as turnover rates and the expected training; and, finally, the team members and their qualifications.

The findings also suggest that content marketing has a positive influence on the decision to apply for a job, as it provides further information about the company and its culture and the team. However, although it has a role in the decision to apply for a job, content marketing is not seen to be the most relevant element. Furthermore, interviewees also mention that they can be more willing to apply for a job in the sector, and not necessarily for the company itself.

Finally, in relation to small companies and startups, our study shows that reputation does not have a decisive influence on the decision to apply for a job in these companies, as many of the companies in question had not had the time or the opportunity to develop such a long-term attribute.

The results show that it is essential that managers, especially those responsible for recruitment and marketing, implement the necessary strategies to tackle emerging challenges. First, managers should implement an integrated marketing communication (IMC) strategy – i.e. a communication strategy which integrates different tools to communicate the recruitment message effectively to the targeted audience, combining traditional and new media, whilst depending heavily on data ( Batra & Keller, 2016 ; Luxton, Reid, & Mavondo, 2015 ; Madia, 2011 ). If managers advertise job openings in all the available platforms, and convey a clear message, which is adapted to the audience for each one, then they will be able to reach even more potential candidates and retain their attention, which consequently results in a larger and more appropriate pool of candidates ( Luxton et al. , 2015 ). To successfully implement an IMC strategy, managers need to consider the following factors: consistency – and thus reinforce a persuasive message through the means of different tools and touchpoints; complementarity – using leverage on each tool’s strength; and cross-effects – as the communication effects from a previous touchpoint can improve the receptiveness of the information from others ( Batra & Keller, 2016 ).

Palos-Sanchez, Saura and Debasa (2018) also highlight the importance of emerging mobile technologies, which will have a significant impact on how digital marketing will work in the future, as they offer ease of use and accessibility and affect the effectiveness of conversion. Mobile marketing is fueled by the advancements in mobile technologies and their technical benefits, which currently are not being fully exploited, because of the lack of experience and expertise among professionals ( Smutkupt, Krairit, & Esichaikul, 2010 ).

Our research highlights candidates’ need for valid information and its impact on their decision, and thus, nowadays, companies need to do more than just advertise the job position when recruiting, and they need to promote their brand and corporate image to convince candidates that they are the best employer – through content marketing and storytelling ( Allen et al. , 2013 ; Blackman, 2006 ; Elving et al. , 2013 ; Fisher et al. , 1979 ). Blackman (2006) explains that a recruitment advertisement is a form of persuasive communication, which needs to attract readers’ attention and be able to stand out from other advertisements, to then create an interest to know more, building a relationship between the candidate and the company and enhancing the possibility of applying for the job in question. Several aspects make an advertisement better, namely, thought-provoking and appealing headlines; media richness; the structure and design of the advertisement; descriptive information; and interactivity ( Blackman, 2006 ; Baum & Kabst, 2014 ; Cable et al. , 2000 ; Cable & Yu, 2006 ; Frasca & Edwards, 2017 ; Howardson & Behrend, 2014 ; Maurer & Liu, 2007 ). Furthermore, a more targeted approach to advertisements would be welcome, which can be achieved by creating specific content for the different target groups of candidates (e.g. management students, engineering students). A more focussed approach has been proven to be more engaging and effective ( Pulizzi, 2012 ).

Additionally, social media usage will continue to grow as it gains more and more importance on individuals’ life, shaping how they receive and process information. As a result, companies must adapt quickly to answer these new needs, by changing their communication approach and by engaging their targets in online conversations through SNS ( Dijkmans, Kerkhof, & Beukeboom, 2015 ). Although most companies are becoming aware of this need and its advantages – namely, the enhanced trustworthiness, positive brand attitude and increased commitment – they still find it hard to implement a winning strategy, because they lack expertise and are unfamiliar with this environment and are still afraid of the costs involved or the negative reputation that can arise from a lack of control, with many remaining tied to traditional approaches ( Chui et al. , 2012 ; Dijkmans et al. , 2015 ; Kluemper et al. , 2016 ; Malita et al. , 2010 ; Melanthiou et al. , 2015 ).

In addition, it is extremely important to place all the information on owned media tools, because candidates like to confirm if the job opening is real on the company’s website or its LinkedIn page. Advertising on universities’ platforms is also essential, as individuals feel that such an advertisement is more tailored to them and that the company is looking for someone with a profile similar to theirs – which makes it easier for them to apply for the job or to search more. Furthermore, managers must be careful regarding content marketing, to ensure that it is used to attract candidates not only for the industry, but also for the company itself – by providing useful and valuable content regarding both topics and through signalling instrumental and symbolic attributes.

Finally, and perhaps the biggest challenge is the need to strike a balance between the control of the information by the company and the involvement and engagement of third parties, which is especially relevant in the current digital era, where individuals expect to be part of the conversation. Indeed, the capacity to generate and leverage insights through big data is a must-have for companies, and managers should put in place established processes to capture, storage, transfer and analyse all the data throughout the entire customer journey, to optimise advertising, content and the required budgets ( Leeflang, Verhoef, Dahlström, & Freundt, 2014 ).

Limitations and future research directions

Naturally, this study has limitations which need to be acknowledged. First, the use of mainly Portuguese students could decrease the possibility of generalisation and external validity ( Acarlar & Bilgiç, 2013 ; Silvertzen et al. , 2013). Additionally, the sample needs to be larger, to collect more insights about the subject. Second, in the content analysis, some topics were left out for the sake of the answers for the hypotheses, and therefore it would be interesting to follow up on certain topics which emerged, but were too dissimilar to be included (e.g. perceptions about video content). This would provide a more in-depth understanding of sub-topics which emerged during the interviews, and would thus result in a more inclusive study.

Based on the discussion and the limitations of this study, there is room to improve in future research. First, it would be interesting to carry out a cross-area comparison study with students, to understand whether diverse areas see digital marketing strategies differently. Second, a further validation of the parameters found that seem to make Facebook advertisements more credible would also be a valuable contribution. Third, a topic that emerged is the importance and role of review platforms for the recruitment process, such as Glassdoor, which help understand how candidates use them and whether they find review platforms useful and credible and if the use of such platforms impacts recruitment effectiveness, as research already has focussed on review platforms as being an integral part of the customer journey in the broad marketing sense ( Kluemper et al. , 2016 ; Leeflang et al. , 2014 ).

Fourth, the influence of content marketing on the person–organisation fit perception has room for further research, because candidates seek to understand if the attributes and values of the company match with their own, and, as our research shows, content marketing is a way for job seekers to obtain more information about the company in question ( Cable and Judge, 1996 ). Furthermore, because the results show that content marketing is not a preponderant factor, it would be relevant to understand its weight in the decision to apply for a job, how it changes from context to context (e.g. depending on the company’s reputation) and which type of content is more influential.

Finally, future research could focus on the impact of social media on brand reputation, to understand its role in managing brand reputation and to provide more practical insights for managers ( Leeflang et al. , 2014 ).

The main goal of this study is to understand how digital marketing influences candidates’ decision to apply for a job. The results show that candidates consider information from owned media tools to be more credible and relevant for their decision, and that they look for tools which are more trustworthy and specialised, such as LinkedIn, or the company’s website. Additionally, content marketing seems to have a positive impact on the decision to apply for a job, as it provides applicants with more insights about the company, its culture and the industry itself. Finally, reputation still represents a major part of the decision process, which is a challenge for companies in this information-driven age. The adaption to the digital era and the new consumer’s mindset is still a challenge for most companies; however, those who are willing to dare and take risks first will be those who succeed. Companies should definitely adopt an IMC strategy as a means to effectively communicate to the target audience and promote brand and corporate image through content marketing and storytelling. In sum, companies should strive to convince their candidates that they are the best employers. Furthermore, on account of the rapid development of technology, it is also relevant for companies to pay close attention to emerging trends, such as mobile marketing.

Research model overview

Combined categorisation of digital marketing tools

Distribution of digital marketing tools between types of media

Interviewees’ profile

Coding book/dictionary

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (UID/ECO/00124/2013, UID/ECO/00124/2019 and Social Sciences DataLab, LISBOA-01–0145-FEDER-022209), POR Lisboa (LISBOA-01–0145-FEDER-007722, LISBOA-01–0145-FEDER-022209) and POR Norte (LISBOA-01–0145-FEDER-022209). .

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HYPOTHESIS AND THEORY article

Evaluating the effectiveness of digital content marketing under mixed reality training platform on the online purchase intention.

1 School of Science and Technology, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
2 Division of Business and Hospitality Management, College of Professional and Continuing Education, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
3 Institute of Industrial Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
4 Re-Industrialisation, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Cooperation, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
5 Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, China

The purpose of this research is to investigate the effectiveness of Digital Content Marketing (DCM) on a Mixed Reality (MR) training platform environment with the consideration of online purchase intention (OPI) through social media. E-commerce today encounters several common issues that cause customers to have reservations to purchase online. With the absence of physical contact points, customers often perceive more risks when making purchase decisions. Furthermore, online retailers often find it hard to engage customers and develop long-term relationships. In this research, a Structural Equation Model (SEM) is proposed to examine the efficacy of DCM from both immediate and long-term OPI. The results examine whether adopting DCM on an MR training platform environment through social media brings positive results in OPI. Empirical research was carried out through online questionnaires collected in 2021 and 2022. A total of 374 questionnaires were qualified for data analysis in this study, conducted with IBM SPSS and AMOS. The results imply that DCM is critical to stimulating both immediate and long-term OPI. The immediate OPI is positively affected by increasing perceived value through MR in DCM. Regarding the long-term OPI, increased customer engagement with DCM under MR environment can cultivate brand trust and significantly affect the long-term OPI.

Introduction

Marketing strategy is crucial in a business plan. Apart from triggering short-term sales, it determines corporate image and acts as a bridge between customers and sellers so that both parties can communicate and build a relationship. Advertising draws people’s attention to a brand’s message on a product, service, information, or idea. Traditional advertising is often displayed on billboards, external walls of buildings, magazines, newspapers, leaflets, and TV commercials. Digital Content Marketing (DCM) is a way of marketing by creating and distributing content online to deliver valuable and engaging content to customers ( Rowley, 2008 ; Holliman, 2014 ). Since the last decade, digital advertising has become much more critical than before as it is more affordable and can reach larger audiences. 5G networking is being adopted worldwide increasingly so the access speed of digital content can be instantaneous with the aid of the Internet of Things ( Keung et al., 2018 , 2020 , 2021 , 2022a , b ; Lee et al., 2018b ; Liu et al., 2019 ; Li et al., 2021b , c , d ; Xia et al., 2021 ; Zheng et al., 2021 ; Fan et al., 2022 ; Zhang et al., 2022 ). DCM aims to build a close connection with customers through continuous conversation to convince their leads over time. A company can show its expertise and strengths through delivered content so that customers may be convinced that its offering is valuable and worth purchasing ( Hollebeek and Macky, 2019 ) and can realize more on their actual needs of a product ( Thomson and Laing, 2003 ; Grant et al., 2007 ; Dawes and Nenycz-Thiel, 2014 ). Consequently, DCM can reach more potential customers, boost online purchase intention (OPI), and retain customer loyalty ( Rowley, 2008 ; Holliman, 2014 ). Considering the online seller’s perspective, a reliable and valuable e-commerce environment can retain customers, reach higher customer retention and boost sales, as the traditional marketing industry is progressively burdensome and cost-ineffective ( Khan and Siddiqui, 2013 ).

Meanwhile, misleading advertising becomes an increasing concern for digital marketing, as customers cannot do a hands-on inspection to ensure product quality. It may create false belief in the expected product performance, which varies from the actual product information to deceit, hidden contracts, fees, inexistent benefits, and exaggeration ( Sharma and Chander, 2011 ; Kumar and Gunaseelan, 2016 ). Sharma and Chander (2011) found that even though people understood the existence of misleading advertising, they could not always distinguish the trustfulness and authenticity of the product. This phenomenon may eventually affect customers’ decision-making on whether to repurchase a product or not ( Jacoby et al., 1982 ). Compared with shopping in a physical store, consumers perceive more risk of misleading and deceptive practices when online shopping ( Ahmad et al., 2016 ; Consumer Council, 2016 ). In the long term, it will affect the customer benefit and satisfaction and lead to low OPI and consumer confidence in the future ( Hollebeek et al., 2016 ; Marbach et al., 2016 ; Azer and Alexander, 2020 ).

The second issue in digital marketing is that its payoff is not straightly associated with an advertisement’s spending. Paid advertisements are too intrusive, so that customers may feel annoyed and ignore them; therefore, the effectiveness of paid advertisements is likely to become minimal ( Barreto, 2013 ). Tudoran (2019) found that the majority of people had a negative perception of intrusive marketing, as it is always one-way and irrelevant. Some responses received by Truong and Simmons (2010) stated that the responders were rarely concerned with banner advertisements and felt annoyed when they were searching for other valuable information. Internet users can access thousands of information every day, distinguishing the authenticity of an advertisement’s information. Most content is provided free of charge or at a low cost since web 3.0 started. Therefore, selling a product to Internet users becomes more challenging through traditional marketing strategies. If the contents of an advertisement bores its audience or fails to give confidence to the audience, most of them will close the pop-up commercials as soon as possible and even install pop-up blockers. In contrast, Internet users today appreciate advertising messages that are customized, valuable, and under control ( Xu et al., 2020 ; Ali et al., 2021 ; Liu et al., 2021 ; Siddique et al., 2021 ; Jamil et al., 2022 ; Shiyong et al., 2022 ; Wang et al., 2022 ).

Mixed Reality (MR) is an integration of augmented and virtual reality. As the latest immersive technology among the three, MR is involved in functional mockups, military training, medical care, and many other fields. It combines digital and real worlds to unblock the linkage between human, computer, and environment interaction. Users can communicate with digital items placed in the physical world in real-time ( Liu et al., 2017 ; Li et al., 2021d ). The virtual objects will be able to respond to users when they are equipped with the necessary equipment. For example, the MR Headset is adopted to deliver a credible and three-dimensional mixed-reality experience. To enhance the overall customer experience for online shopping, MR technologies could be adopted to create technology-enhanced customer experiences ( Alcañiz et al., 2019 ; Flavián et al., 2019 ). Castillo and Bigne (2021) proposed a model that extends the technology acceptance model by introducing factors that affect the consumers’ acceptance of augmented reality (AR) self-service technologies, providing new understandings for retailers on the adoption of AR at the point of sale. Wedel et al. (2020) proposed a conceptual framework for VR/AR research in consumer marketing that intensifies around customer experiences provided by VR/AR implementation along the consumer journey and the effectiveness of such VR/AR implementation toward consumer marketing. Alcañiz et al. (2019) further extended the VR in marketing and proposed a research agenda for VR in marketing. However, the current literature has not considered the MR-based platform for the DCM, primarily through social media. The current hypothesis models have not been tested under an MR-based platform for DCM. When compared to traditional DCM-based research with questionnaires, we further extend the scope of the field for exploring the DCM strategies that will affect the immediate and long-term OPI under the MR training platform.

Besides achieving the immediate purchase intention (in terms of product/service) by delivering helpful content to the audience, DCM can cultivate trust and customer loyalty by customer engagement. An effective way to retain customer loyalty is to build the relationship through many conversations and deliver valuable and accurate information to the audience. This way, companies can affect the mindset of the audiences over a long duration of time. Compared to traditional marketing, digital marketing technology is more affordable and easy to use. With DCM, even the SMEs can achieve an effective marketing campaign and access to their targeted customer with great content. Li et al. (2002) pointed out that reducing intrusiveness has a significant positive impact on advertising effectiveness and customer engagement. Therefore, e-commerce can capture their customer’s favor, a massive amount of data during the conversation and provide a customized product. During the first one and half years, a paid search campaign is effective. However, leads from paid search campaigns are constant, while content marketing has exponential growth. Content marketing can produce three times more than a paid search campaign in the last month of the third year. Thus, the SMEs should not give up on developing DCM, and they cannot initially observe a decisive result. The long-tail effect of DCM under an MR-based training platform will surprise everyone, as it requires time to have an exponential effect. Social media networks are the most popular way people are willing to grasp information. Users are willing to search, follow, like, and comment on a post they are interested in; hence, user-generated content can be developed. Therefore, DCM seems able to present selling messages to their targeted customer effectively, avoiding the issues of traditional paid advertisements, and at the same time is price valued. With extraordinary performance, DCM can achieve a company’s marketing objectives at a low cost. SMEs should involve the DCM in their marketing activities. The aims of this paper include:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of DCM through social media under the MR-based platform to immediate and long-term OPI.

• To evaluate the mediating effect of perceived value, customer engagement, and brand trust.

• To discuss the managerial implications of using DCM in an MR-based environment.

Adopting DCM with social media under an MR-based environment provides valuable and engaging content to raise immediate OPI and enables customer engagement to build trust and long-term OPI. This study develops a hypothesis model of DCM under an MR-based platform to conduct the empirical study for evaluating the effectiveness of DCM on OPI through social media by using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) is adopted to test the developed conceptual model. The perceptions of Hong Kong citizens, active social media users, on DCM are captured from the questionnaires. The analysis is concentrated on DCM on Instagram, a popular online social media platform in Hong Kong. Section “Literature Review and Hypothesis” presents the theoretical background and a hypothesis model of the research. Section “Methodology” presents the research methodology. CFA is performed after the hypothesis model has been developed. The perception of Hong Kong citizens, who are active social media users, on DCM is captured by questionnaire. The results and discussion of the effectiveness of DCM are presented in Section “Data Analysis and Results,” respectively. The survey results provide theoretical and managerial implications in Section “Discussion.” Conclusion, limitations, and future research are discussed in the below section.

Literature Review and Hypothesis

Digital marketing is the component of marketing that utilizes the Internet and online-based digital technologies to promote products and services, such as desktop computers and mobile phones. Digital marketing campaigns have become prevalent as the number of digital platforms and e-commerce platforms increase, and as people discover that online shopping is more convenient and time-efficient. It employs combinations of search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing, content marketing, influencer marketing, data-driven marketing, e-commerce marketing, social media marketing (SMM), direct email marketing, and advertising ( Wang and McCarthy, 2020 ; Bowden and Mirzaei, 2021 ; Mathew and Soliman, 2021 ; Yaghtin et al., 2021 ).

Social Media, built on Web 2.0 technology, allows users to share, discuss, and exchange content. It is open, accessible, and content-based so users can access the content on either technology, time, geographical, ability, or identity. Users can share content instantaneously and access the audience anytime and anywhere. There is an increasing number of online sellers advertising and selling their products on social media. The above strategy is called SMM. There is nearly no additional cost to e-commerce, and sellers will face a minimal entry barrier. Sellers can also understand their customers through direct conversation and interaction, such as discovering and sharing product information and delivering valuable opinions. Therefore, the sellers can target the customers who have an enormous willingness to buy and suggest appropriate products to them, and finally, customers can make purchase decisions.

Customer engagement can be cultivated by participating in commercial activities, marketing campaigns, and interaction, including viewing, liking, commenting, and sharing the content ( Amblee and Bui, 2011 ). Positive electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) can be created when the posts have numerous likes with encouraging comments. Potential customers will have a more favorable attitude and confidence toward the product. It can raise trust in online sellers and boost purchase intention ( Hajli, 2014 ).

Instagram, a popular social media platform in Hong Kong, is mainly a visual-based photo and video-sharing social networking platform. By sharing products’ information, online sellers can attract potential consumers and drive consumer engagement through the photography-based function of Instagram ( Bergström and Bäckman, 2013 ). A simple and most crucial rule to gain advantage in the Instagram algorithm is to generate quality content and deliver it to users. People have found that when an account with more than 5,000 followers creates 5–6 posts every day, Instagram will deliver its posts to other users who have not followed the account. Moreover, a brand can gain an advantage with UGC, which is the content developed or created by general users. For example, “like,” share, and comment can increase attention and browse traffic, tagged posts can be found in the brand’s profile, and users can generate more quality content. With UGC, which manifestly aligns with increasing trends, Instagram empowers consumers to determine media content, rather than paid experts, to be primarily distributed on the Internet ( Holliman, 2014 ; Hollebeek and Macky, 2019 ).

The content farm employs freelancers, including bloggers and part-time writers, to produce content on trending topics, resulting in a high search and browse traffic to the websites ( Bakker, 2012 ). Being online, however, means the presence of duplicators, as free content can be assessed, copied, and republished by others effortlessly. This situation is now occurring on Instagram as well. Some users possess several accounts related to different hot areas to raise their income by attracting various audiences. However, they cannot manage every account well by posting 5–6 quality photos every day. So, they purchase photos with a caption from a part-time photo designer. Usually, the pictures in this transaction are low quality, useless, or even copied from other accounts. Low-quality content cannot build purchase intention, even if it hits the trend and favor of the audience. Nevertheless, content marketing can deliver valuable information ( Bakker, 2012 ).

One of the traditional digital marketing campaigns is paid advertisement, which includes pop-up and embedded ads in a website and search engine, as well as intersection commercials before and during videos. On Instagram, paid advertisements will appear as intrusive advertisements on Instagram stories and on the home page. As mentioned in the research of Li et al. (2002) , intrusiveness occurs when commercials disturb the ongoing entertaining activities of the user. Forced and intrusive businesses will injure consumer perceived value, and the consumer may even respond negatively. Diversely, the perceived intrusiveness level of an advertisement will be decreased when the user finds the content is valuable and consistent with the websites or editorials ( Ying et al., 2009 ). Paid advertisements finally decrease purchase intention ( Goodrich et al., 2015 ).

This section will be described from the digital marketing to SMM and DCM, as DCM is in the subset of digital marketing, and adopting DCM on Instagram is one of the SMM methods. The attributes and advantages of DCM are also captured from the literature. Some popular content marketing frameworks are included to illustrate how to develop an effective DCM and why DCM can have those benefits.

Digital Content Marketing

Digital Content Marketing refers to the act of conducting all marketing-related activities through the Internet, including advertising, purchasing process, customer service, and delivery service ( Koiso-Kanttila, 2004 ; Ahmad et al., 2016 ; Naidoo and Hollebeek, 2016 ). Holliman (2014) proposed that inbound marketing is more efficient and effective in costing, spreading, extending the customer boundary, and co-creating value. DCM, which delivers valuable and interactive content to potential customers, is a technique to support inbound marketing.

Instead of putting significant effort and resources into outreaching leads, DCM focuses on creating excellent content that can provide a long-tail effect ( Ahmad et al., 2016 ; Hollebeek and Macky, 2019 ). People describe DCM as an art of communicating with the customer, but without directly selling a product ( Koiso-Kanttila, 2004 ; Ahmad et al., 2016 ; Hollebeek and Macky, 2019 ). By creating great content and e-conversation, a company can build a relationship with its existing customers, acquire new customers, retain customer loyalty, and build a reliable brand name. Moreover, the company can cultivate sales activity through customer engagement, loyalty, and relationship in the long run ( Holliman, 2014 ). Killing content has the features of all branded content, random content, and the content the customer wants to know. Therefore, it is interestingly relevant to the customer engaging and syndicating. DCM is able to share valuable and free content related to the brand or the field. Moreover, DCM can attract and convert audiences to customers and repeat consumers ( Le, 2013 ). People come to read, see, learn, and experience; therefore, the company usually tells its unique and meaningful stories to grasp and retain customers’ attention, which also comes within DCM’s scope and as a particular content form of company images ( Holliman, 2014 ). Pulizzi and Barrett (2009) explained that companies are the experts in their business fields, and they can capture the most reliable and latest content resources. Therefore, a lead interested in the content may be willing to search or investigate certain content. Expert content can draw the attention of potential customers, who can understand the value of the content and product provided ( Stone and Woodcock, 2014 ).

By creating great content and customer engagement, a company can build brand awareness, acquire new customers, retain customer loyalty, and finally achieve repeat sales ( Holliman, 2014 ; Hollebeek and Macky, 2019 ). The customers have a more favorable attitude and confidence toward the product and the brand, as they are the hot trend between peers. It can raise the trust of online sellers, and the OPI can be boosted ( Hajli, 2014 ). The brand, adopting DCM strategies, is discovered by customers when they demand the relevant content or product, thereby revealing a more significant consumer-engaged attitude. It is different from intrusive advertisements, which interrupts current activity while delivering a sales message ( Holliman, 2014 ; Hollebeek and Macky, 2019 ). Through direct conversation and continuous interaction, sellers can engage their customers who are willing to buy. Sellers can also suggest appropriate products to customers to make purchase decisions collaboratively ( Chen et al., 2011 ). Moreover, quality content helps maintain customer loyalty with two-way conversation ( Koiso-Kanttila, 2004 ; Ahmad et al., 2016 ; Naidoo and Hollebeek, 2016 ).

As shown in Figure 1 , adopting DCM on social media is a part of Social Network Marketing (SNM), and companies not only grasp the opportunity, the emerging trends of SNM, to cultivate long-term OPI, but also boost immediate OPI by delivering better content ( Madsen and Slåtten, 2015 ; Ahmad et al., 2016 ; Wertalik, 2017 ; Mason et al., 2021b ; Abbas et al., 2022 ). The current literature has been found to describe the attributes and advantages of DCM, and numerous empirical studies have been conducted to find the influences of SNM on OPI ( Yang et al., 2016 ; Bolat and O’Sullivan, 2017 ). Research on the impact of Social Media Content Marketing (SMCM) on brand health indicated that SMCM plays a vital role in brand health since it acts as the inter-connection for a potential customer to grasp the brand’s information ( Canhoto et al., 2015 ; Ahmad et al., 2016 ; Kareem et al., 2016 ; Mason et al., 2021a ). However, no study has investigated the effectiveness of DCM on both immediate and long-term OPI simultaneously. Conducting DCM on social media is an SNM strategy, but not every marketing in social media can be concluded as DCM. Thus, the influences of DCM via social media may not be fully equal to SNM, which may be affected by more attributes ( Dessart, 2017 ; Valos et al., 2017 ; Tafesse and Wien, 2018 ). For example, the familiarity and the perceived value of a product. This study is an empirical investigation to evaluate the effectiveness of DCM on both immediate and long-term OPI. A conceptual model based on the extant literature is developed to evaluate the DCM’s efficacy with SEM.

Figure 1 . A conceptual framework of digital marketing.

Immediate Purchase Intension

In the research investigated by Chinomona et al. (2013) , the significant positive impact of perceived product quality on perceived product value was investigated. The customer’s perceived value of the product can affect OPI. The researchers proved that the interviewees perceived the product as valuable when they recognized that the product had good quality and excellent attributes. The perceived product quality is about cognitive familiarity based on impressions, advertisements, and comments from others on the product. Therefore, OPI can reduce the perceived risk and increase transaction intentions ( Chinomona et al., 2013 ). Hollebeek and Macky (2019) believed that content marketing is customer-oriented, as it aims to offer suitable solutions to customers with persuasive argumentation and helps customers to recognize the outstanding advantage of the product before they buy it, but not force them to buy ( Koiso-Kanttila, 2004 ; Rowley, 2008 ; Holliman, 2014 ). The valuable content can comfort customers by telling them how the product/service meets their demands and what they can gain from it.

H1 : DCM under MR environment on social media is positively related to the perceived value on the product/service.

Familiarizing with the perceived value can build trust in the product, and a higher level of trust can unlock customer’ OPI. It has been proven that the product’s perceived value can reinforce the immediate OPI through trust, reducing consumer perceived risk ( Chinomona et al., 2013 ). Therefore, the perceived value of OPI can be immediately obtained, when customers receive the engaging content that entices people to take some kind of action. In addition, branded content, that combining both advertising and entertainment into one marketing communication content, could link to organization brand.

H2 : Perceived value on the product/service is positively related to the immediate OPI.

Long-Term Purchase Intention

Social Network Marketing adopts social media as a platform for brands to interact with their customers to develop further purchaser relationships, which helps to maintain loyalty and repeat purchase ( Meyer-Waarden and Benavent, 2006 ; Wu et al., 2008 ; Papagiannidis et al., 2013 ; Malthouse et al., 2016 ; Nabec et al., 2016 ). Adopting DCM on social media, the seller can deliver quality content in different media types (text/audio/photo/video) on the post, story, and profile ( Ahmad et al., 2016 ). The bargaining power in the market has shifted from sellers to buyers through the capability of the Internet, which significantly leverages the consumer’s voice ( Mohamad et al., 2018 ). Companies can no longer make a unilateral decision regarding the price, quality, and after-sales service, and are being pushed to participate in conversations with customers to understand their needs and cultivate a close relationship through customer engagement. Therefore, excellent customer engagement can be cultivated by adopting DCM on social media, as SNM has been proven to have a significant influence on customer engagement ( Areeba et al., 2017 ; Mohamad et al., 2018 ; Rozina et al., 2019 ; Hartiwi et al., 2020 ).

Brand trust indicates that consumers feel comfortable and are willing to make OPI, even in a situation of uncertainty ( Laroche et al., 2012 ). Enduring involvement with the product has been demonstrated to positively influence brand trust ( Erik, 2019 ). The enduring content allows customers to get familiarized with the product and the brand communities. Customers, therefore, cultivate more brand trust as they have perceived less risk and reduced uncertainty ( Laroche et al., 2012 ). Especially for new leads, initial trust is formed through the brand impression by the available information of the product and brand communities, which is the critical element that DCM will deliver ( Stouthuysen et al., 2018 ).

H3 : DCM under MR environment on social media is positively related to customer engagement.

H4 : DCM under MR environment on social media is positively affecting brand trust.

Enduring conversation and excellent customer engagement can increase familiarity between the seller and customer. As mentioned, the seller, or the content provider, is the expert in the specific area related to the content. Excellent content can build trust between the seller and customer, as the customer will perceive it worthwhile and reliable if they can absorb valuable knowledge during online shopping. Ahmad et al. (2016) found that sites will lose their customer’s interest if they only deliver simple responses or quick answers to their customer’s inquiries. Differing from that, social media sites, which provide unique content with plentiful customer engagement, can gain more customer attention and trust.

Either cognitive, emotional, or behavioral customer engagement acts as the primary effect (first-tier) of DCM, and intra-interaction, respectively, fosters the brand-related sense-marketing, citizenship behavior, and identification (second-tier) through different customer engagement. The third tier consequence of DCM is trust, either on credibility or benevolence and brand attitude. DCM will finally affect consumer-based brand equity and firm-based brand equity ( Hollebeek and Macky, 2019 ).

Functional motive can also integrate with the hedonic motive (for example, entertaining and interesting content) to drive behavioral engagement, which means customers are willing to spend time, effort, and energy interacting with the brand. Moreover, functional motive integrates with authenticity motive (integrity and credibility content) and can cultivate cognitive engagement, and authenticity motive combines with hedonic involvement to achieve emotional engagement. Besides spending effort on interaction with the brand, people are triggered into brand identification and sense of belonging and further achieve trust on either credibility or benevolence ( Hollebeek and Macky, 2019 ).

H5 : Customer engagement is positively related to brand trust.

Besides attracting more leads, detailed and trusted content can obtain higher customer retention ( Pulizzi and Barrett, 2009 ), which means the seller will be the priority choice. Moreover, social media have been proven to play a significant role in OPI, as trust can be cultivated and accumulated through quality product/service, customer engagement, and trust ( Mohamad et al., 2018 ). Areeba et al. (2017) has pointed out that customer engagement becomes a primary concern for the online retailer as the accumulated emotional ties between customers and companies help to convince their consumers to make the right buying decision ( Rose and Samouel, 2009 ; Hollebeek, 2011 ; Leckie et al., 2016 ; Dessart, 2017 ).

Hollebeek and Macky (2019) illustrated three incentives that can drive customers to make purchase decisions through interaction with DCM communications. For the functional motive, customers are willing to seek valuable information. Regarding the hedonic motive, customers found that they can entertain themselves, relax, and absorb the knowledge if they are enjoying the content. Regarding the authenticity motive, the ultimate desires of consumers are achieved through the brand-related connection, integrity, credibility, and customer relationship from DCM ( Hollebeek and Macky, 2019 ). Rather than persuading potential customers to purchase the product directly, DCM is designed to develop and reinforce consumer engagement, awareness, trust, and the relationship between both parties ( Ahmad et al., 2016 ; Hollebeek and Macky, 2019 ). Therefore, DCM can increase long-term sales and lead to repeat sales by accumulating relationships and trust. Figure 2 shows the conceptual model of DCM.

Figure 2 . Conceptual model: digital content marketing (DCM).

H6 : Customer engagement is positively related to long-term OPI.

H7 : Brand trust is positively related to long-term OPI.

Methodology

A survey was conducted to obtain the opinion and perception of the effect of DCM under an MR-based training platform environment among Hong Kong residents. The effect of DCM on OPI was analyzed by SEM. Around 1000 questionnaires were distributed to the participants through Google Form from November 2021 to January 2022. Only the digital surveying method has been adopted in the research due to the outbreak of COVID-2019.

Mobile MR-apps enhance retail visits, including online shopping adoptability, by providing multiple product demonstration capabilities ( Alcañiz et al., 2019 ; Wedel et al., 2020 ; Castillo and Bigne, 2021 ). The questionnaire presented the DCM simulating the online purchase intention through Instagram’s social media. The DCM is designed for multiple scenarios, including online travel agencies, fashion, beauty, and electronic products, shown in an MR on mobile devices. The research had two sections. In the first part, the participants used the mobile device to conduct three template scenarios, including online travel agencies, fashion, beauty, and electronic products with Instagram. Those contents are designed under the MR-based mobile environment. All the participants also conducted MR-based digital content through social media as examples for simulating the effects of the real-world DCM through social media. The second part consisted of an online questionnaire that assessed six constructs based on literature.

There are five reasons for choosing Instagram rather than another social media and digital platform. First, the user base of Instagram has been observed a significant growth trend, which is more evident than others. Second, the target groups of online retail in Hong Kong are mainly teenagers, young people, and middle-aged people, which entirely match the majority of user groups of Instagram. Third, as social media marketing simultaneously, DCM on Instagram can seize its benefits, for instance, customer engagement, user-generated content, and electronic word-of-mouth. Moreover, Instagram has many functions for corporations to communicate with audiences, and the graphics-based peculiarities allow them to deliver engaging and valuable content to their fans efficiently. Last but not least, there are many e-commerce and boutiques on Instagram. Sellers can market their customer and audiences simultaneously. Therefore, the search is to determine the effectiveness of DCM on Instagram. The experimental subjects are active users of social media in Hong Kong.

The questionnaire was designed based on Confirmatory Factor Analysis and a multi-item measurement scale. A seven-point Likert-type scale, where one indicates “strongly disagree” and seven interprets “strongly agree,” was adopted to evaluate the perception on different dimensions related to DCM ( Park et al., 2004 ; Leong et al., 2015 ). The questionnaire items are summarized and modified based on the literature whereas the hypothesis settings are. Hence, the questionnaire included six constructs, measured on various scales adapted from previous studies.

The online survey was designed for Hong Kong citizens who use social media frequently. The participants were voluntary anonymous, and the results were confidential. The survey was first developed in English based on the literature and previous studies and translated into Chinese by a bilingual researcher. Three questions have been asked to indicate the Chinese and English proficiency level and any language-related difficulties.

Two screening questions developed that the potential participants were regular social media users and online shopping customers. Only participants who were regular social media users and online shopping customers were considered. Five incomplete responses answered by people who do not use any social media were found, nor non-online shopping users, and 25 invalid responses failed to answer Neutral in either one or both verification questions. There were 374 questionnaires in total qualified for the data analysis in this study. The model fit indices are affected by the sample size significantly. Therefore, Boomsma and Hoogland (2001) recommended that CFA have more than 400 samples and at least a sample size of N > 200 ( Lee et al., 2018a ).

Data Analysis and Results

The SEM was analyzed with IBM SPSS Statistics 25 and IBM SPSS AMOS 25, ensuring reliability, confidentiality, and significance level. As a method for the covariance-based SEM, the AMOS provides more flexibility for data requirements. The benefit of AMOS-SEM is that it offers a parameter estimation model assessment and is fit for use in reflective indicators and parameter estimation modeling. Hence, AMOS-SEM performs well even when the sample size is large compared to, e.g., PLS-SEM.

Respondents’ Characteristics

Respondents’ characteristics are reported in Table 1 . The gender distribution of the qualified surveys is 178 Male (47.59%) and 196 (52.40%) Female. Nearly half of the participants fell into the 19–24 age group, followed by the 25–34 age group (35.56%) and the 35–44 age group (8.56%). Around 357 out of 374 participants had or were pursuing an Associate Degree/Higher Diploma or Bachelor’s Degree or above. The respondents’ characteristics also include the times of online shopping in the past 12 months, using social media habits, adopting different social media platforms, and reasons for online shopping. More than 75% of the respondents use social media for more than 2 h per day. Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube are the top priority social media usage in Hong Kong, of which nearly 90% of the respondents have been using. More than 75% of respondents have been shopping online during the past 12 months. The significant reasons for shopping online are convenience and a wide selection of choices. Therefore, the questionnaire results can show the opinions of significant online consumers in Hong Kong.

Table 1 . Respondents’ characteristics.

Measurement Model

Given that the results were similar, only the sample results as a whole are presented. Hair (2010) suggested convergent validity and the measurement reliability of data should be assessed by Standardized factor loading K of each measurement items, Cronbach’s alpha α , Composite reliability (CR), and Average Variance Extracted (AVE). Convergent validity measures of constructs that theoretically are related to each other are, in fact, observed to be related to each other. The value criteria, which indicates that the data are reliable and valid, are shown as follows: K is excellent when greater than 0.7, good between 0.5–0.7; α should be greater than 0.7 ( Freeze and Raschke, 2007 ; Corrêa et al., 2020 ). Bagozzi and Yi (2011) suggested C.R. should be higher than the acceptable levels of 0.700; AVE should be greater than 0.500, or 0.400 in the cases of exploratory research ( Corrêa et al., 2020 ). The majority of factors show sufficient internal consistency. Most of the measurement items’ K were above 0.7, and at least over 0.6. The α of the constructs were above 0.7, and ranged between 0.761 and 0.863. The C.R. varied between 0.717 and 0.833 and AVE loaded between 0.499 and 0.621. Therefore, the majority of measurements had significant internal consistency, and a few measures had relatively low reliability but also supported the convergent validity. Table 2 summarizes the confirmatory factor analysis, which includes K , α , C.R., and AVE on the constructs and measurement items. Table 2 also lists the questionnaire items which are based on a certain of literatures. Discriminant validity was tested using item cross-loadings, which indicates that a construct should share more variance with its indicators than with other constructs ( Castillo and Bigne, 2021 ) shown in Table 3 . The value of the correlations was significant value of p < 0.01, except for brand trust and customer engagement.

Table 2 . The measurement model (convergent validity).

Table 3 . Discriminant validity (correlations between constructs).

These two formulas calculate the C.R. and AVE:

e = residual/error

To examine the common method bias, Podsakoff et al. (2003) proposed and summarized for the confirmatory factor analysis was estimated, restricting all the indicators in the model to load on a single factor. Table 4 shows the model absolute fit measures. The Goodness-of-fit index (GFI) is adequate when larger than 0.9, and a perfect fit with the value near 1.0 ( Bentler, 1990 ). GFI scores in the range of 0.8–0.9 represent a good fit as they are quite affected by the sample size ( Doll et al., 1994 ). Adjusted Goodness-of-fit index (AGFI) is further analysis from GFI considering the degree of freedom which is adequate when larger than 0.9 ( Bentler, 1982 ). Standardized root means square residual (SRMR) scores less than 0.05 represent a reasonable ( Jöreskog and Sörbom, 1989 ). Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) is recommended to be equal to/below 0.08 ( Hair, 2010 ). Table 5 shows the model comparison fit measures. Normed fit index (NFI) values range between 0 and 1, and the higher value indicates a better fit ( Ullman, 2001 ). NFI should be greater than 0.95, which is reasonable. Bentler (1990) and Schumacker and Lomax (2004) proposed that the value of NFI over 0.8 is acceptable, as it will be under loaded when analyzing with the small sample size. The non-normed fit index (NNFI) or The Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) should be greater than 0.9 ( Bentler and Bonett, 1980 ; Hoyle, 1995 ). Relative fix index (RFI) is the extension from NFI and should be greater than 0.9 ( Bentler and Bonett, 1980 ). The comparative fit index (CFI) is similar to NFI but considers penalties. The value is typically greater than 0.9 ( Bentler and Bonett, 1980 ). Table 6 shows the model parsimonious fit measures. Hair (2010) mentioned that X 2 distribution should be less than 3 but greater than 1 would be the best scenario. Parsimonious goodness-fit-index (PGFI) and Parsimonious normed fit index (PNFI) should be greater than 0.5 ( Bentler and Bonett, 1980 ). The results showed that the computed fit indices provided strong support for the hypothesis (GFI = 0.901; AGFI = 0.912; SRMR = 0.042; RMSEA = 0.031; NFI = 0.907; NNFI = 0.905; RFI = 0.911; CFI = 0.921; X 2 /df = 1.777; PGFI = 0.676; and PNFI = 0.741.).

Table 4 . Model absolute fit measures.

Table 5 . Model comparison fit measures.

Table 6 . Model parsimonious fit measures.

The proposed model was evaluated, and the estimated path coefficient and p -value are presented in Figure 3 . Table 7 summarizes the hypothesis results of each measure. According to the result, Hypotheses H1, H2, H3, H5, and H7 are accepted, while H4 and H6 are rejected in the proposed model. DCM in social media is strictly related to both the perceived value of the product/service H1: β = 0.97, p < 0.01 and customer engagement H3: β = 0.89, p < 0.01. The perceived value of the product/service stipulated a significant positive relationship with immediate OPI (H2: β = 0.87, p < 0.01). Customer engagement indicated a strictly positive relationship with brand trust H5: β = 0.59, p < 0.01. And brand trust significantly affects long-term OPI H7: β = 0.66, p < 0.01. Although the result does not point to a direct positive relationship between DCM and brand trust, exceptional customer engagement can reinforce brand trust. The result illustrates that customer engagement has no significant direct effect on long-term OPI, while customer engagement still affects OPI through increasing brand trust. Table 8 shows the mediating effects which standardized indirect effects of mediators. As a result, perceived value partially mediated the relationship between DCM and immediate OPI. Brand trust has partially mediated the relationship between customer engagement and the long-term OPI.

Figure 3 . Structural Equation Model (SEM) result. ***< 0.01.

Table 7 . Summary of the hypothesis testing results.

Table 8 . The mediation impact.

The findings confirm the assumption that good use of MR-based DCM could bring positive effect on both long-term and immediate OPI through mediating factors.

Immediate OPI

Digital Content Marketing delivers practical, engaging, and correct content to its leads. Therefore, potential customers who have been receiving enough details about the product/service are willing to search for more details about the product. They can capture the characteristics and quality of the product, and it can obtain a high perceived value from the DCM under the MR environment marketing description (H1). People claim that they can realize whether the product/service can fulfill their demand, and whether the product/service is worth the price. One of the most critical online shopping intentions is the product’s quality and features. Consequently, more perceived value by customers will bring more behavioral OPI (H2) as they have an excellent perception of the product and perceive less risk of online shopping. Therefore, the immediate OPI can be cultivated, consistent with the SEM results from Chinomona et al. (2013) .

Long-Term OPI

Besides achieving immediate OPI (in terms of product/service) by delivering helpful content to the leads, DCM under MR environment can cultivate trust and customer loyalty by customer engagement, finally affecting long-term OPI positively. DCM under MR environment in social media can seize the benefits, for instance, customer engagement (H3), user-generated content, and electronic word-of-mouth. The respondents acknowledge that DCM in social media is interactive and can promote positive customer experiences. In this study, a strict relationship between DCM in social media with customer engagement was found, which is in line with the previous studies conducted by Areeba et al. (2017) , Mohamad et al. (2018) , Rozina et al. (2019) , and Hartiwi et al. (2020) .

Digital Content Marketing on social media was found to have no strictly positive effect on brand trust, while it affects customer engagement, which can finally boost brand trust (H5). Companies engage their leads with continuous interaction, and this presence helps them in times of trouble. In addition, leads will be provided with customized service and offered suitable and better product choices, as firms are more familiar with their leads and are able to recognize their desires. Thus, companies are recommended to develop brand trust through excellent customer experience and other users’ positive actions (likes or shares), as customers are perceived less risk and uncertainty ( Laroche et al., 2012 ; Erik, 2019 ). The significant result between customer engagement and brand trust is in line with the conceptual framework developed by Hollebeek and Macky (2019) and the observation of Ahmad et al. (2016) . As predicted, brand trust has a positive relationship with long-term OPI (H7), which is aligned with the previous study ( Hwang and Zhang, 2018 ; Mohamad et al., 2018 ; Hollebeek and Macky, 2019 ). The participants claimed that they would have more OPI if the seller was reliable or gained positive comments from other users.

The absence of a direct positive relationship between DCM under MR environment and brand trust can be explained by the conceptual model of Hollebeek and Macky (2019) . Under the model, customer engagement is the first-tier consequence of DCM, while brand trust is the third-tier consequence. A progressive relationship exists between DCM, customer engagement, and brand trust. Therefore, DCM can enforce brand trust, mediated by customer engagement. Although the result does not indicate the significant relationship between customer engagement and long-term OPI, which has been proved in various relevant studies, customer engagement accumulated brand trust and positively affected long-term OPI. The potential customer-generated per $1,000 spent by content marketing or paid search campaign was compared in the research of Le (2013) . A paid search campaign can grasp the advantages as the company paid for the leads in the first one and a half years. However, leads from paid search campaigns are constant, but content marketing will have more rapid growth in the future because of the accumulated trust and loyalty. Content marketing can produce three times more than the paid search campaign in the last month of the third year ( Le, 2013 ). The long-tail effect of DCM under an MR-based training platform will surprise everyone, as it requires time to acquire trust between both parties and occurs rampant growth. Therefore, there is no significant direct effect between customer engagement and long-term OPI, but a strict positive relationship between brand trust and long-term OPI exists. Thus, SMEs should not give up developing DCM, even if they cannot observe powerful results initially.

Theoretical and Managerial Implications

It is no doubt that paid advertisements can reach many digital users who access the Internet through search engines, websites, social media advertisements, and video commercials on YouTube. However, they are intrusive and hard-selling and may result in annoying and negative impressions from leads, as they disturb the endless entertainment of the leads. Therefore, the viewers usually ignore the paid advertisements and close the paid advertisement page; some people even pay for the external blocker or subscribe to premium membership to avoid them ( Truong and Simmons, 2010 ). Thus, paid advertisements are an expensive investment and lack effectiveness in recent years. With MR-enabled DCM, even SMEs can achieve extraordinary sales performance from their marketing campaigns and access their targeted customers with great content through two-way communication.

Social media networks are the most popular way people can grasp information. Launching the DCM in social media can present selling messages to their targeted customers effectively and avoid the issues of the traditional paid advertisements, for instance, intrusive marketing and misleading ads. With the feature of MR, customers may get to know more about the characteristics of a product or a service. The process itself also stimulates customers’ engagement with a brand. Li et al. (2002) pointed out that reducing intrusiveness has a significant positive impact on advertising effectiveness and customer engagement. E-commerce can capture customers’ preferences and massive data during the conversation and provide customized products ( Pulizzi and Barrett, 2009 ). The longer the investment period of DCM, the more the substantial long-tail effect can be acquired ( Le, 2013 ). Therefore, the Return on Investment goes up if the companies apply successful DCM, as they no longer need to spend on useless advertisements and related rent ( Truong and Simmons, 2010 ).

Digitalization is a worldwide trend. Digital users in Hong Kong spend nearly 2.5 h on their mobile devices, an hour longer than they do on the TV. Last but not least, each person in Hong Kong had 2.3 devices and was enjoying 129.5 MB/s connection speed on average in 2017. 5G network technology has been launched, the access speed of digital content can be shortened to instant, and people can access various content more readily ( Li et al., 2020 , 2021a ). With better bandwidth and lower latency, the MR scenarios that customers can experience would be attractive in further detail. All these figures showed that digital marketing in Hong Kong has tremendous potential to grow.

According to the marketing expenditure in Hong Kong, traditional advertising has been replaced by digital marketing since 2012 ( Wong and Wei, 2018 ). The spending on the online advertisement has increased from 9% in 2012 to 32% in 2019. The total digital advertising value is now around 5.5 billion HKD ( STATISTA, 2020 ). In the same period, TV advertising, which used to have the most market share, fell to 14% in 2019. The expected budget on digital marketing would reach 34% and be more than double TV ad spending by 2021. Digital marketing involves many varieties. Following the Hong Kong Digital Marketing Statistics, leads discover an unfamiliar brand through search engines the most (35%), followed by eWOM (29%), social media ads (24%), and recommendations on social media (21%; Kemp, 2019 ). To provide the best experience over the Internet, companies should put more resources into developing digital content marketing under the MR environment. This provides valuable and engaging content to raise immediate purchase intention and build trust and long-term purchase intention. Regarding the data analysis of SEM, the effectiveness of DCM on purchase intention in terms of both immediate effect and long-tail effect were proved either through familiarity with the product/service or customer engagement. The recommendations will focus on the three most popular industries in e-commerce: Fashion and Beauty, Airline and Travel, and Electronic Products. According to the study on online retail, more than 90% of respondents, who are frequent online shoppers, sometimes or always purchase clothes online, and over 50 and 35% of respondents buy books/toys and air ticket/travel online, respectively, from the Hong Kong Consumer Council Report.

Other frequently online purchase sectors are clothing and beauty, as the products are quickly replaced by trending items in the fast fashion industry. People are confident enough to purchase branded clothing even if they cannot physically inspect or try the items. They believe branded goods have passed quality assurance and they are comforted by the fact that they can exchange unwanted items. However, customers have low confidence toward unknown brands, which usually are SMEs. Regarding the reasons for never and rarely online shopping, around 50% of respondents claimed a lack of confidence in online shopping because they have had bad experiences before and could not physically inspect the product. A questionnaire has done by the consumer council shows that 22% of interviewees are afraid of online shopping and no confidence in the product quality. Lack of confidence will cause the purchase intention of the potential customer to collapse. However, online paid ads can reach many audiences but cannot cultivate their trust in the brand. Moreover, the companies should continuously invest a relatively large amount in promotion, as they have to pay for the marketing rent. Therefore, DCM on Instagram is a better approach for SMEs to achieve promotion goals with an affordable budget.

More and more people look for flight tickets, hotel booking, and travel tours through Online Travel Agent (OTA) rather than visit the physical travel agency. OTAs provide services 24/7 from anywhere, and users can compare the prices with several OTAs simultaneously rather than visit different physical stores. Expedia, Trip.com , Trivago, and Skyscanner are examples of famous OTAs. It is no longer attractive to promote tours only through paid advertisements on the search engine. Intrepid Travel is a travel agency, which mainly offers small groups, big adventures, and responsible travel. They have currently adopted DCM, showcasing aspirational travel images posted on Instagram and Facebook taken by real travelers, Intrepid Travel, is interspersing with its content. It also allows real travelers to share their experiences, which helps the company connect more with its core audience. Last but not least, Intrepid Travel shows its enthusiasm for travel by replying to comments, which can draw the connections with the viewers as both of them have share the same passion on the adventurous travel.

Moreover, the DCM approach offers solutions for companies to reach the target audience precisely, which means the companies can reach their ideal customers through social media. Although approaching a smaller group of leads, DCM allows sellers to focus on targeted customers, easily perceive the product’s value and have greater OPI. With the DCM assisted with MR, sellers have more valuable data collected by sufficient customer engagement to improve marketing insights. For example, the number of “likes” indicates how many people are interested in a product, and their comments may involve inquiries and attitudes to the product. Thus, the sellers can strengthen their marketing tactics according to online data. In addition, future fabrications can be adjusted following the trend and the preference of potential customers. Deeper interaction with the ideal customers can improve the behavior brand attitude and result in repeat purchases ( Hollebeek and Macky, 2019 ). In particular, MR-based DCM has enormous potential to grasp a significant market share in the Hong Kong digital advertising market.

Conclusion, Limitations, and Future Research

Regarding the result of the study, both the immediate and long-term OPI has been proved. The immediate impact comes from the perceived value toward the product or service described exhaustively in the DCM under the MR-based training platform environment. Furthermore, customer engagement can cultivate brand trust and enlarge the long-term OPI due to behavioral loyalty. The effectiveness of DCM under the MR environment has been introduced segmentally. However, it may take time to see the long-tail effect of DCM under the MR-based training platform, as the companies have to accumulate leads by continuously providing unique content. An effective marketing tactic for SMEs, DCM, a section of social media marketing, is suggested to take a significant component, supported by the paid advertising on either search engines or social media. MR can be further used and extended to enhance the customers’ experience and satisfaction. Online shopping in Hong Kong is most common among young and middle-aged adults and highly educated people, perfectly fitting the respondents’ characteristics. Therefore, the results can indicate the preferences and opinions on DCM for the above group of residents. However, online shopping market and e-commerce are proliferating, and people in other age groups and education levels may also be willing to accept and adopt the digital method of purchasing. The result will no longer be sufficient to represent all online shoppers. The findings fill the gaps in the literature by providing empirical evidence for OPI boosted by DCM via social media. Therefore, future research can be extended to broader respondents, who may have different responses and preferences on DCM. Future research could extend customer engagement and trust constructs with other individual difference variables and extend to the mediating effect on the antecedents. MR’s adaptability and effectiveness to different marketing channels could be further considered. The technology acceptance model and the theory of planned behavior model could be further analyzed for new model development. The multi-group analysis considering different countries could be considered. Consumer behavior under the MR-based platform for DCM could be a new construct to analyze further and consider.

Data Availability Statement

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

Author Contributions

CL, OC, and KK contributed to conceptualization. OC, YC, and KK performed data curation. YC and KK carried out formal analysis, performed investigation, and contributed to project administration. CL contributed to funding acquisition. OC, PT, and KK provided methodology. CL, OC, YC, and KK provided resources. PT and KK provided software. OC performed supervision. XZ, PT, and KK carried out validation. CL, OC, YC, XZ, PT, SL, HN, and KK helped with visualization. OC, YC, PT, and KK performed writing—original draft. CL, OC, YC, PT, and KK performed writing—review and editing. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. All the authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

The research was supported in part by the School of Science and Technology, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Hong Kong SAR, China and in part by the Division of Business and Hospitality Management, College of Professional and Continuing Education, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China. The work described in this paper was partially supported by the grant from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China and Hong Kong Metropolitan University (Project No. R7016, Reference code: 2020/3003).

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s Note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Keywords: digital content marketing, social media marketing, marketing, customer engagement, structural equation modeling, customer loyalty, mixed reality

Citation: Li CH, Chan OLK, Chow YT, Zhang X, Tong PS, Li SP, Ng HY and Keung KL (2022) Evaluating the Effectiveness of Digital Content Marketing Under Mixed Reality Training Platform on the Online Purchase Intention. Front. Psychol . 13:881019. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.881019

Received: 22 February 2022; Accepted: 29 March 2022; Published: 30 June 2022.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2022 Li, Chan, Chow, Zhang, Tong, Li, Ng and Keung. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: O. L. K. Chan, [email protected] ; K. L. Keung, [email protected]

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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For many, being a social media influencer has transformed from a side gig into a multimillion dollar business. Creators now have more say in the sponsored content they create for brands as well as the earnings they receive. And as creators continue to prove themselves as influential brand advocates, marketers are tapping these influencers for content beyond social feeds, including TV, out-of-home, and other digital media.

Influencers have also proven resilient amid economic uncertainty and an increasingly crowded space. Influencer marketing spend rose roughly 3.5 times faster in 2023 than social ad spending, according to EMARKETER’s July 2023 forecast.

influencer marketing social ad spend change

In this guide, we explore the current state of influencer marketing, and why marketers, social platforms, and media companies should adjust their strategies as the power of the creator economy grows.

Want to learn more about influencer marketing and other marketing trends? Sign up for the EMARKETER Daily newsletter.

What is the creator economy?

The creator economy , also called the influencer economy, is the interconnected ecosystem of creators, audiences, digital platforms, marketers, and agencies and/or vendors. The creator economy, as defined by EMARKETER’s Creator Economy Explainer report , enables creators to generate revenues in the form of money, goods, or services through their content, usually delivered via social media platforms. Meanwhile, marketers can partner with creators to build awareness for their brands.

Because interaction among stakeholders is constantly evolving, revenue data is sparse. A March 2023 estimate from Citigroup values the creator economy at $65.2 billion in 2023. By 2024, that figure is expected to reach $74.0 billion.

What is influencer marketing?

Influencer marketing involves a celebrity, content creator, subject matter expert, or public figure endorsing a brand’s product or service to drive social proof.

The market is rapidly expanding as influencer types have increased, with influencers filling every conceivable niche and sub-niche interest.

Here are the types of influencers, based on follower count and focuses:

Mega-influencers: Often celebrity influencers, those accounts with more than 1 million followers
Macro-influencers: Influencers with a follower count of 100,000 to 999,999
Mid-tier influencers: Influencers with a follower count of 20,000 to 99,999
Micro-influencers: Followers ranging between 5,000 to 19,999
Nano-influencers: A community of 1,000 to 4,999 followers
Kidfluencers: Gen Alphas with social followings that often review toys and games
Gaming influencers: Esport and video game players who discuss game strategy and livestream while in-game
Virtual influencers: Computer-generated avatars like Noonoouri, a fashion model and digital-only popstar

The pandemic sped up changes in influencer marketing that were already underway, such as the trend toward “unfiltered” or less-scripted content, the rise of TikTok, and the popularity of “everyday influencers” with genuine and relatable personalities like Elyse Myers.

Industries like financial services that hadn’t invested in influencer marketing earlier are also learning to navigate the space. And as ecommerce and social media converge, influencers will become increasingly vital intermediaries, helping to connect brands with consumers on social media.

Creators vs. influencers: What’s the difference?

Creators create content. Influencers are creators if the content they develop can sway the purchase decisions of a population regardless of whether they are being paid to promote a product. The term refers to a wide group of people from celebrities to loyal customers. Creators are influencers if their content affects purchase decisions.

Who is a creator?

Everyone has the potential to be a content creator thanks to how the term is defined. Adobe estimates there could be up to 303 million creators worldwide. For context, that figure is close to the US population at the start of 2023, per the US Census Bureau.

Most content creators worldwide are under 41, but there are creators of all ages, including Gen Xers and baby boomers, per Adobe.

Creators over 60 years old, dubbed “granfluencers,” have found popularity on social media due to their cross-generational appeal.

For example, Nonna Pia, a TikTok account with 4 million followers, features a grandmother who cooks classic Italian dishes while her grandson narrates. Similarly, the Instagram account “Excuse My Grandma” follows a grandmother-granddaughter duo as they discuss generational differences in dating, fashion, and more.

Creator categories

Although there is an account for every interest and target audience—from foraging to chiropractic medicine—lifestyle, fashion, and beauty are among the top creator categories.

While broad, these top categories overlap with many other industries, including travel, health, entertainment, food and drink, and art. Cross-category appeal is ideal for brand marketers looking to expand their reach to find like-minded audience demographics.

Areas that have seen recent growth in creator focus include:

Collegiate sports

A 2021 NCAA policy change allows college athletes to be compensated for their name, image, and likeness. College athletes already command large audiences and regularly create content on social media, per August 2022 data from Curastory.

B2B professionals

Industry professionals are increasingly building audiences by sharing B2B content online. For example, a “ LinkedInfluencer ” is an influencer on B2B social platform LinkedIn.

Nearly 1 in 4 people in the US are on LinkedIn, according to EMARKETER’s May 2023 forecast, as both the creator economy and B2B ad spending grow. As buyers get younger and B2B marketing becomes increasingly digital, authenticity and experience will matter more in marketing.

Financial services

In the financial sector, “ finfluencers ” use their social media platform to share videos that cover personal experiences, tips, and advice about investing, budgeting, financial trends, and the economy.

Finfluencers are capitalizing on a widespread lack of financial literacy. However, the quality of the content is controversial because some creators do not have a professional background in finance. Despite concerns, 60% of investors ages 18 to 35 use social media as a source of investment information, according to a Finra Investor Education Foundation report.

The generational response

Younger shoppers are more likely to use social media . About 129.5 million US Gen Zers and millennials will use social media in 2024, per a May 2023 EMARKETER forecast.

Younger shoppers are also more likely to follow and buy from accounts run by influencers. A Q2 2022 Klarna survey found that over 40% of Gen Zers and millennials worldwide follow influencers , compared with one-quarter of Gen Xers and less than 10% of baby boomers.

Millennials

Often considered a millennial concept, influencer culture is embraced by this extremely active social media user base. Close to 70 million US millennials will use social media next year, per EMARKETER’s May 2023 forecast.

Millennials look to trusted influencers for product recommendations, reviews, and as a discovery point for new brands.

They’re also willing to purchase what they see being promoted by their favorite influencers on social media. Over half (54.1%) of US social network users ages 25 to 34 will make a purchase on a social platform in 2024, per September 2023 EMARKETER data.

In 2024, 60.7 million US Gen Zers will use social media, according to EMARKETER’s May 2023 forecast. And while that growth is expected to continue through 2027, Gen Z will remain slightly behind millennial users.

Gen Zers, however, are not as sold on following influencers as their older peers. Less than half (48.6%) use social media to view creator/influencer content, according to a July 2023 EMARKETER survey’s findings.

Where influencers do have an outsize influence over Gen Z is women’s beauty and wellness. Close to 80% of Gen Z women rank creators as their most trusted source for beauty recommendations, a survey conducted by LTK found.

Those recommendations are also turning into online and offline sales. Eighty-three percent of Gen Z women shop for creators’ product suggestions online, and 82% shop for those items in-store.

Influencing by “de-influencing”

While the majority of influencers promote what to buy, some influencers are turning to platforms like TikTok to tell their followers what not to buy. As of January 2024, #deinfluencing videos on TikTok have roughly 1.3 billion views, up considerably from 208 million in February 2023.

Seen as a method to combat overconsumption in a tight economy, deinfluencing videos often offer economical alternatives to expensive products or discuss the pitfalls of fast-fashion shopping hauls.

Creators also use de-influencing videos to share critical commentary to distance themselves from brand controversies and post honest reviews of products that don’t meet expectations. Doing so can help reinforce creator trust through authenticity and transparency.

Influencer marketing spend

In 2024, advertisers will spend $5.89 billion on influencer marketing, a 14.7% increase YoY, according to EMARKETER’s July 2023 forecast, which excludes paid media.

US influencer marketing spend grew more than three times faster than social ad spending in 2023, and it will remain ahead through 2025, according to a July 2023 EMARKETER forecast.

Social platforms are reliant on creators, not the other way around, as creators’ options extend and include owned channels like blogs, podcasts, and newsletters.

A number of well-known creators, such as YouTuber MrBeast and podcaster Alex Cooper, have launched their own audio and video networks.

Although not every creator has a strong enough brand or following to create a successful media business , the growing success of these ventures should signal to brand marketers and entertainment companies that creators can offer much more than an outlet to generate hype or hawk goods.

Where influencers post sponsored content

Creators utilize a number of social media platforms.

To be impactful, influencer content should be engaging, entertaining, and educational, and marketers should work with credible creators who have built trust with their communities.

US marketers will allocate over $1 billion to sponsored content on each of the top four influencer marketing platforms in 2024, according to EMARKETER’s July 2023 forecast. When it comes to influencer monetization , Instagram posts were the top format that creators worldwide were paid by brands to create in December 2022, per a Later and Mavrck December 2022 survey. Here’s a look at the top social media marketing platforms for influencers.

US influencer marketing spend by platform

Instagram remains the top platform for sponsored content, per a June 2023 report from Mavrck. About 98% of US creators share brand content via Instagram feed posts, Instagram Stories, and Instagram Reels, while 69.1% go live on the platform.

As of June 2023, more creators worldwide report being paid to create Reels (98.0%) compared with TikTok videos (89.6%).

Creator monetization: In May 2023, Meta began testing a new payout model for Ads on Reels. The monetization program pays creators based on the performance of the Reel, rather than the earnings of the Reel ad, per TechCrunch.

US sponsored content post types shared by creators

As TikTok’s popularity rises, brand opportunities for paid content is likely to increase as well.

Influencer marketing spending growth on TikTok has grown 27.8%, compared with 12.7% on Instagram, according to EMARKETER’s July 2023 forecast.

In 2024, over half of marketers (54.0%) will use TikTok specifically for influencer marketing, with $1.25 billion in US influencer marketing spend going to the platform, per the same EMARKETER forecast.

Creator monetization: If an influencer promotes a brand’s product on TikTok Shop, the social app’s ecommerce tool, they can earn a commission through product sales. For both brands and influencers, TikTok Shop holds a lot of promise and room for growth. In 2024, we expect 40.7 million TikTok users to make a purchase on the app.

YouTube, like Instagram and TikTok, has a solid hold on influencer marketing. YouTube is the top platform for US adults to follow influencers, according to March 2023 CivicScience data.

EMARKETER forecasts that in 2024, US marketers will spend $1.07 billion on influencer content for YouTube.

Similar to Instagram Reels, YouTube has been emphasizing Shorts as a cost-effective option for marketers.

Livestreaming is also leveraged by YouTube to connect influencers—and, ultimately, the brands they partner with—to followers. One-fourth (25.0%) of internet users say they watch creator- or influencer-led livestreams on YouTube, making it the most popular livestreaming app, ahead of TikTok (18.7%), Facebook (17.4%), and Instagram (14.0%), per an April 2023 survey by The Influencer Marketing Factory.

Creator monetization: YouTube attracts and retains creators in a number of ways. The platform offers a way to connect creator, artist, and brand stores to their YouTube channel, enabling users to more easily find and purchase featured products. YouTube also has affiliate shopping capabilities for creators interested in revenue opportunities.

Other platforms with influencer marketing potential include Facebook, Twitch, and to a lesser extent, Snapchat and X, the social media company formerly known as Twitter.

Despite its waning popularity among users, especially youths, Facebook is still expected to see $1.00 billion in influencer marketing spending next year, per an EMARKETER forecast.

Popular with the esports gaming community, livestreaming app Twitch recently launched a number of features for creators. In July 2023, Twitch announced its Discovery Feed, made up of livestream clips and ad features that help creators share their content from other platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, and Reddit.

Snap has struggled with ad monetization and commands a fraction of influencer marketing spend compared with larger platforms. In 2023, Snap crossed $40 million in influencer marketing spending, and is expected to see growth of 3.4% in 2024.

In October 2023, Snap released Creator Collab Campaigns, a suite of tools to facilitate brand-creator partnerships on the platform. Previously, Snap’s primary focus was helping creators monetize directly on the platform through programs like ad revenue sharing.

X (formerly Twitter)

X saw total US ad revenues decline by 54.9% in 2023 after Elon Musk’s 2022 purchase, according to EMARKETER’s October 2023 forecast, which means it is not an attractive platform for influencer marketing.

The aforementioned June 2023 Mavrck survey found that 45.9% of US creators shared promoted tweets, while a December 2022 Later and Mavrck survey found that 8.3% of creators worldwide have been paid by a brand to post on X.

Influencer marketing strategy

An influencer marketing strategy allows a brand to further its reach and tap new audiences, but narrowing down the right creator to work with requires an understanding of the landscape and what type of partnership will best serve the brand’s objectives.

Influencer marketing hubs: As influencer marketing took off, agencies dedicated to influencers sprang up to help brands manage the opportunity and vice versa.

Acting as a directory, influencer marketing hubs organize creator profiles by follower count per social platform, audience demographics, location, services offered, the price of partnership, and their interests (e.g., fashion, travel, home improvement, etc.), to take the guesswork out of selecting an influencer to partner with.

In addition to facilitating brand-creator relationships and identifying new talent, influencer hubs create campaign narratives, determine KPIs, and amplify influencer-led social campaigns, among other responsibilities.

For creators, working with an influencer marketing agency can be beneficial to scale and manage their own business. As influencer campaigns become more complex, an agency can manage payment, negotiate contracts, handle data analytics and reporting, and oversee other business functions.

Influencer marketing campaigns: An influencer marketing campaign is one that leverages the influence the creator has over their followers.

When in a paid partnership with a brand, the influencer campaign’s objective is to increase awareness, engagement, and, ultimately, sales. In comparison, an unsponsored campaign, while achieving the same objectives to various degrees, can be seen as more trustworthy and authentic by the influencer’s community.

Influencer campaigns fall into two categories:

User-generated content (UGC) is organic content shared by a social media influencer to promote a brand or product without direct input from the featured brand. The influencer is not paid for UGC posts, and is often not as polished as content created with brand involvement. UGC posts range from product reviews, recommendations, tutorials, and personal experiences with a given good or service.
Influencer-generated content is a collaboration between a creator and partner brand. These campaigns follow a brand’s creative guidelines—including tone of voice, talking points, aesthetics, and frequency of posts—to produce content fitting for that creator’s audience. As more influencers become trusted partners, brands have loosened the reins, allowing talent to tap into their own creativity for campaigns. Like UGC, influencer-led campaigns are more authentic and engaging, and may prove more effective for the brand involved.

Influencer posts: When paid for by a brand partner, an influencer post is a type of native advertising. When unpaid with no brand involvement, the post is considered UGC.

Most commonly seen on social media platforms, formats include Instagram photos with captions, short-form videos on TikTok, and long-form video content posted to YouTube. Influencers can also post written content on blogging platforms like Substack. Influencers will often promote their posts across various platforms to increase reach, engagement, and effectiveness.

While format is an important aspect of influencer marketing, the post’s creative should be at the forefront. According to EMARKETER’s Influencer Monetization 2023 report, the “three E’s” of influencer marketing should be remembered when creating posts.

“Regardless of the format, each piece of content should be engaging, entertaining, and educational to drive the most impact,” according to EMARKETER analyst Jasmine Enberg. Brands should also trust creators’ input on creative and format decisions because they know what will resonate best with their audience, Enberg continued.

Product launches: Influencers are an ideal way for a brand to launch new products.

When introducing a new product, brands can expand their reach by working with influencers with a similar following as the brand’s target audience. A kitchenware brand, for instance, may work with a popular food influencer to introduce a new range of pots to show off the products, its attributes, and how to buy.

As influencers become brands in their own right, many have launched their own product lines.

Thanks to an engaged and well-known audience, some influencers are able to develop products that align with the interests of the community they’ve built across their social media footprint.

For example, beauty vlogger and influencer Huda Kattan launched her own line of false eyelashes in 2013 after her community expressed an interest. Kattan then expanded the line into a full range of cosmetics. Huda Beauty, named after Kattan’s YouTube channel and blog, is now sold D2C and at Sephora.

Creators with large followings have launched food and beverage products, fitness programs, clothing lines, restaurants, and more to capitalize on their popularity and the value and willingness of their followers to support their businesses. Venturing into their own products also helps creators diversify their revenues and avoid alienating their audiences with too much sponsored content.

Collaboration: Similar to leveraging an influencer’s help to launch a new product, brands also partner with their stable of creators for product collaborations.

Often developed as a one-off or limited-edition product, brand-influencer collaborations can be a great source of product innovation.

In March 2023, Chipotle added two new limited-edition menu items to its quesadilla lineup, the “Keithadilla” and the “Fajita Quesadilla Hack,” which were developed and popularized by TikTok creators Keith Lee and Aleix Frost.

For some influencers, a brand collaboration may be a jumping-off point to developing their own product lines if the collaborative effort was deemed successful.

Common influencer marketing KPIs

These metrics are a good way for brands to measure their return on investment for influencer marketing campaigns:

Facebook engagement rates (subscribers only): Engagement rate is defined as measurable interactions on social media posts, including likes, comments, favorites, retweets, shares, replies, and reactions, and is calculated based on all these interactions divided by total follower count.
Facebook posts per week
Instagram affiliate engagement rate : The percentage of an affiliate influencer’s audience that interacts with an affiliate influencer’s campaign or post on Instagram; this includes likes, comments, and shares.
Instagram affiliate impression per follower rate : The number of affiliate-generated views that a specific post or piece of content received over a specific period of time on Instagram.
Instagram affiliate reach : The percentage of followers and viewers from an affiliate influencer’s audience that is exposed to the affiliate influencer’s Instagram.
Instagram affiliate view rate : The percentage of an affiliate influencer’s audience that views an affiliate influencers’ campaign or post on Instagram.
Instagram engagement rates : Engagement rate is defined as measurable interactions on social media posts, including likes, comments, favorites, retweets, shares, replies, and reactions, and is calculated based on all these interactions divided by total follower count.
Instagram posts per week
Social affiliate clicks : The clicks generated by social influencer efforts, including generating traffic or leads (through affiliate links) to the company’s website.
Social affiliate conversion rate : The percentage of clicks generated by social influencer efforts, including generating traffic or leads (through affiliate links) to the company’s website that also result in completed orders or purchases.
Social affiliate engagement rate : The percentage of an affiliate influencer’s audience that interacts with an affiliate influencer’s campaign or post on a social media platform; this includes likes, comments, and shares.
Social affiliate orders : The orders generated by social influencer efforts, including generating traffic or leads (through affiliate links) to the company’s website.
Social affiliate sales : The sales or revenues generated by social influencer efforts, including generating traffic or leads (through affiliate links) to the company’s website.
Social affiliate view rate : The percentage of an affiliate influencer’s audience that views an affiliate influencer’s campaign or post on a social media platform.
TikTok affiliate engagement rate : The percentage of an affiliate influencer’s audience that interacts with an affiliate influencer’s campaign or post on TikTok; this includes likes, comments, and shares.
TikTok affiliate view rate : The percentage of an affiliate influencer’s audience that views an affiliate influencer’s campaign or post on TikTok.
X (formerly Twitter) tweets per week

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Effectiveness of Digital Marketing in the Challenging Age: An Empirical Study

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1. Introduction

Digital marketing is one type of marketing being widely used to promote products or services and to reach consumers using digital channels. Digital marketing extends beyond internet marketing including channels that do not require the use of Internet. It includes mobile phones (both SMS and MMS), social media marketing, display advertising, search engine marketing and many other forms of digital media. digital marketing review digital marketing review

Through digital media, consumers can access information any time and any place where they want. With the presence of digital media, consumers do not just rely on what the company says about their brand but also they can follow what the media, friends, associations, peers, etc., are saying as well. Digital marketing is a broad term that refers to various promotional techniques deployed to reach customers via digital technologies. Digital marketing embodies an extensive selection of service, product and brand marketing tactics which mainly use Internet as a core promotional medium in addition to mobile and traditional TV and radio. Canon iMage Gateway helps consumers share their digital photos with friends online. L’Oréal’s brand Lancôme uses email newsletters to keep in touch with customers and hence tries to strengthen customer brand loyalty (Merisavo et al., 2004). Magazine publishers can activate and drive their customers into Internet with e-mails and SMS messages to improve re-subscription rate (Merisavo et al., 2004).

Marketers increasingly bring brands closer to consumers’ everyday life. The changing role of customers as co-producers of value is becoming increasingly important (Prahalad and Ramaswamy, 2004). Khan and Mahapatra (2009) remarked that technology plays a vital role in improving the quality of services provided by the business units. According to Hoge (1993), electronic marketing (EM) is a transfer of goods or services from seller to buyer involving one or more electronic methods or media. E-Marketing began with the use of telegraphs in the nineteenth century. With the invention and mass acceptance of the telephone, radio, television, and then cable television, electronic media has become the dominant marketing force. McDonald’s uses online channel to reinforce brand messages and relationships. They have built online communities for children, such as the Happy Meal website with educative and entertaining games to keep customers always close to themselves (Rowley 2004). Reinartz and Kumar (2003) found that the number of mailing efforts by the company is positively linked with company profitability over time. The primary advantages of social media marketing is reducing costs and enhancing the reach. The cost of a social media platform is typically lower than other marketing platforms such as face-to-face sales or sales with a help of middlemen or distributors. In addition, social media marketing allows firms to reach customers that may not be accessible due to temporal and locational limitations of existing distribution channels. Generally, main advantage of social media is that it can enable companies to increase reach and reduce costs (Watson et al. 2002; Sheth and Sharma 2005).

According to Chaffey (2011), social media marketing involves “encouraging customer communications on company’s own website or through its social presence”. Social media marketing is one important technique in digital marketing as companies can use social media form to distribute their messages to their target audience without paying for the publishers or distributor that is characteristic for traditional marketing. Digital marketing, electronic marketing, e-marketing and Internet marketing are all similar terms which, simply put, refer to “marketing online whether via websites, online ads, opt-in emails, interactive kiosks, interactive TV or mobiles” (Chaffey and Smith, 2008). Giese and Gote (2000) finds that customer information satisfaction (CIS) for digital marketing can be conceptualized as a sum of affective response of varying intensity that follows consumption and is stimulated by focal aspects of sales activities, information systems (websites), digital products/services, customer support, after-sales service and company culture.

Waghmare (2012) pointed out that many countries in Asia are taking advantage of e-commerce through opening up, which is essential for promoting competition and diffusion of Internet technologies. Zia and Manish (2012) found that currently, shoppers in metropolitan India are being driven by e-commerce: these consumers are booking travels, buying consumer electronics and books online. Although spending per online buyer remains low, some 59% of online consumers in metropolitan India already make purchases online at least once in a month. Dave Chaffey (2002) defines e-marketing as “application of digital technologies – online channels (web, e-mail, databases, plus mobile/wireless and digital TV) to contribute to marketing activities aimed at achieving profit acquisition and customers retention (within a multi-channel buying process and customer lifecycle) by improving customer knowledge (of their profiles, behavior, value and loyalty drivers) and further delivering integrated communications and online services that match customers’ individual needs. Chaffey’s definition reflects the relationship marketing concept; it emphasizes that it should not be technology that drives e-marketing, but the business model. All types of social media provide an opportunity to present company itself or its products to dynamic communities and individuals that may show interest (Roberts and Kraynak, 2008). According to Gurau (2008), online marketing environment raises a series of opportunities and also challenges for social media marketing practitioners. digital marketing review

The main objective of this paper is to identify the effectiveness of digital marketing in the competitive market. The supportive objectives are following: digital marketing review

To show the various elements of digital marketing;
To focus on the basic comparison between traditional and digital marketing;
To discuss the effects of various forms of digital marketing on the firm’s sales and other activities;
To show the various advantages of digital marketing to the customers.

2. Theoretical and Conceptual Framework

2.1 traditional marketing versus digital marketing.

Traditional marketing is the most recognizable form of marketing. Traditional marketing is non-digital way used to promote the product or services of business entity. On the other hand, digital marketing is the marketing of products or services using digital channels to reach consumers. Some comparisons are presented below: digital marketing review

Table 1: Traditional marketing and digital marketing comparison

Advertising mediums that might be used as part of digital marketing strategy of a business could include promotional efforts made via Internet, social media, mobile phones, electronic billboards, as well as via digital television and radio channels. Digital marketing is a sub branch of traditional marketing and uses modern digital channels for the placement of products e.g. downloadable music, primarily for communicating with stakeholders e.g. customers and investors about brand, products and business progress. digital marketing review

2.2 Various Elements of Digital Marketing

There are various elements by which digital marketing is formed. All forms operate through electronic devices. The most important elements of digital marketing are given below:

(i) Online Advertising

Online advertising is a very important part of digital marketing. It is also called internet advertising through which company can deliver the message about the products or services. Internet-based advertising provides the content and ads that best matches to consumer interests. Publishers put about their products or services on their websites so that consumers or users get free information. Advertisers should place more effective and relevant ads online. Through online advertising, company well controls its budget and it has full control on time. digital marketing review

(ii) Email Marketing

When message about the products or services is sent through email to the existing or potential consumer, it is defined as email marketing. Direct digital marketing is used to send ads, to build brand and customer loyalty, to build customer trust and to make brand awareness. Company can promote its products and services by using this element of digital marketing easily. It is relatively low cost comparing to advertising or other forms of media exposure. Company can bring complete attention of the customer by creating attractive mix of graphics, text and links on the products and services. digital marketing review digital marketing review

(iii) Social Media

Today, social media marketing is one of the most important digital marketing channels. It is a computer-based tool that allows people to create, exchange ideas, information and pictures about the company’s product or services. According to Nielsen, internet users continue to spend more time with social media sites than any other type. Social media marketing networks include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+. Through Facebook, company can promote events concerning product and services, run promotions that comply with the Facebook guidelines and explore new opportunities. Through Twitter, company can increase the awareness and visibility of their brand. It is the best tool for the promotion of company’s products and services. In LinkedIn, professionals write their profile and share information with others. Company can develop their profile in LinkedIn so that the professionals can view and can get more information about the company’s product and services. Google+ is also social media network that is more effective than other social media like Facebook, Twitter. It is not only simple social media network but also it is an authorship tool that links web-content directly with its owner. digital marketing review

(iv)Text Messaging

It is a way to send information about the products and services from cellular and smart phone devices. By using phone devices, company can send information in the form of text (SMS), pictures, video or audio (MMS). Marketing through cellphone SMS (Short Message Service) became increasingly popular in the early 2000s in Europe and some parts of Asia. One can send order confirmations, shipping alerts using text message. Using SMS for campaigns get faster and more substantial results. Under this technique, companies can send marketing messages to their customers in real-time, any time and can be confident that the message will be seen. Company can create a questionnaire and obtain valuable customer feedback essential to develop their products or services in future. digital marketing review digital marketing review

(v) Affiliate Marketing:

Affiliate marketing is a type of performance-based marketing. In this type of marketing, a company rewards affiliates for each visitor or customer they bring by marketing efforts they create on behalf of company. Industry has four core players: the merchant (also known as “retailer” or “brand”), the network, the publisher (also known as “the affiliate”) and the customer. The market has grown in such complexity resulting in the emergence of a secondary tier of players including affiliate management agencies, super-affiliates and specialized third party vendors. There are two ways to approach affiliate marketing: Company can offer an affiliate program to others or it can sign up to be another business’s affiliate. If company wants to drive an affiliate program, then, the company owner has to pay affiliates a commission fee for every lead or sale they drive to company’s website. Company’s main goal here is to find affiliates who can reach untapped markets. For example, a company with an e-zine may become a good affiliate because its subscribers are hungry for resources. So, introducing one’s offer through “trusted” company can grab the attention of prospects which might not have otherwise reached. digital marketing review

(vi) Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine’s “natural” or un-paid (“organic”) search results. In general, the earlier (or higher ranked on the search results page), and more frequently a website appears in the search result list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine users. SEO may target different kinds of search including image search, local search, video search, academic search, news search and industry-specific vertical search engines. digital marketing review

(vii) Pay Per Click (PPC)

Pay-per-click marketing is a way of using search engine advertising to generate clicks to your website rather than “earning” those clicks organically. Pay per click is good for searchers and advertisers. It is the best way for company’s ads since it brings low cost and greater engagement with the products and services.

2.3 Advantages Digital Marketing Brings to Customers

With rapid technological developments, digital marketing has changed customers buying behavior. It has brought various advantages to the consumers as given below:

(i) Stay Updated with Products or Services

Digital marketing technologies allow the consumers to stay with the company information updated. Nowadays a lot of consumer can access internet any place anytime and companies are continuously updating information about their products or services. digital marketing review

(ii) Greater Engagement

With digital marketing, consumers can engage with the company’s various activities. Consumers can visit company’s website, read information about the products or services and make purchases online and provide feedback. digital marketing review

(iii) Clear Information About the Products or Services

Through digital marketing, consumers get clear information about the products or services. There is a little chance of misinterpretation of the information taken from sales person in a retail store. However, Internet provides comprehensive product information which customers can rely on and make purchase decision. digital marketing review

(iv) Easy Comparison with Others

Since many companies are trying to promote their products or services using digital marketing, it is becoming the greatest advantage for the customer in terms that customers can make comparison among products or services by different suppliers in cost and time friendly way. Customers don’t need to visit a number of different retail outlets in order to gain knowledge about the products or services. digital marketing review

(v) 24/7 Shopping

Since internet is available all day long, there is no time restriction for when customer wants to buy a product online. digital marketing review

(vi) Share Content of the Products or Services

Digital marketing gives viewers a chance to share the content of the product or services to others. Using digital media, one can easily transfer and get information about the characteristics of the product or services to others.

(vii) Apparent Pricing

Company shows the prices of products or services through digital marketing channel and this makes prices very clear and transparent for the customers. Company may regularly changes the prices or gives special offers on their products or services and customers are always in advantages by getting informed instantly by just looking at any one mean of digital marketing.

(viii) Enables Instant Purchase

With traditional marketing, customers first watch the advertisement and then find relevant physical store to purchase the products or services. However, with digital marketing, customers can purchase the products or services instantly.

3. Methodology of the Study

Methodology comes from systematic and theoretical analysis of the methods to evaluate suitability of one specific method to apply to a field of study. It typically encompasses concepts such as paradigm, theoretical model, phases and quantitative or qualitative techniques. This study is conducted based on both primary and secondary data sources.

Primary Sources:

Primary source is a source from where we collect first-hand information or original data on a topic. Interview technique was used with structured questionnaire for the collection of primary data.

Secondary Sources:

Secondary source is a source from where we collect data that has already been collected by someone. We have collected secondary data from the published financial statements of the firms, newspaper and articles. For the purpose of this study, we have selected one hundred fifty firms randomly which are using digital marketing system to sell their products to customers. Additionally, we also collected data from 50 executives from sample and other different firms to know their opinion on the effectiveness of digital marketing.

Collected data and information has been organized, explained and analyzed by using different statistical tools and techniques. This study shows results both in descriptive and analytical way.

4. Analysis and Discussion

4.1 correlation analysis.

To show the correlation between the various elements of digital marketing and increased sales, we have collected data from one hundred fifty firms who are taking the various techniques or elements of digital marketing. Results are given below:

Table 2: Correlations

From the above table, we can conclude that the every element of digital marketing is positively related to sales increase. It indicates that all elements of digital marketing show positive effect on firm’s sales. Online advertising, email marketing, social media and search engine optimization (SEO) are highly positively correlated with sales increase since showing value of r to be .869, .873, .840 and .840 respectively. The value of r of text messaging, affiliate marketing and pay per click (PPC) are .667, .560 and .560 which also shows low positive correlation with sales increase.

4.2 Analysis of Digital Marketing

Digital media is so pervasive that consumers have access to information any time and any place they want. It was long ago when the messages people got about specific products or services consisted of only what a company wanted them to know.

Table 3: Model Summary

From the above table, we can conclude that almost all the variables having weight explaining with great extent its relationship with digital marketing. For example, stay updated with products or services is explained by 71.80% of digital marketing and the remaining 28.20% is explained by other factor. Greater engagement is explained by 51.60% of digital marketing and the remaining 48.40% is explained by other factor. Clear Information about the products or services is explained by 62.90% of digital marketing and the remaining 37.10% is explained by other factor. We can also see from the above table that F value is bigger more than 80 indicating the strength of the model.

Coefficient of different variables:

The coefficient of different variables in relation with independent variables will be discussed below:

Table 4: Coefficients Analysis for Dependent Variable -Stay updated with products or services

Unstandardized Coefficients (B) indicates that if independent variable is zero (0) then what is the impact on dependent variable? Here if we don’t use digital marketing then stay updated with products or services will be 2.882. Standardized Coefficients (β) indicates that if independent variable is increase by 1% then what will be the impact on dependent variable. Here if the usage rate digital marketing is 1% then 84.70% stay updated with products or services will be happened.

5. Concluding Remarks and Proposal

Digital channel in marketing has become essential part of strategy of many companies. Nowadays, even for small business owner there is a very cheap and efficient way to market his/her products or services. Digital marketing has no boundaries. Company can use any devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, televisions, game consoles, digital billboards, and media such as social media, SEO (search engine optimization), videos, content, e-mail and lot more to promote company itself and its products and services. Digital marketing may succeed more if it considers user needs as a top priority. Just like “Rome was not built in a day,” so, digital marketing results won’t also come without attempt, without trial (and error). The watchwords “test, learn and evolve” should be at the heart of all digital marketing initiatives. Companies should create innovative customer experiences and specific strategies for media to identify the best path for driving up digital marketing performance.

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1 Introduction and background

2 Methodology

3 Results and discussion

3.1 Descriptive results

3.2 Thematic results

3.2.1 Macro-themes related to the use of digital technologies

3.2.2 Micro-themes related to the effects emerging from the use of digital technologies

3.2.3 Macro-themes, micro-themes, and analysed perspectives: a combined overview

4 Implications and future research agenda

4.2 Theoretical implications and research gaps

4.3 Practical implications

Acknowledgements

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Effectiveness of Digital Marketing in the Challenging Age: An Empirical Study

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Associated Data

1. Introduction

2. Literature review

3. Methodology

4. Results and discussion

Table 1

4.2. Performance analysis

4.3. Relationship between authors, keywords and sources

4.4. Performance of academic journals

4.5. Source growth of digital marketing over time

4.6. Contribution by countries

4.7. Bibliographic links of academic journals

5. Conclusion and implications

5.1. Limitations of the study and future research direction

Declarations

Funding statement

Data availability statement

Additional information

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The influence of digital marketing on recruitment effectiveness: a qualitative study

Design/methodology/approach

Practical implications

Originality/value

Introduction

Recruitment: the definition and importance of information technology

Digital marketing: definition, tools and strategies

Hypotheses development

Research approach

Data collection procedure and sample

Data analysis

Information from owned versus earned media

Credibility: LinkedIn versus Facebook

Influence of content marketing on recruitment effectiveness

Reputation versus information provided through tools owned by the company

Theoretical contributions

Limitations and future research directions

Acknowledgements

Corresponding author

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HYPOTHESIS AND THEORY article

Introduction

Literature Review and Hypothesis

Digital Content Marketing

Immediate Purchase Intension

Long-Term Purchase Intention

Methodology

Data Analysis and Results

Respondents’ Characteristics