Web 2.0: an assessment of social marketing principles

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of social marketing principles in Web 2.0 commercial and social marketing campaigns. Design/methodology/approach – A literature review and online search were conducted to document the types of products and behavior change initiatives being marketed on Web 2.0 platforms. Case studies from commercial and social marketing were critically reviewed to determine whether they exhibited one or more of the principles of social marketing. Findings – Results demonstrated that social marketers can employ the following social marketing principles to successfully design and implement a Web 2.0 campaign: consumer orientation, behavior change, market segmentation and targeting, mixed methods, exchange and competition. Originality/value – The findings present originality and value to social marketers who want to effectively integrate, expand and apply Web 2.0 channels to meet their behavior change goals.