E-Marketing on Online Social Networks and Ethical Issues

Abstract

Online social network is any electronic tool or application that provides information, allowing collaboration, interaction, and sharing information among users. The social network can be utilized as an e-marketing tool with low-cost and effective source of medium for marketers to identify market needs, customer experiences, competitive movements, and trends. The purpose of this paper is to study the significance of online social networks based on web 2.0 technologies on e-marketing promotion and potential challenging issue as well as needs of ethical standards. The paper adopts a broad literature review relating to e-marketing on online social networks and ethics. This study examines that the ethical issues such as acts, regulations and policies that govern privacy, the collection of personal information and the protection of a user’s identity are crucial when using social network for e-marketing and business promotion. As a communication tool the online social networks play a key role to reach initial product adopters and maintain interaction and collaboration with customers for market promotion.