The Influence of Bloggers on Consumer Purchase Intentions

This literature review evaluates the impact of online blogging on buying intentions of customers. It explores the use of blogs for SEO optimization and content marketing to influence customer behavior.

Running head: ONLINE BLOGGING AND CUSTOMER BUYING INTENTIONS
The influence of bloggers on consumer purchase intentions
ZEHRA SERMA

1ONLINE BLOGGING AND CUSTOMER BUYING INTENTIONS
ABSTRACT
This literature review evaluates the impact of online blogging on buying intentions of customers. The paper begins by
offering an overview of marketing. Next, an analysis of the process of e-commerce and its relevance in the modern business
world has been undertaken. The paper also provides an overview of the construct of digital marketing and the manner in
which it has affected the contemporary business world. The paper then offers an insight into the construct of online blogging
and how it is used by contemporary organizations. The paper also examines the manner in which blogs are being used for
search engine optimization and content marketing to influence the buying behavior of customers. Finally, the paper concludes
by identifying a literature gap and the need to conduct further research work in this area.
Keywords:
Online blogging, customer buying behavior, SEO optimization, content marketing, marketing

2ONLINE BLOGGING AND CUSTOMER BUYING INTENTIONS
Table of Contents
“1. INTRODUCTION”....................................................................................................................................................................3
“2. MARKETING ANDITSIMPORTANCE”................................................................................................................................3
“3. E-COMMERCE ANDONLINESHOPPING”...........................................................................................................................4
“4. DIGITALMARKETING”..........................................................................................................................................................5
“5. ONLINEBLOGGING”...............................................................................................................................................................6
“6. ONLINE BLOGGING, SEO OPTIMIZATION,CONTENTMARKETING”..........................................................................7
“7. CUSTOMERBUYINGBEHAVIOR”........................................................................................................................................7
“8. IMPACT OF BLOGGING ONCUSTOMERBEHAVIOR”.....................................................................................................9
“9. LITERATUREGAP”................................................................................................................................................................10
“10. CONCLUSION”.....................................................................................................................................................................11
“11. REFERENCES”.....................................................................................................................................................................12

3ONLINE BLOGGING AND CUSTOMER BUYING INTENTIONS
“1. INTRODUCTION”
Business has undergone a substantial change brought about by innovative technologies and
globalization (Kannan 2017). The process of globalization can be seen as the single most important factor which
has changed the nature of business in present times (Urban, Gosline and Lee 2017). Contemporary businesses are
increasingly resorting to internationalization and global expansion. This has enhanced business competition
significantly by increasing the number of choices available to contemporary customers (Kingsnorth 2016). The
net result is that business enterprises are increasingly attempting to mitigate competition (Baltes2015).
Business prospects depend on the kind of strategies organizations deploy (Ho et al. 2015). The business
strategies, a particular organization is using for business operations needs to be in synchronicity with the overall
goals it is trying to achieve (Ryan 2016). Digital marketing strategies have a significant prominence and
businesses are increasingly using digital marketing (Patrutiu-Baltes 2016).
This literature review will evaluate the effectiveness of online blogging as a form of digital marketing
strategy and also the manner in which the diverse online blogs influence the buying behavior of the different
customers in the present times. This paper will be of interest to a wide range of readers since it highlights the manner
in which the construct of blogging can be used as a form of digital marketing strategy by the different contemporary
organizations so as to enhance their business prospects. Thus, the paper tries to show that an effective usage of this
construct can not only aid the different organizations to market as well as promote the products or services offered by
them to the customers but at the same time offer them a better chance of gaining success as well. It is with this
objective that the different aspects of blogging and digital marketing have been explored in this paper.
“2. MARKETING AND ITS IMPORTANCE”
The processes of marketing and promotion of goods or services offered by an organization determines
organizational success or its failure (Hsiao, Chang and Tang 2016). Businesses deploy different kinds of
marketing and promotional strategies to cascade the right kind of information to consumers. This act of offering
relevant information to consumers is important since if consumers do not have appropriate information regarding
the products or services they are less likely to choose them (Ukpabi and Karjaluoto 2017).
Marketing and promotion are important for firms as it enables them to convey information to consumers
to help influence their buying behavior. More importantly, different firms are effectively using the tool of
marketing to advertise in advance the goods or services that they will be launching in the future (Hernández-
Méndez, Muñoz-Leiva and Sánchez-Fernández 2015). This enables them to create anticipation among
consumers and thereby ensure the success of the concerned product or service. The marketing strategy used by

4ONLINE BLOGGING AND CUSTOMER BUYING INTENTIONS
Nike for their product Fuelband is an example of this kind of marketing strategy (Kim and Johnson2016).
Marketing strategies used by the different firms have undergone a significant change keeping in pace
with the changing requirements of the modern business world (Chen and Lin 2015). For example, in the earlier
times firms used to use marketing as well as promotional methods such as newspapers, radio and other means
(Cheung, Xiao and Liu 2014). However, presently majority of the firms are using digital marketing (Stephen
2016). More importantly, recent research suggests firms using digital marketing have a greater chance of
succeeding than those using traditional marketing (Lim, Cheah and Wong2017).
“3. E-COMMERCE AND ONLINE SHOPPING”
One of the most important recent trends is that contemporary organizations as well as consumers are
increasingly turning to e-commerce. The rise of this style of business can be traced to the emergence of the
Internet and the change in the buying behavior of consumers. For example, the lives of consumers in present
times had become much more hectic and busy, and many do not even have time to visit traditional bricks-and-
mortar shops (Ngai, Tao and Moon 2015). It is precisely here that the importance of e-commerce lies since this
enables consumers to get delivery of products or services to their doorstep. This not only saves valuable time but
also offers them the ability to return goods if they do not like them. The net result is that the process of e-
commerce has not only changed the business world but opened up new opportunities for consumers (Erkan and
Evans 2018). However, reviews given by existing customers, and the brand image of the organizations and their
products or services, plays a pivotal role in determining the buying decision of consumers (Zhou et al. 2017).
Thus, it becomes all the more important for contemporary firms to maintain a positive brand and market image
since it is directly related to the buying intentions of the contemporary customers.
“4. DIGITAL MARKETING”
The construct of digital marketing can be defined as the process through which business enterprises use
the Internet and social media for the purpose of effectively promoting and marketing the products or services that
they offer to consumers (Lu, Chang and Chang 2014). The effective use of the digital marketing enables firms to
reach a much larger customer base because people are heavily dependent on various digital technologies (Chen
et al. (2016). In addition, the use of social media, Internet and other digital tools for marketing and promotion is
cost effective in compared to traditional forms of marketing and promotion (Cano, Doyle and Zhang 2018). This
is perhaps one of the major reasons for the extensive usage of digital marketing by contemporary organizations.
One of the most important current trends is that the buying behavior of consumers is determined to a
great extent by brand image or online presence of organizations. More importantly, in the recent times

5ONLINE BLOGGING AND CUSTOMER BUYING INTENTIONS
consumers, rather than focusing on the quality of products or services offered by an organization, focus more on
the attribute of the brand and online image of organizations (Hsu, Chuan-Chuan Lin and Chiang 2013). For
example, if an organization has a negative image over the social media and other online platforms it is more
likely that consumers will not opt for the products or services being offered by them, regardless of the quality of
products or services. The result of this is that contemporary businesses are increasingly resorting to the use of
digital marketing strategies for the enhancement of their brand and online image, which in turn is directly related
to the sale of the products or services on offer (Laroche et al. 2012). Thus, it can be said that contemporary
organizations are increasingly resorting to the use of digital marketing strategies not only for the enhancement of
their overall brand image, but also to attain a higher level of growth.
“5. ONLINE BLOGGING”
Blogging can be defined as the process through which individuals express over online medias their
opinions or viewpoints regarding the things that are of concern to them (Cheng and Fang 2015). In this regard,
different kinds of blogs can be categorized into two primary genres: personal blogs and professional blogs.
Personal blogs are the ones in which the blogger expresses their viewpoints regarding the things that are of
concern to them or the things that they used or have done in the recent times (Laroche, Habibi and Richard
2013). Professional blogs are the ones in which the different business enterprises promote or market their
products or services (Barrett, Oborn and Orlikowski 2016). More importantly, these blogs also offer an overview
of the reasons why consumers should choose these products or services, and the key benefits they are likely to
receive. Professional blogs also offer detailed information regarding products or services that firms will be
launching in the future (Hwang and Jeong 2016). The different firms are increasingly utilizing online blogs as an
effective promotion and marketing strategy. This is perhaps one of the major reasons for the popularity online
blogs have recently gained.

ONLINE BLOGGING AND CUSTOMER BUYING INTENTIONS 6
“6. ONLINE BLOGGING, SEO OPTIMIZATION, CONTENT MARKETING”
One of the most important digital marketing strategies that contemporary businesses are increasing
using is content marketing (Urban, Gosline and Lee 2017). There are two kinds of content marketing blogs:
sponsored blogs and the unsponsored blogs (Hsiao, Chang and Tang 2016). Sponsored blogs are ones which
organizations publish to promote their goods or services (Ukpabi and Karjaluoto 2017). Sponsored blogs
enumerate the positive aspects of goods or services on offer. More importantly, they help in the process of SEO
optimization (Ho et al. 2015). This is because the more positive reviews a particular organization has in its
directory the better will be its online presence or brand image.
Unsponsored blogs are ones where the bloggers are not being paid for the blog they write. These kinds
of blogs offer an unbiased or unprejudiced viewpoint regarding the products or services offered a particular
organization (Liljander, Gummerus and Söderlund 2015). However, along with offering an unbiased insight
regarding the products or services offered by an organization they indirectly help in the process of content
marketing (Hernández-Méndez, Muñoz-Leiva and Sánchez-Fernández 2015). For example, the greater number
of keywords or product or service name one has in its directory, the higher its name will appear in the Google
search engine when consumers try to look up the name of the product or service or organization (Kim and
Johnson 2016). This is important since many customers judge the brand image of the organizations on the basis
of their position on the Google search list. Thus, the various kinds of online blogs directly influence the buying
behavior of consumers by means of not only articulating the positive as well as negative aspects of the products
or services, but help in the search engine optimization as well.
“7. CUSTOMER BUYING BEHAVIOR”
Customer buying behavior can be defined as the conglomeration of the customer’s preferences, attitudes,
demands, needs and other attributes (Cheung, Xiao and Liu 2014). This is important since it is directly related to
the market prospects of the products or services being offered by a particular organization to consumers. The
business prospects of an organization depends on the effectiveness as well as efficiency with which it is able to
take into consideration the attributes of the customer demographic on which they are focusing (Chen and Lin
2015). The result of this is that contemporary organizations regularly conduct various kinds of marketing surveys
and analysis so as to understand the needs of consumers in the most effective manner (Lim, Cheah and Wong
2017). Various theories and models relating to customer behavior have in recent times gained prominence.
The “Theory of Reasoned Action” articulated by Martin Fishbein and Icek Ajzen in 1959 is an
important theory which is being used by various marketers for analyzing the behavior of consumers (Baker,

ONLINE BLOGGING AND CUSTOMER BUYING INTENTIONS 7
Donthu and Kumar 2016). According to this theory, consumers are rational beings who, for the purchase of
different kinds of products or services, use their rational faculty to make the best possible choices (Ngai, Tao and
Moon 2015). The result is that different sponsored blogs created by businesses aim to influence this rational
behavior of consumers. Thus, the focus of the contemporary bloggers is on the creation of rational and logical
blogs through which they can influence the buying decision of consumers.
The “Motivation-Need Theory” of Abraham Maslow (1943) is another theory of customer behavior
used for analysis of the consumer behavior (Erkan and Evans 2018). Maslow’s theory suggests that the primary
motivation for consumers to opt for the products or services is the extent to which the products or services are
able to fulfill the needs or the requirements of consumers (Lu, Chang and Chang 2014). Thus, contemporary
organizational and individual blogs aspire to shed light not only on the positive as well as negative aspects of the
products or services, but also on the likely benefits likely to be offered to consumers. Thus, regardless of the kind
of blog, they take into consideration one kind of customer behavior theory or the other.

ONLINE BLOGGING AND CUSTOMER BUYING INTENTIONS 8
“8. IMPACT OF BLOGGING ON CUSTOMER BEHAVIOR”
The number of options or choices available to consumers has increased due to the large number of
businesses offering the same kind product or services (Zhou et al. 2017). More importantly, this has not only
increased the competition but has also made consumers more fickle than previously. The result is that consumers
often opt for the products or services which are best in quality and available at the lowest possible prices (Chen
et al. 2016). This is unlike earlier buying behavior of consumers where they used to purchase the products or
services of an organization on the basis of the quality, customer loyalty or customer satisfaction. However, the
contemporary businesses in order to mitigate the adverse effects of this change in the buying behavior of
consumers are increasingly using digital marketing strategies (Cano, Doyle and Zhang2018).
Effective use of digital marketing strategies or online blogs offers a plethora of benefits to the
organizations as well as consumers (Hsu, Chuan-Chuan Lin and Chiang 2013). One of the most important
modern trends is that consumers are influenced by online reviews written by various bloggers as well as existing
customers (Hsiao, Chang and Tang 2016). Thus, the positive reviews given by bloggers and existing customers
motivate other consumers to choose products or services offered by an organization. Businesses through using
content marketing and SEO optimization try to keep only the positive reviews over their official website and
delete the negative (Liljander, Gummerus and Söderlund 2015). This is done to influence consumers to opt for
the products or services offered by the concerned business. Furthermore, businesses, through the effective usage
of content marketing, try to highlight only the positive aspects of the products or services that they are offering to
consumers or the likely benefits that on offer to consumers. Recent research suggests that this has a profound
impact on the buying behavior of consumers (Patrutiu-Baltes 2016).

ONLINE BLOGGING AND CUSTOMER BUYING INTENTIONS 9
The decision of consumers to repeatedly opt for the products or services offered by a particular business
depends on the kind of satisfaction offered to consumers (Urban, Gosline and Lee 2017). This in turn is directly
related to the loyalty of consumers towards the products or services and organization. However, in recent times,
because of increasing competition, the loyalty of consumers towards the various organizations has decreased
substantially (Patrutiu-Baltes 2016). Firms are resorting to the use of online blogs and bloggers to enhance their
brand or organization’s image. This measure is being used because contemporary customers opt for products or
services of a particular organization which has a positive brand image.
Recent research has revealed that one of the best possible ways to attain and maintain a positive brand
image is to have a positive image over online platforms (Kannan 2017). It is precisely here that the tool of online
blogs becomes an indispensable one for organizations since they are being used for posting positive aspects of
their organizations. Negative reviews or blogs also help the different businesses (Ho et al. 2015). They highlight
the negative aspects or the drawbacks of the products or services offered by a particular organization, however at
the same time help in the processes of content marketing and SEO optimization which are integral parts of digital
marketing (Hsiao, Chang and Tang 2016). Thus, it can be said that online blogs not only helps an organization to
influence the buying intention of consumers but at the same time determines its business prospects as well.
“9. LITERATURE GAP”
Customer buying behavior and digital marketing has formed the central lacuna of numerous research
works. This is perhaps one of the major reasons for the extensive amount of literature which is available on these
two topics and also for their effective utilization by contemporary organizations. However, the concept of online
blogging and its use for the purpose of influencing the buying intentions of consumers is a nascent one. The
result is that very little research or scholarly works have been based on this topic. It is precisely here that the
prominence of this work lies since it tries to evaluate the manner in which online blogging can be utilized by the
businesses for the purpose of influencing consumer buying behavior. Thus, this work will serve as a framework
which future research can use as a base for conducting further work. In addition, different businesses can also
utilize this work as a model for the analysis of customer buying behavior and the manner in which it can be
influenced through the use of online blogging.
“10. CONCLUSION”
To conclude, the buying behavior of contemporary customers has undergone a significant change in the
recent times because of the plethora of choices that are available to them. The result is that businesses are
resorting to the use of different kinds of marketing strategies for the purpose of influencing consumer buying

ONLINE BLOGGING AND CUSTOMER BUYING INTENTIONS 10
behavior. One of the most important measures being used by firms for the purpose of positively affecting the
buying behavior of consumers is online blogs. It is pertinent to note that these online blogs offer various kinds of
benefits to the organizations like SEO optimization, content marketing, highlight the positive aspects of the
products or services, the likely benefits that consumers are going to get through the use of these products or
services. These in turn have enabled organizations to positively affect the buying behavior of consumers.

ONLINE BLOGGING AND CUSTOMER BUYING INTENTIONS 11
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