Scientific Essay from the year 2011 in the subject Communications - Multimedia, Internet, New Technologies, grade: A, The University of Surrey, language: English, abstract: This paper aims to present a critical and evaluative analysis on the emergence and principles of social media marketing and its true potential to enhance an organisation's marketing efforts. In particular, it outlines the shift in consumer power, influence and behaviour over the last few decades, the development and contemporary notions of relationship-oriented marketing and the contribution of social media in all these processes. Furthermore, the paper deals with the concept of customer relationship management, applicable online marketing techniques and the way social media can be integrated in an organisations marketing activities in terms of customer acquisition, retention and extension. Notions of the potential of social media marketing in the hotel industry are set in context with online marketing best practice and theoretical assumptions to identify possible contradictions and knowledge gaps.