6 Alpha Construction has just started a blog to highlight its current projects.

The blog, which is linked to the company website, features photos of different projects with brief descriptions. The company’s webmaster and the marketing manager both have administrative rights to the blog site.

The marketing manager thought it would help boost the company’s reputation if the blog posts received some positive comments. She created a half dozen email accounts with different usernames and used them to post comments to the blog praising the company for their high-quality work and dedication to the community. Shortly afterwards, Alpha was contacted by two new prospective clients inviting the construction company to bid on upcoming work.

• Is this an ethical marketing strategy?