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A new study from PR/marketing agency Red Jeweled Media takes a deep dive inside the psyches of bloggers, exploring such avenues as why they blog, what they’re blogging for, how much time they spend on their blog and how much they charge for branded posts.
Not so surprising, a majority (more than 90%) of bloggers polled are passionate about writing; they love being a part of the blogging community and enjoy expressing themselves through blogging.
Some 77% of bloggers think of their blog as a business—whether it’s a combo business/hobby (46.2%), full-time business (11.1%) or part-time business (19.4%). Only 20.3% view their blog solely as a “hobby” or “fun personal activity.”
And most who post sponsored messages want brands to think of them as marketers. Which brings up the topic of effective blogger relations. PR News asked two experts in the field about the challenges and best practices of blogger management.
One of the biggest challenges in working with bloggers, says Stephanie Doherty, VP at Cone Communications, is determining who would be the best fit for your program or product. “Identifying appropriate bloggers takes a lot of time and research,” Doherty says. Once you have identified the list of bloggers who you want to reach out to, you need to really dig through their blog and get to know them on a personal level; how many kids do they have, does one of them have an allergy? Where do they live? What makes this blogger unique or different?
There’s also another important identifying factor: does the blogger charge a fee? Finding ones that don’t charge is important, says Sue Reninger, managing partner and strategist at RMD Advertising. Most brands allocate advertising and PR budgets separately. As a result, objective reviews and editorials typically cannot be purchased. “That said, a blog that goes the distance, building a brand well over a period of time, deserves consideration when allocating communications dollars,” Reninger says.
What to pay bloggers for branded posts varies, Doherty says. Cost depends on their readership, social following and engagement. The type of post also affects cost—a giveaway may cost more than a straight product review. Bloggers who require fees for posts typically have a media kit available on their blog with more information, Doherty adds.
Some quick blogger relations best practices:
• Know what you hope to accomplish, and clearly identify it up front, Reminger says. Do you hope to have a product reviewed? Directive to “where to buy?”
• Approach bloggers the same way you would a traditional media contact, Doherty says. Learn about the issues that are important to them and mine for insights that will help customize the content you’re sharing. PRN
Contact:
Stephanie Doherty, [email protected].; Sue Reninger, [email protected]