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When bloggers solicit brands and public relations companies for sponsored posts, recipe development or other forms of paid advertising, one of the first things they like to tout is how much traffic their site attracts in an average month.
Yes, it’s important to communicate this to brands at some point in the discussion process because most marketers have to report to someone, be it a client or boss, how many media impressions a specific website or cumulative campaign is generating for the brand. Bloggers should be upfront with that number. However, on its own, a blog’s page views are not indicative of your blog’s overall worth and will not convince me to pursue a paid relationship with a blogger
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There are numerous ways that brands, including our own clients, like to work with bloggers. Some like to treat bloggers like traditional journalists, some treat them as brand ambassadors and others like to utilize blogs as a platform for paid advertising. In my opinion, the brands that are “doing it right” do a combination of all three, but that’s a song for a different day.
Social media and the mainstream press might embrace different agendas, but there is one thing the two mediums have in common, besides a goal to inform and entertain. Like traditional media that have historically relied heavily on advertising dollars for generate income, bloggers are becoming increasingly entrepreneurial and actively court brands to advertise on their blogs or to submit products “for review.”
There is one problem: when bloggers became mainstream, many initially wanted to be treated like journalists. They wanted to receive the same content, the same information and ultimately, the same professional respect that public relations reps and marketers give to the likes of the editors at the New York Times. This is all great, but now, things are different Public relations professionals have two important roles: to protect the best interests of their client and to be a resource for the media, ensuring that their clients understand “the game” and can provide the appropriate experiences or materials for media that will generate meaningful coverage.
As recently as ten years ago, the vast majority of media professionals were employed by organizations that regulated the distinction between advertising (paid media) and public relations (earned media). These organizations also had systems in place to report metrics to the public, such as Nielsen ratings and other third-party sources that ensured that all circulation and viewership numbers were accurate and honest. |
MusingsThoughts on new and traditional media, current events, life in Chicago and the occasional small Chihuahua photo. Archives
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