Blogger Advocacy – Pros & Cons

In MAC299 today we are discussing how blogger advocacy is being used commercially and how people are now being paid to blog about a product or brand name.

I’m going to discuss what I think the positives and negatives of using this new type of ‘social media’ within marketing and Public Relations.

Firstly, I think that the negatives include things such as restrictions to the blogger, in the sense that they have to curb their own thoughts and stick to the brief they have been given. This can inevitably have an effect on the content of the blog and whether or not it is a true representation of that person and what they truly think.

Also, it is an important piece of the puzzle that the bloggers themselves are influential, that they have contacts and people that take an interest in them, enough so that their blog will be read, otherwise it seems pretty pointless.

However, some plus points for commercial blogging is that it is a different way of marketing a product or brand, in a more realistic way, something believable and that potential customers can interact with – they have the opportunity to comment on what the blogger has said and converse with them.

Despite being quite regulated it is still possible for the writer to be creative, and honest giving a better view of the brand or product to potential customers. These commercial bloggers will never have the same freedom as people who blog for fun but they can still show who they are through their writing and opinions.

I think that this type of blogging is a new and exciting way forward in marketing and would personally love to be paid to blog, working to a brief can sometimes help form a structured post, instead of the incessant ramblings of a student!

To see some other thoughts and views on this topic, and even an example go see Our Rutland Correspondent.

Ashley

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