The Close Relationship Between Bloggers and Marketers

Blogging has become a major social media marketing phenomenon over the years—so much so that even the US Federal Trade Commission is considering rules for bloggers to follow when working with marketers. Worldwide research from Text 100 shows just how close that relationship has become.

Nearly nine in 10 US bloggers told Text 100 they welcomed contact from PR firms or corporations with information, comments or suggestions. E-mail was bloggers' preferred means of contact, especially in the US.

All of the US bloggers surveyed by Text 100 had been contacted by marketers in the past six months. Majorities in Europe and Asia-Pacific said the same, at 86% and 70%, respectively.

Contact was generally frequent: 96% of respondents in the US reported being contacted by PR firms at least weekly.

Bloggers are big on transparency when it comes to marketer involvement. Between 85% and 89% of US bloggers agreed that they should acknowledge when a post has been written in return for some sort of compensation. Response rates were somewhat lower in Europe and Asia-Pacific, but a majority of bloggers worldwide believed in acknowledging sponsor involvement.

Text 100 suggests one way for marketers to get blog buzz is to use "social media releases" rather than traditional press releases. Bloggers do not want to copy and paste the same article that will appear in every major news outlet—they would prefer a "deconstructed" release so they can find the angle most appropriate to their unique readership.

For more information on how marketers and bloggers can get along, see "Marketers Court Female Bloggers."