Until a few years ago, I never really paid attention to any blogs. Now, it seems like blogs are all over the internet, with various content in each blog. There are blogs that are dedicated to restaurant reviews, product reviews, etc. Blogs are usually written by consumers of products of say, restaurants. One of my friend’s blogs (http://poorstarvingstudents.wordpress.com/) is based on restaurants around town that are inexpensive yet yummy. So people like her are out about town, scouting out restaurants that satisfy the needs of “poor starving students.” Who benefits from these blogs? Students, of course, because we now know of more places that are affordable to eat at, but more importantly, the restaurants themselves. They are getting promoted to another consumer base, at no extra charge to them. It’s a win-win situation. Restaurants get free promotion! And if you’re a poor starving student like me, you would take the advice from these blogs and try the restaurants out for yourself.
So what does this all mean? Well, for starters, blogs are a good marketing tool. However, it’s a marketing tool that companies have no control over. They can’t go “hey you, include me in your food blog.” No, they have to deserve the post/free promotion. Blogs connect consumers to the product/service they consumed/used, and is an effective way to spread positive (or negative) opinions through media’s version of word of mouth. Relating it to what we just learned in marketing, blogging is an example of primary data, where the blogger finds information about a product (the meal at the restaurant) and writes about it in the blog. The restaurant review is backed up by the blogger, which makes it a relatively trustworthy source. In the end, blogs are yet another effective way companies benefit through the growing use of technology in marketing.