THE CONSUMER

Imagine a trust-barometer consisting of commercials, billboards, print ads, celebrities, and bloggers – which channel would consumers find most credible? Today, consumers trust blogs over advertising, and 61% of online consumers admit to having made a purchase based on a blog’s recommendation [Source].

THE COMPANY

For companies, blogging communities are essentially untapped customer acquisition potential. The theory is: bloggers have a niche audience. Big or small, the audience is primarily comprised of your target buyers. It’s like someone – the blogger – has hand picked a pool of customers and leads just waiting to hear about your brand.

Take a look at Janice’s post, a blogger for “5minutesformom.com,” who wrote a glowing review about how “Target is a Girls Best Back-to-School Friend – $300 #Giveaway.”

The blog post is a stripped down Target advertisement of Janice’s daughter who is happy, confident, and determined to do things her way – even down to what she wears and how she wears it. Target has hit on a couple key relationship-building factors with the blogger:

1) Offered a $300 discount for the blogger’s followers.

2) Offered the blogger free swag or products and services.

3) Ensured blogger used a high-engagement hashtag (#giveaway).

4) Only one #hashtag is used in order to appear “anti-spam like.”

5) Chose a blogger that gives continual praise and brand recognition.

6) Streamlined a blogger with a niche audience – the perfect brand ambassador.

Maximizing social business through bloggers is truly essential, and companies like Target who consider “blogger outreach etiquette” are definitely increasing sales and brand awareness.