So you would have noticed that in the last week I have finally put some Nuffnang ads on my blog. No surprises there considering my role at Nuffnang is to help brands integrate into Australian blogs. The question is, can this platform work for advertisers?
Advertising on blogs throws up some pertinent questions. Does advertising contradict what blogs are about - honest views and unbiased opinions? Will people lose faith in a blog with a sponsored post the same way they might lose faith in a musician the minute they sell their song to an Sportsgirl commercial (I used to love you Lily..)? Ultimately if people do lose faith in a blog, the advertising will not be effective and therefore there is no point in advertising there in the first place. On the other hand if blog advertising does work then it becomes a goldmine for advertisers, giving them the opportunity to reach the influencers, those who can spread the good word.
Following are three reasons why the blog advertising model will work:
Sponsored posts are highlighted - At Nuffnang we make it mandatory for bloggers to section off sponsored posts and highlight that they have been sponsored for writing about that product. This protects their integrity whilst at the same time allows brands to reach those important eyeballs.
We encourage honesty - If a blogger thinks a product is poor, he or she will say it's poor. Yes we also ask them to find and blog about the positives (so money is not wasted) but by giving bad feedback as well as good, their personal reputation is preserved which allows the continuity of the advertising's effectiveness.
The importance of giving something back - Blogs want readers, readers love to get something for free and brands want to reach the right people. So if a nappies brand runs a competition to giveaway nappies to those readers of parenting blogs who tell a story of the most embarrassing time their child pooped the poo, the brand is reaching the right audience and starting the conversation. Tick. The blogger is giving something away which means readers will be more likely to return. Nice. And the readers are winning nappies and probably don't even realise that they are being advertised to - Why? Because it is relevant!
It will take some time to learn how the Australian market responds to brand integration through blogs. But if our bloggers in Singapore, Malaysia and The Philippines can be any benchmark, Australia might also have some full time bloggers earning some very big money in the very near future!
