New place for advertising
Blogging is no longer just a hobby - sites are starting to real in advertising dollars. Image here from SugarPublishing, one of the many new sites reeling in ad money.
Blogging has gone from a simple individualistic hobby to a booming business. One that entrepreneurs have entered to make some extra disposable income or to launch their new full-time career. The article, “Blogging for Dollars” is written by Paul Sloan and Paul Kaihla and it explains the phenomenon that has become blogging. It sites examples of websites that have started to turn profit in their blogging endeavors.
So why has blogging become such a hot topic with marketers? Because, blogging allows for the creations of highly concentrated niche markets. These markets are key in today’s modern society. Niche markets can attract lots of advertising dollars. Many of the sites usually attract their consumer base by creating a theme or topic of discussion in their site. Then, they provide regular postings on the subject to keep readers coming back. Some of the sites don't even go through the hassle of consistent posting but instead create a forum for users to come and share their own posting or thoughts. This usually leads to passionate people with stubborn thoughts going into back and forth continuous rants. It keeps the readers and posters returning to the site and at the same time “soaking in” whatever is displayed on the site itself.
I think that we are making huge leaps in new communication technology. There is also a competitive market where advertisers are battling bidding wars just to be able to get their message out to the public. Blogging sites offer a venue for the advertisers to be heard and to target the people they want thier message to reach the most. It makes perfect sense for blogging sites to fit the new wave of communication technology and social networks are the prime hub in person to person informational exchange.
So why has blogging become such a hot topic with marketers? Because, blogging allows for the creations of highly concentrated niche markets. These markets are key in today’s modern society. Niche markets can attract lots of advertising dollars. Many of the sites usually attract their consumer base by creating a theme or topic of discussion in their site. Then, they provide regular postings on the subject to keep readers coming back. Some of the sites don't even go through the hassle of consistent posting but instead create a forum for users to come and share their own posting or thoughts. This usually leads to passionate people with stubborn thoughts going into back and forth continuous rants. It keeps the readers and posters returning to the site and at the same time “soaking in” whatever is displayed on the site itself.
I think that we are making huge leaps in new communication technology. There is also a competitive market where advertisers are battling bidding wars just to be able to get their message out to the public. Blogging sites offer a venue for the advertisers to be heard and to target the people they want thier message to reach the most. It makes perfect sense for blogging sites to fit the new wave of communication technology and social networks are the prime hub in person to person informational exchange.
Right now, advertising on blogger sites is in its very early stages. Big company names like Banana Republic have helped in instigating the trend. They recently bought out the entire ad inventory for a week in July for a new site company called Sugar Publishing. There have been other signings such as Apple and Hewlett-Packard with the blogger site TechCrunch. The question here is will the advertisements on such sites bring in better brand identity and help spread word-of-mouth (WOM)? I believe they will and in time the use of better integrated campaigns specifically designed toward blogger sites will cause companies to enter bidding wars for access to top hit sites.
So how does a typical blogger site become one to have the "top hits"? One way that blogger sites get high web visit numbers is by setting up permanent URLs for each of their posts. This brings more visitors to the site because readers get the URL link in their search results when accessing a search engine. They go to the search engine to find information that they are looking for. They type words in the search tab that pertain to the information they are looking for and the search engine brings up URL posted sites with similar keyword-heavy headings. The actual URL site keeps readers coming back by regularly posting new information that pertains to the topic or theme of the site.
An even better way that they keep their readers interested is by allowing readers to post comments on the postings they read. The readers can express their thoughts on a topic and return to the site at a later time to see if anyone responded to there comment. This is a feature similar to the one found on many social networks with one exception. Instead of tying users into the site through individual “user profiles”, blogger sites hone in on users passions and interests. Marketers in big companies are starting to realize that those passions translate into niche markets and marketers are jumping on the band wagon to be the first ones to get “in” with the new generation of bloggers.
The Ruminator
posted by The Ruminator at 11:29:00 PM
1 Comments:
Blogging is becoming one of the most popular and lucrative online activities. Oddly enough, I wasn’t even aware of blogs prior to taking this class. Although, blogging is still a relatively new trend, but a growing trend nonetheless. With this in mind, I find myself extremely curious as to what will become of blogs down the road. As Dina stated, they are already emerging as an innovative marketing medium despite their infancy in the online world. This type of rapid advancement not only stimulates potential but also promotes the ability to become an attractive multi-purpose internet feature.
I have grown quite fond of my blog over the past few weeks. It has become my new online journal, with the exception of its content being course related. In fact, I have already been working on a new design to reorganize the site as I plan to create a self-promo to complement my resume.
Undoubtedly, blogs will eventually become an alternate advertising channel. More and more brands are finding the same powerful marketing opportunities in blogs as found in social networks. Moreover, the additional feature of an outlet for users to express their opinions and passions, earns them one step above any other network.
12:50 AM
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