Paying Bloggers Discussion: Should Companies Do It And In What Way?
October 22, 2008 – 12:21 pm | by Daryl TayAwhile ago I posted a link to the Social Media Breakfast | Singapore forums where an interesting discussion was going on about compensating bloggers.
Farinelli kicks us off by asking:
- Should bloggers be rewarded? Payment isn’t the only way… free schwag? Review units to keep? What do you consider ethical and what do you not?
- Do famous bloggers deserve star treatment, and star rewards? People argue that objectivity is lost with payment, but should companies leave the option open for bloggers who wish to go down that path?
- If you pay a blogger to do an advertorial blog post, does anyone read advertorials anymore? Do they think its a waste of time, a sign of selling out and a turn off?
I’m going to speak generally and say that most people who took part in the conversation are concerned about objectivity being an issue when money comes into play, and rightfully so. Cullen puts it very well:
For me, I think the bottom line is when money starts to trump honesty then the money’s influence is unacceptable.
My personal point of view is that compensating bloggers is fine. I don’t necessarily like the idea of money changing hands, but I think freebies or trial copies with the option to purchase at a discounted price are okay. After all, bloggers are spending their precious time and effort (not to mention valuable blog real estate) to talk about you. There is opportunity cost involved!
I also feel the problem is the “expectation” that reviews should be good. No one has come out straight to say it, but inherently, if you get a review, it shouldn’t be saying bad things. That’s why ad-pull became an issue with magazines. Company X would pay for a couple of pages of ads, but the writers of the magazine might criticise them over something in another section of the magazine, and next month Company X takes their advertising elsewhere.
I think this has a mindset that has to be fixed, especially when it comes to bloggers. When you get involved with them (regardless of whether anything changes hands), it is a partnership. One where you (the company) takes the good and the bad. And if partnering with a blogger means getting feedback on what’s not fantastic with your product, it’s an opportunity to improve it, rather than an excuse to switch to another blogger who only says good things about you.
The discussion is far from over, there’s much more that can be said about compensating bloggers, it might be a great time for you to head over to the forum and chime in!
In the meantime, thanks Farinelli, Daniel, Brian, Hillary, Cullen, Claudia, Relax and Nicholas for really bringing some momentum to the topic! Looking forward to much more.
Tags: blogger outreach, blogger partnership, claudia.sg, cneil, farinelli, geeknomics, litford, paying bloggers, precious living, should companies reward bloggers, social media breakfast singapore, working with bloggers
13 Responses to “Paying Bloggers Discussion: Should Companies Do It And In What Way?”
By coleman on Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
How about something as simple as inviting a blogger to some event, like a glitzy product launch, which is quite common here in Singapore?
Is it harder for the blogger to be objective when reviewing the product?
I think so.
By claudia on Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
@coleman some of the bloggers do get invited to events and what not to preview the latest products launched. but the problem with such event is that there usually isn’t much time for bloggers to truely experiment and play with the product. and due to that, bloggers will not be able to write a constructive post on the product. unless what they expect is for bloggers to give just a few liners like in most mainstream media when they mention products in their gadget page or articles.
it really depends on how and what the company want that will determine how they should engage the bloggers. there’re much thoughts on this on my side. give me time and i’ll blog more about it soon.
By DK on Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
Companies shouldn’t be paying bloggers to write a good review. But they should pay bloggers for the effort they put in to write a fair review.
I didn’t have a change to speak up on this issue during SMB4. But I think there is a misconception here. Many people think that if a company pays a blogger, the blogger will write a good review for the company. This is not true. I know many bloggers who will not let money affect their reviews. Money can’t buy a good review. Bloggers have their reputation to protect too. Why would any blogger put their reputation at risk for a few hundred dollars?
By Nicole Then on Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
This is a very interesting and important topic! One of the reasons I started blogging was because I wanted to put out honest content that I felt I couldn’t get from magazines.
Paid, free-gifted, offered discount I think if I went to the “dark side” of being swayyed in opinion by this I loose the unique factor of the blog and betray the trust of my readers.
I think companies have to learn not to be “petty” and allow bloggers to be objective (in a respectful manner of course) if they are asking for a review. Yes, there is a partnership between companies but it is an honest and on-going one. If something bad is written, other readers can rebutt if they feel otherwise. This is the beauty of blogs, it is a honest and constant dialogue.
Thanks for bringing it up daryl
By brian on Oct 23, 2008 | Reply
i’m gonna go out on a short limb here, and imagine i were my client, and i’ve decided to pay someone to write something for publicity.
if my product is sucky, and i pay a blogger to write objectively, and in the end, 10,000 read a bad review of the product.
- what am i paying for in the end?
i might as well have gone to an ad agency, to write good things and at least.. have an illusion that i have a good product.
of course on the flipside, then companies have to make sure they have kickass products to begin with.
i still think that the job of social media engagement is not to help the blogger earn directly from the company unless said Company is paying the blogger for a service.
Rather, social media engagement is to facilitate the original content of the blogger, provide information and access that non-bloggers don’t have access to.
By Daryl Tay on Oct 28, 2008 | Reply
@Coleman: I have no idea. I do remember Estee mentioning pretty objectively that she didn’t like the positions of the mouse buttons on the HP Mini although it was a pretty swanky restaurant. Perhaps not all bloggers feel able to do that, though. I’m inclined to agree with @Claudia that one dinner/lunch/whatever is not enough to cultivate a relationship. Plus it’s not really just about one review, it’s long term feedback too. Or at least, that’s what it is theoretically. Whether companies want a relationship or a one night stand will affect that.
@DK: unfortunately I think there are bloggers who would do that! Just as there are companies that would be happy to pay for it as well. Both sides are stupid about it, but we all know who will be better off for it in the long run.
@Nicole: Interesting to know the reason for starting Cherry Magazine! Let’s do an informal “interview” about this?
@Brian: Yup I’ve written about it before. The very, VERY first step before even hiring a PR firm to do social media work or starting it internally, is making sure the product doesn’t suck. That said, I think a balanced review isn’t necessarily a negative one. I heard an interview saying that slightly negative reviews help manage expectations better, resulting in less complaints and returns, because the customers know what they’re getting into.
By priscilla on Oct 31, 2008 | Reply
My favourite topic!
As a client, would I pay for bloggers to attend my events and cover my products? No. And i hope my agencies are reading this. Don’t even suggest that.
As a blogger, would i want to be paid, bugged to write a positive review about something I don’t believe in? No. And I’ve turned down friends who had given me previews of products that I didn’t write a single thing on. I just didn’t think people who read my blog would be keen to read abt that product.
Coming from a brand that has been under fire for a while now, i can tell you, it’s not easy to just say “make sure your product kicks ass”, if not, don’t show us.
TO create a product takes endless R&D dollars, lots of feedback from users and alot of engineers/ labour.
So, i believe the beauty of social/ new media is to maximise its use to gather feedback from your potential users.
Unfortunately, alot ( and I really mean ALOT) of brands and marketers do not understand the power of social media and doesn’t take well to critical comments from users. They jumped at the slightest bad remarks and murder their PR and social media agency.
By Daryl Tay on Nov 6, 2008 | Reply
@Priscilla: Glad you wouldn’t pay for that kind of coverage. Same from the blogger’s point of view. I would find it terribly hard to blog enthusiastically about a product I don’t even like, even if I was paid for it.
I don’t think a product has to kick ass or be perfect (as I think my comments tend to be interpreted as), but rather just do what they say they will do. I mean if a company reaches out to me and says “Use this and you’ll get X”, if I use it and get Y, damn right I’ll be pissed off because they didn’t live up to their own expectations.
If their product could do X, but I’d like for it to be able to do Y as well, then the company has not only gotten valuable feedback, but a roadmap pointing what to do to improve their product.