Paying Bloggers Discussion: Should Companies Do It And In What Way?
Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008Awhile 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
