The world of blogging isn’t the mysterious one it used to be. Everyone from my nocturnal neighbour to my third cousin’s cat has a blog nowadays. ‘Blogger’, ‘influencer’ and ‘sponsored post’ are part of our daily vocabulary now, whether you’re a blogger yourself or not.
What we’re not so clued up on is how and why bloggers and brands work together, and how these partnerships benefit the people involved.
So let us break it down for you. As a publishing company that sits on both sides of the influencer/brand table, we think we can do a good job of it.
How bloggers help brands
Bloggers – or influencers – are people who have a voice in the online world. There’s no set number of followers needed to be considered an influence, but the audience you do have should be engaged. A bit like you guys.
Brands often work with bloggers who have influence with an audience they’re trying to reach. And this makes a lot of sense when you think about it.
Let’s take an example to explain it better. If Gucci wants to promote its SS19 collection among people who purchase luxury fashion, they might work with a luxury fashion blogger. By using the blogger’s platforms to share their message, their product is being seen by a targeted and engaged group of potential customers.
As you can imagine, this is super valuable to brands! Not only does it make it easy to get the right eyes on the prize, but they don’t have to waste money on ad campaigns that most people wouldn’t be interested in. Pretty much every potential customer they reach is already interested in the product they’re selling – and that means they’re much more likely to buy.
Brands may find bloggers in a number of ways. This might done by somebody working for the brand itself or by an outside PR agency hired to manage influencer relationships. There are now even companies that specialise in blogger outreach services!
How brands help bloggers
Now let’s take a look at how the luxury fashion blogger benefits from this partnership. Aside from being able to say they’ve worked with Gucci, of course!
In most blogging partnerships, the main gain for the blogger is money. This is still a developing area and blogger rates vary a LOT. Most bloggers will also take the value of the product into value, too. And who would say no to a free Gucci bag?
Paid blogging assignments can make up a large part of a blogger’s income, but it’s not the only reason a blogger may work with a brand. Sometimes a blogger may work with a brand because it’s a cause or product they believe. Sometimes it may be because they want to build relationships. Sometimes it may be because they want the brand to share their content with their own followers.
There are lots of reasons why bloggers and brands work together, but one thing is clear. Influencer marketing is now a VERY big part of most brands’ marketing strategy because it works.