Marketers may benefit from turning to blogs

They aren't looking for new stories or exclusive contacts, but according to a recent survey journalists are increasingly turning to blogs - for tone and editorial ideas. This trend is an indication that marketers should take note of blogs, too.

by Kristina Knight

The survey was commissioned by Brodeur, a subsidiary of OmnicomGroup. More than 61% of the survey respondents said blogs affect the tone of their news copy and more than 50% said blogs influence editorial copy.

Jerry Johnson, head of strategic planning at Brodeur said, journalists find blogs are, ". . .Useful in helping them better understand the context of a story, a new story angle, or a new story idea. It appears that reporters are using blogs more for ethnographic research than they are for investigative research.”

Just over three-quarters of the journalists surveyed said that they get story ideas from blogs and about 20% say they spend at least an hour each day reading various blogs.

Why is this important for marketers?

Because journalists aren't the only consumers logging on to the blogosphere or turning to certain blogs for legitimate information rather than gossip or random tirades. With more users logging on to find news information or company information blogs are becoming a larger resource for online marketers.

By finding and targeting ads on blogs with high traffic numbers marketers may open a new consumer base or could influence a few purchasing decisions.