New Comm Biz: IZEA’s no worse than traditional advertising
Ted Murphy
· 1 year ago
I knew that image would come back to haunt me. : )
Great post Tac, very balanced. Thanks for telling it like it is.
Dan...
· 1 year ago
Hey Tac, good commentary and thanks for the "good guy" nod.
I have so many posts stacked up on this topic as I work on FAS157 valuations. They'll prolly get published once it no longer matters -- that's fine, you and others are doing a great job of covering all sides.
You and I disagree on "Most bloggers are not journalist, but people have come to trust them like they are." I think a well-worded poll, delivered to a diverse group could put that concept to bed pretty quickly.
That said, there remains an opportunity to help audiences appreciate the goals/conflicts/context of any site they visit, whether publishers claim to be entertainer, journalist, free-pass conference promoter, enthusiast, loaner tech reviewer, photographer, affiliate marketer, personal diarist etc. It feels like a Disclosure Policy framework (like Privacy Policies; see IZEA's http://www.DisclosurePolicy.org/ ), could go a long way in that effort. When you have so many varied expectations between publishers and readers, such a system needs a framework to help everyone match expectations.
Any help you can provide improving that framework or spreading the word appreciated...things like only marketing with blogs that carry a Disclosure Policy, can go a long way to a long-term solution.
Tac
· 1 year ago
Dan I should clarify. Most bloggers are not journalist - don't think there's any disagreement there. But people - the people complaining the most, who live in the echo chamber of the blogosphere - have come to trust them like they are. In fact, in some circles they trust them more.
But I think it's a good thing for any professional, who blogs, should have a disclosure statement. Mine's in the right sidebar. I fully disclose all my professional and financial ties because I recognize that they will effect my blog posts, either what I say or what I don't say.
Good luck w/ FAS <shudder> glad us EIR's don't have to do that :)</shudder>
David Jones
· 1 year ago
Well stated. There is no right or wrong in a situation like this. The problem with most of the commentary is that it is taking sides, when that's not really the important discussion.
I'm not comfortable with pay per post or bloggers who participate in it. Brogan used the phrase "renting his audience" which is exactly true. And if I don't want my attention to be commercialized, then I vote with my feet.
But the larger discussion is where this all falls in terms of its affect on the trust that people put in bloggers and the social media space. That's the debate we need to be having.
Good blogger relations and blogger outreach is far more credible than buying your way onto a blog. Of course I'd say that, I'm in PR, but it's the way I feel. Organic, earned exposure is way more valuable than paid.
I read newspapers for the news, not the ads. I read blogs for the content, not sponsored posts. It's like this e-book http://changethis.com/44.04.TrustEconomy says:
Understand that the digital natives know who’s there to market and sell, and who’s there to build relationships. We (the digital natives) know you’re new. We often can tell really quickly that you’re hoping to introduce your product or service to the conversation. Some of us will even be more responsive to this than others. But, then there will be many who will cry foul the moment you cross the line into pure sales or marketing. Remember, the Trust Economy is a conversation/ relationship environment. We know you’ve got a job to do, but there are lots of people who prefer you do it elsewhere if you’re going to use traditional “bomb” marketing and sales efforts, versus “hand to hand” relationship building.
All Comments
Great post Tac, very balanced. Thanks for telling it like it is.
I have so many posts stacked up on this topic as I work on FAS157 valuations. They'll prolly get published once it no longer matters -- that's fine, you and others are doing a great job of covering all sides.
You and I disagree on "Most bloggers are not journalist, but people have come to trust them like they are." I think a well-worded poll, delivered to a diverse group could put that concept to bed pretty quickly.
That said, there remains an opportunity to help audiences appreciate the goals/conflicts/context of any site they visit, whether publishers claim to be entertainer, journalist, free-pass conference promoter, enthusiast, loaner tech reviewer, photographer, affiliate marketer, personal diarist etc. It feels like a Disclosure Policy framework (like Privacy Policies; see IZEA's http://www.DisclosurePolicy.org/ ), could go a long way in that effort. When you have so many varied expectations between publishers and readers, such a system needs a framework to help everyone match expectations.
Any help you can provide improving that framework or spreading the word appreciated...things like only marketing with blogs that carry a Disclosure Policy, can go a long way to a long-term solution.
Most bloggers are not journalist - don't think there's any disagreement there.
But people - the people complaining the most, who live in the echo chamber of the blogosphere - have come to trust them like they are.
In fact, in some circles they trust them more.
But I think it's a good thing for any professional, who blogs, should have a disclosure statement. Mine's in the right sidebar. I fully disclose all my professional and financial ties because I recognize that they will effect my blog posts, either what I say or what I don't say.
Good luck w/ FAS <shudder> glad us EIR's don't have to do that :)</shudder>
I'm not comfortable with pay per post or bloggers who participate in it. Brogan used the phrase "renting his audience" which is exactly true. And if I don't want my attention to be commercialized, then I vote with my feet.
But the larger discussion is where this all falls in terms of its affect on the trust that people put in bloggers and the social media space. That's the debate we need to be having.
Good blogger relations and blogger outreach is far more credible than buying your way onto a blog. Of course I'd say that, I'm in PR, but it's the way I feel. Organic, earned exposure is way more valuable than paid.
I read newspapers for the news, not the ads. I read blogs for the content, not sponsored posts. It's like this e-book http://changethis.com/44.04.TrustEconomy says:
Understand that the digital natives know who’s there to market and sell, and who’s there to
build relationships. We (the digital natives) know you’re new. We often can tell really quickly that
you’re hoping to introduce your product or service to the conversation. Some of us will even
be more responsive to this than others. But, then there will be many who will cry foul the moment
you cross the line into pure sales or marketing. Remember, the Trust Economy is a conversation/
relationship environment. We know you’ve got a job to do, but there are lots of people who
prefer you do it elsewhere if you’re going to use traditional “bomb” marketing and sales efforts,
versus “hand to hand” relationship building.