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Sponsored Conversation and Paid Blogging Generates Enormous Buzz and Sales

By Julie Ann Ross

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 22Aug2009 Word count: 694 Viewed: 266 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

Sponsored conversation is a strategy that allows companies to tap into the tempest of social media marketing. By offering compensation to publishers, marketers can enjoy exposure through Twitter, Facebook, a sponsored blog, and similar online channels. This strategy should not be approached haphazardly. Paid blogging is still misunderstood by many people and there remains a potential for stirring controversy. That said, if executed properly, a sponsored conversation can generate measurable buzz and produce scalable sales.

We'll describe how paid blogging and other forms of sponsored conversation provides marketers with a seamless blend of advertising and public relations online. We'll also explain different methods of compensation and the parameters by which performance is measured.

Sponsored Conversation: The Best of Both Worlds

The challenge of traditional advertising is that it often lacks a conversational voice. While placement and exposure are guaranteed, the message lacks authenticity. As a result, it is not uncommon for advertising campaigns to generate low response rates. By contrast, when a blogger or social media publisher mentions a particular company, his or her post is infused with an authentic voice. That natural authenticity can produce a dramatic increase in response rates. The challenge is that the exposure is unreliable.

A sponsored conversation merges advertising with social media publishing to provide the best of both worlds. Marketers can take advantage of paid blogging to guarantee coverage of their brand and products through an authentic voice.

Methods of Compensating Sponsored Conversations

There are many ways in which marketers can compensate a sponsored conversation, including cash, shopping sprees, and gift cards. For example, in late 2008, Kmart offered shopping sprees to several high-profile bloggers in order to enlist their help to promote a seasonal sale. Other forms of payment might include specific products such as groceries, software, movie tickets, or even cars. In early 2009, Symantec compensated bloggers with products related to their business. Because compensation can be negotiated individually, companies can easily manage the ROI of each sponsored conversation.

Sponsored Conversation Supports Flexible Performance Parameters

One of the key advantages of a sponsored conversation is the flexibility with which companies can measure results. By tracking impressions, unique visitors, or actions, marketers can calculate their ROI based upon the performance parameters they define. Advertisers can have trackable links placed within blog posts, tweets, and status updates in order to measure the effectiveness of each individual sponsored conversation.

For example, a company might wish to pay a blogger or social media publisher for each new post or status update. Or, they might prefer to pay per click based on a value they calculate for each visitor. Some marketers might wish to design a payment schedule based on post-click conversions generated on the company's website. This flexibility in measuring each conversation's performance allows advertisers to control campaign costs while maximizing their ROI.

How to Make a Sponsored Blog Work

There are two main criteria that influence how well a sponsored conversation performs. Both are left in the hands of the blogger or publisher. The first factor is a full disclosure of the sponsorship. Few things will impact a publisher's credibility more than hiding the fact that they are receiving compensation for posting about certain products or services. The second factor is authenticity. A publisher must have the freedom to post with sincerity. That means communicating both positive and negative thoughts (if any) to their readership. This authenticity is essential to making a sponsored conversation work. Without it, a blogger or social media publisher will lose credibility.

Sponsored Conversation: Blending Public Relations and Advertising

As long as a sponsored conversation is transparent and the publisher is given the freedom to write with sincerity, advertisers stand to yield significant benefits. They will be able to enjoy guaranteed exposure for their brand and products. Plus, they can tap into a publisher's social media network. Each person within that network controls and influences their own network. If orchestrated correctly, a sponsored conversation can be launched to trigger a groundswell of buzz and sales. It is measurable; it is scalable; it is a cost-effective marketing solution that seamlessly blends public relations and advertising. For many companies, it can form the foundation of long-term brand loyalty.

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