Two weeks ago, I attended a presentation about social media and search engine optimization by
Rob Campbell from
SMOJoe. Rob uses a
lot of different social sites and tools to create "information funnels" and "buckstops," building "keyword sandwiches" to win Google results. Google eats them all up. Fascinating stuff.
In his presentation, Rob encouraged the class put
grass cutting in a blog post which would link to
http://thegrasscutters.ca.
Key word: grass cutting. Not grass cutters, not lawn mowing. Grass cutting. Why? Well, that particular company is a client of Rob's. This link on my little blog is just one aspect of Rob's story funnel which ultimately leads to the buckstop: the Grasscutters' website. He wants his client to be number one on a Google search on the matter of "grass cutting."
So I've blogged it. There it is, Rob.
Now what? Has my blog become a billboard? Has my personal brand taken a turn for the commercial? Am I *gasp* ... a"sell-out?"
I've been thinking about this for a while. Blogging continues to grow as an important marketing and PR strategy. It's not a secret. Companies are realizing the strategic potential of getting well-read bloggers on board with brands, products and ideas. It's pretty straightforward: a company gives me a snazzy new product and encourages me to blog, tweet and facebook about it. I create some buzz and before you know it, my social media community wants one too.
Brain Alkerton, a classmate from the highschool days, argues that "
personal sponsorship is personal censorship." Of social media sponsorship he writes,
These are the thoughts that go through the heads of the people holding the pursestrings, and it’s simple enough math. They don’t have to demand that you restrain negative opinions because you know the gravy train stops when you start criticizing too strongly. So you temper your words, and you tell yourself that because you’ve got a “blog with integrity” badge on your page you’re doing things right, as if disclosing that you’re on the take makes it okay.
Brian's point is well-taken. If company X is paying me to blog or tweet about something, it's possible (likely?) that I will take it easy on them - even if I have an axe to grind. But then again, maybe not.
Many bloggers are well-liked and widely-read exactly because they are outspoken and unpredictable. If they're making a buck from a corporation that does something to piss them off, this brand of blogger had no qualms about saying it, even at the risk of losing that sponsor.
But is it "selling out?" Is it making a compromise in integrity?
I don't think so. It's all about
how you do it. If the corporately-sponsored blogging is annoying and alienates his or her community with relentless ads and commercial pandering, then it is possible that he or she may lose readers and the blog posts will be less valuable to the sponsoring corporation. However, if it's done in a dynamic way that continues to add value and appeals the the audience, it can work.
Besides, isn't that the dream? To get paid to do something you love, something that other people enjoy (hopefully) and something you would do anyway?
