Bloggers and PRs – The Truth About The Relationship

A PR Agency in the States named Text 100 surveyed 449 bloggers from 21 countries to see what they really thought of PRs and whether they felt them necessary. Overall the survey found that most bloggers welcomed contact made from PRs HOWEVER bloggers didn’t want to be treated as journalists, more as influencers in their particular subject.

The survey also found that bloggers had witnessed a sharp increase in the amount of contact from PRs. Also, it was found that there was significant opportunity for deeper relationships with this increasingly influential community.

The stats

• More than 90% of the 449 bloggers surveyed welcome contact by PR people.
• Most reported a high level of regular contact from PR people, with more than 96% of bloggers in the US being contacted once a week or more (versus 36% in APAC and 65% in Europe).
• Email is the preferred form of contact, no matter which part of the globe bloggers reside. SMS and IM, universally, are the least preferred forms.
• About half of all bloggers in APAC and Europe indicated their preferred form of contact on their blogs and, as a result of this survey, a number were planning to add their preferred form of contact if they weren’t already showing this. Some 88% of bloggers in APAC preferred an introduction before receiving information from PR people and corporations, and many of these bloggers also wanted a face-to-face meeting.
• Bloggers are united in their desire for distinctive content, particularly about new product developments and reviews, feedback on content posted on their blog, and interviews with key people.

Content from PRs
• Photographs are most frequently used form of supplied content, followed by charts and graphs, and video streaming.
• Almost two-thirds of bloggers in APAC and Europe intend to use more elements from SMRs (Social Media Releases) in the coming 12 months.

Blogging habits
• Bloggers in the US spend the most time blogging, with 63% spending nine or more hours a week; while in APAC and Europe that time spent is less (36% and 44%).
• Microblogging is used by more than 75% of all bloggers, and those in APAC and Europe believe they are blogging more often because of microblogging.

Continued bad habits from PRs
• PR people continue to blindly send corporate press releases to bloggers.
• PR professionals are failing to read the blogs and truly understand their target bloggers’ communities.
• They seem to expect bloggers to post corporate material, demonstrating a lack of understanding of the medium and the very reason why bloggers blog.
• They treat bloggers as they would journalists - not as influencers, which is more appropriate.