Buying eyeballs

I was just about to rant (OK, comment) on the practice of buying eyeballs. It goes like this: Leave a comment on my blog post and something good will happen (we’ll donate to a cause, enter you in a drawing for a prize, etc.). From a marketing perspective, is this how you want to get eyeballs? Is this a valid assessment trick for counting how many eyeballs you get?

Then, I realized that I was offering a small prize for comments on my teaching blog – these are important class instructions and I wanted confirmation that students saw them. Good educational practice?!

So then, I will no longer complain about Iams buying eyeballs. Come on, give them your pair of eyeballs and they will donate 25 meals to animals in shelters! (oh, and enjoy Pawcurious, it’s become one of my favorite blogs)

Blogs matter

Thanks to all of you who participated in my survey about the importance of blogs in public relations!

Here is my presentation of the results (runs about 19 minutes).

If you quote this presentation, you can use the following citation:

Vorvoreanu, M. (2008). Blogs matter. Panel presentation at the National Communication Association Annual Convention, Public Relations Division, San Diego, CA.

Here are some highlights from the results, based on a convenience/viral (non-probability*) sample of 203 respondents:

Blogs matter in hiring decisions

• Among respondents with 5+ years of experience in PR, if they had a choice between equally qualified job candidates, but one candidate had a blog and the other one did not,
  • 74% would hire the one with the blog
  • 19% would hire the one without the blog

• Both people who blog and do not blog are more likely to hire the candidate who has a well-written, good professional blog. Among the respondents who do not write a blog themselves:
  • 57% would hire the candidate with a blog
  • 33% would hire the candidate without a blog

• Respondents who write a blog:
  • 86% would hire the candidate with a blog
  • 8% would hire the candidate without a blog

Blogs matter for individuals

I asked PR bloggers what benefits they have derived from blogging. These were the most frequently mentioned benefits:

1. Contacts, networking, engaging with PR community (26; 34%)
2. Business benefits: jobs, clients, income, internships, speaking opportunities (21; 27%)
2. Learning, keeping current (21; 27%)
2. Gaining recognition, credibility; thought leadership; personal branding (21; 27%)
Other: Sharing knowledge (10; 13%), SEO (6; 8%)
None: 3; 3.9%

Blogs matter for the PR profession

I asked both bloggers and non bloggers how they thought PR practitioners’ blogs impact the PR field.

• 91% of respondents said PR practitioner blogs have a positive impact
• 6% said PR practitioner blogs have no or very little impact
• 2% said PR practitioner blogs negative impact

PR practitioner blogs increase practitioner knowledge and move PR towards higher standards of professionalism

• Knowledge benefits (75%):
  • Educate each other (23%)
  • Create & share knowledge & best practices (32%)
  • Dialogue & discussion (17%)
  • Unify PR field (10%)
  • Keep current (6%)
• Professionalism benefits (18%)
  • Increase transparency; flack (9%)
  • Higher professional standards (6%)
  • Prove the value of PR (3%)

I encourage you to view the presentation so you can get more details and put these findings in context.

*Please remember that this sample is not representative of PR practitioners in the U.S. – or we don’t know if it is – so we can’t assume that these results apply to other people who did not participate in this survey.

Thanks again to all who participated and let me know if you have any questions!

Do blogs matter in PR? I need your help with new research project…

I’ve started a new research project about the importance of blogs for PR people & the industry as a whole.

I’ve got a favor to ask you: Would you give me 7-8 minutes to take this online survey?

If you’re a PR pro, student, educator, whether you blog or not, I need your thoughts.

I’ll share the results in academic papers and presentations, my PR Connections blog, and here.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

What does blogging teach?

[cross-posted from my teaching blog PRinciples]

I’ll be honest with you, I used to think that making students blog for a grade is a bad idea. I mean, making them put themselves out there?!

But then I realized that blogging is a necessity – and there’s no other way to learn it. Just like I teach news releases, I have to teach blogging. Just like students have to write news releases, they need to blog, too.

Some students might find out that they hate news releases. Others might find out they hate blogging. I say, it’s better to find out earlier rather than later, so they can adjust their career paths and expectations.

The semester’s coming to an end, and it all of a sudden dawned on me that blogging has taught my students some very important lessons, which will be useful even if they don’t choose to go into PR:

• articulating thoughts and opinions
• taking responsibility for thoughts and opinions by making them public
• attributing ideas through linking
• networking online, building relationships with like-minded people through commenting & linking

If you have tried blogging, can you tell me in the comments:

What has blogging taught you?

SNCR Closing keynote: The transformational power of blogging

Closing keynote: Elisa Camahort Page, BlogHer

BlogHer network survey + U.S. representative female online users.

Key findings:

blogs are mainstream

• 53% of US online women read blogs
• statistically the same as IM, photo sharing, etc.

blogs are addictive

• regardless of age, once engaged, blogging is daily part of life
• over 20% of blogosphere participants spend less time consuming traditional media
• 3 categories: readers/lurkers; active publishers/commenters; readers/commenters

blogs are trusted

• for new information
• for advice & recommendations
• for making purchase decisions

What do women find in blogs? They are experiencing the unique, transformational power of blogging. Blogs are changing the way we:

• survive – e.g. Postpartum Progress, Diabetes Mine
  
• age – e.g. My Mom’s Blog (at 81, possibly the oldest blogger)
• make a living – e.g. Simply Recipes
• participate – e.g. CNN YouTube debates, h2otown, Hurricane Disaster Direct Relief, DonorsChoose, etc.

Blogs empower people. Do companies empower people?

People don’t trust institutions, they trust each other. What are companies doing to be trustworthy?