With 78% of blog readers believing that blogs are a better source of information and content than traditional mainstream media, brands benefit from appearing in relevant blog sites, according to David Krupp of Nuffnang.

Blogs are the new newspapers, or so it seems based on the Nuffnang Blog Reader Survey released in July, which found that 78% of respondents felt that blogs were a better source of information and content than traditional and mainstream media. Commanding such presence, bloggers have ventured away from hiding behind avatars and nicknames and are now becoming highly sought after brand ambassadors.

David Krupp, Nuffnang’s country manager tells Marketing: “With 87% of those survey becoming aware of a product or service as result of reading about it on a blog and 78% actually making a purchase as a result of reading about it on a blog…blogs are becoming a great platform to influence purchases”.

Krupp believes that blogs are also becoming an essential part of a marketer’s media strategy.

“Blogs are such an important part of people’s days and are such an influential medium for consumers”.

For bloggers keen on cashing in on brand marketers’ new marketing budgets, it is important that their sites are relevant and informative.

At a recent blogging conference organised by Nuffnang, bloggers were given five tips when working with brands:

1: Know your style and style of the blog. Make it obvious about the subjects you represent and what they can expect from your daily posts.

2. Know your audience. Are they coming to you for leisure, or part of work? Know your reach and the demographics of your readers by looking at analytics.

3, Understand the brief and what the brand wants. Look at the purpose of each campaign, the history of the product and what the brand is judging success on.

4. Stay honest. Readers view bloggers are authentic and have built up relationships with their bloggers where they are viewed as a resource and a friend. If you disagree with something a brand is pushing, say no.

5. Go the extra mile. If you can give a brand something that was not in the original proposal, they will appreciate it. And be sure to tell them too.

Krupp advises that relevance, traffic and community engagement are three key issues that Nuffnang looks into when pairing bloggers with brands.

“Getting mommy-bloggers to talk about chainsaws will probably not reach the right audience. We also look at the size of the audience and the number of comments that a blog receives”.

“The more comments bloggers have on their sites, the more engaged their audience is and therefore the more receptive they are to advertising messages,” explains Krupp.

Brands are also advised to be respectful of bloggers and their positions. With 88% of blog readers expressing acceptance and support for blog posts that marked as brand sponsored, it is important that any advertorial featured on a blog be flagged to maintain the authenticity and honesty of the writers,

Melissa Goodsell, who blogs at One Crafty Mumma has been working with brands since last year and only picks brands that she personally likes to feature on her blog.

“I would never work with a brand that I wasn’t 100% confident with and I think my readers appreciate that,” Goodsell tells Marketing.

“I think it’s a good idea for brands to align themselves with blogs because it’s a fantastic way to reach a large audience of trusted readers. I think if a brand chooses the right blog for their product…it’s a win/win for both parties”.