The Latest Social Media Buzzword? “Sponsored Conversation”

By Joe Ciarallo on March 4, 2009 2:56 PM

If you’re a regular reader of blogs – which we hope you are (you’re here aren’t you?) you may notice that occasionally something called a “sponsored post” pops up in a blog’s newsfeed. Sometimes the post is written by the sponsor themselves and sometimes it is written by a writer at the site.

Either way, the debate on whether these posts are ethical (most people we speak to think they are, as long as disclosure is promintent) but more importantly, if they are effective. The topic gained steam after well known blogger and social media consultant Chris Brogan admitted to receiving a $500 gift card from K-Mart in exchange for a sponsored post on one of the blogs he writes for, Dad-o-Matic.

This week, analyst firm Forrester issued a report, “Add Sponsored Conversations To Your Toolbox” which said, “Marketers should take advantage of sponsored conversation as an entree into the online conversation.” Analyst Josh Bernoff wrote on the Groundswell Blog, “…bloggers gotta eat, and marketers gotta market. The forces leading to this spot were inevitable.” Not everyone agrees.

We spoke with Michael Learmonth, Digital Advertising and Media Reporter at Advertising Age, to get his take. “I don’t see too much difference between paying a blogger, paying a lobbyist, or paying a PR person,” he said.

However, that is not to say they are all one in the same. “The difference is PR people and lobbyists see themselves as part of professions that have standards and practices and whatnot, and generally disclose who is paying them–or at least that’s the idea, and try to operate above-board. The best bloggers disclose their conflicts, but some don’t,” said Learmonth.

The difference can certainly present itself between “journo-bloggers,” who often reside within mainstream publications, and bloggers who are independent. Said Learmonth, “Just like blogging is not necessarily journalism, but it can be, blogging can also be PR, but perhaps not in the way that Richard Edelman would endorse.”

Our sister blog FishbowlNY is currently running a poll on the topic. Current results show that 67% believe paying a blogger for content or coverage is never appropriate. This issue certainly isn’t going away. We welcome your thoughts via email or in the comments.