Friday, 16 April 2010

Ebuzzing UK launch - bringing bloggers and brands together

ebuzzing



an example of an ebuzzing-sponsored blogpost




As a reviewer, I get sent a lot of stuff to test - some of it is good, some of it quite frankly isn't. Most of it has positives AND negatives, which is why I always try to present a balanced view of whatever I've been testing. But however I've got my hands on the products for review, you'll always get my honest, uncensored, independent review. I'm not going to say nice things about something just because I didn't have to pay for it ! Strangely enough, most people I've worked with actually appreciate and applaud the fact that I am 100% honest because it makes my reviews more credible and valuable.


Recently, I came across a new website called ebuzzing that helps put bloggers in touch with companies to work on content together. Their website says, "ebuzzing is a platform for bringing bloggers and advertisers together. It is based on a simple principle: Like. Recommend. Earn. It allows bloggers to monetise their blog, earning money by creating posts about things they genuinely like and want to recommend, whilst advertisers can create buzz for themselves in the communities that are most likely to be interested in them." Eeeek that dirty word "money" has been spoken. Even as a blogger/reviewer myself, I'm always dubious about "sponsored posts" and people that pay you to feature their products - they're not going to pay you to criticise them, right ? Surely you lose your integrity as a blogger if you're just doing it to make money and churn out whatever the person paying you wants you to say ?


Well actually, no. On their website, they explain : "Some may be against sponsored posts and videos claiming that they endanger legitimate word of mouth and can ruin what bloggers stand for. At ebuzzing though, we strive to only add value to blogging, and not to detract from it. As long as a blogger keeps blogging about what they normally blog about, the fact that they get paid for occasional posts shouldn’t detract from the value of what they write. It only strengthens it. Bloggers still have the right to express their own opinions and with the help of ebuzzing they get more facts to present their readers with !"



I decided to have a look around and see exactly what they want bloggers to do. Well, the way that bloggers can get involved is by signing up for different campaigns :


  • Video campaigns with a dedicated player

  • Video campaigns using “syndicated players” and banners

  • Articles written about brands and services that you want to recommend to your readers

As you can see from the screenshot above, you can insert horizontal or vertical banners or a video player or write an article to present a product or company. Transparency is one of the key issues - "Ebuzzing requires the presence of the disclaimer “sponsored post” for all articles, and for the videos the name of the advertiser must be placed so that it is visible to all viewers." This is definitely a good thing - as you'll see at the bottom of this blogpost, this article is a sponsored post itself because ebuzzing want bloggers to talk about them and get them known. But if I hadn't told you, you probably wouldn't have noticed any difference because I'm still being me !

What convinced me to get involved is the huge number of big name brands that ebuzzing are involved with. "More than 800 advertisers have proposed campaigns to bloggers with the help of ebuzzing such as Coca-Cola, Intel, MTV, LʼOréal, MasterCard, Toyota, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, eBay, Canon, Diesel, Warner Bros, Philips, StudioCanal…" That's an impressive list and I have to admit, I've been won over. Especially as, if you look at their article "Why should you join ebuzzing ?", you'll see that some of the past campaigns were for Axe deodorant, Alsa cake mix and Chupa Chup lollipops. I'm a mum of three so I'll admit it, it was the lure of free lollies rather than lolly (cash) that got me !

If you want to get involved too, head over to www.ebuzzing.com and see which campaigns your blog is eligible for.


Sponsored Article

2 comments:

  1. Hi Cheryl, just wanted to let you know that I joined ebuzzing as a result of reading your post and that my first post will go live tomorrow at http://www.mellowmummy.co.uk. If you like, you can list me as one of your referals to earn more. My ebuzzing username is jumblyMummy.

    Emma.

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  2. Thanks, love your blog. I've been having a good look :-)

    ReplyDelete