Many companies are connecting with their consumers through bloggers

 The next time you shop for a new mobile or sedan, chances are you, the urban educated reader, may first check out blogs, read product reviews and decide on the winner. Be it new LED TVs, designer stilettos, Hollywood DVDs, home decor , independent reviews by bloggers are increasingly swaying customer choices and opinions. 

Brands have seen this coming for some years. Today, they are actively engaging with bloggers to market their brand ethos and products. "When a blogger writes about our brand, it's an independent view.
It's not brand-speak . It's an opportunity to see how people see our ethos," says Neeraj Goyal, general marketing manager at Johnson & Johnson. His company organised a meet for women bloggers in the 19-35 age group in Mumbai last May in association with Indiblogger, as part of its product, Stayfree's "It's time to change" campaign. "Bloggers have the potential to change the thought process of readers," says Goyal. 

With fun contests, games and giveaway goodies like mobiles involved , such meets attract good numbers. For instance, the Indiblogger-Spice Mobiles blogger meet in Delhi in June had around 250 bloggers in attendance, reportedly the largest one in the capital so far. T M Ramakrishnan, CEO of S Mobility Ltd says, "You are open to criticism at a bloggers' meet. We instantly get to know what people think of our product. Such interaction is very important." 

That kind of interface can inspire blogs which create a buzz around the brand. Blogger and creative writer Arvind Passey says, "I have had a lot of readers get in touch with me through Facebook or Twitter or even direct messaging and mail... and I have made serious attempts to address their queries every time." 

He says brands appreciate that bloggers have a deeper online penetration and a mass-perception that they express and reflect the truth according to their sensibilities; they can be won over by a fraction of investment that other traditional forms of advertising entail; they add their unique insights to product perceptions and also tend to reflect the changing moods of the public.