Bloggers as Brand Advocates

Featuring Riya Jain - @Caughtinacuff

Blogging is quite the common practise in the current day scenario. We have all come across various bloggers at some point or another. The increasing number of bloggers has led to an increase in the number of people that have started to follow and read blogs. We also see a number of brands being talked about and promoted by popular bloggers.

In conversation with popular Mumbai based Fashion Blogger- Riya Jain, a.k.a Caughtinacuff: 

 Riya has been blogging since 2 years now, during which she has gained massive recognition and appreciation for her work. She has been a favoured choice for well known brands like Estée Lauder, Evraa, Garnier, Only India, Lavie, Pantene, etc. Her most recent achievement includes walking the ramp at Lakme Fashion Week for designer Ritu Kumar. 

So the real question is, “How do these Brand - Blogger alliances work?”

Q1) What is it that brands seek when associating with bloggers?

Riya: Brands are very particular about content. Having a large set of followers is not all that big a deal anymore as almost every blogger has them. But, content quality of a blogger is something brands really focus on.

 Q2) How are the alliances formed?

Riya: Most often the brands have agencies that do the communication for them, whereas certain times the brands come forward themselves. Bloggers also tend to have managers or agents that speak on their behalf. When the two arrive to mutual consensus, the tie-ups are made.

Q3) What are some common obstacles in the process?

Riya: There aren’t any obstacles as such; however, negotiations are the tough bit. A lot of factors come into play, like the number of posts and the costs involved to it, coming to conclusions is the difficult part.

Q4) What is the best part about these alliances?

Riya: Brands do obviously have a set of requirements that they ask for, but we still get the freedom to express what we like and post things the way we’d like. I write my own content making my blog more original and more me.

(Image Source: @Caughtinacuff Instagram)

Associating with bloggers is a well played move. 
Bloggers tend to share common interests and traits with their followers. They are also seen as reliable sources by their fans. 
This helps brands narrow down to their desired target audience, giving them the opportunity to communicate through an effectively influential source. 

And what better a source to convince your audience,
than the one they admire and aspire to be like?

Overall, a well thought of, beneficial branding activity!

- - -      Special thanks to Riya for the insights! :*     - - -

Author: Maria Dalal

MBA in Advertising & Branding, FLAME University, Pune

Former intern at BookMyShow as a Management Trainee – Branding

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