Social media is not the only place for public relations professionals to communicate with the public.  People in any profession can use blogs to write about interests and concerns of certain individuals.  The use of the Internet has allowed an increase in productivity and two-way communication, amongst many other benefits (Porter, Chung, and Sweetser, 2009, para. 1).

These benefits are great for public relations professionals because it enables them to be audience-centered in their communication and gives the audience a chance to respond or comment at any time.  Weblogs have been around for years, but have recently grown in popularity amongst readers.  There are 57 million blog readers according to the Pew Internet and American Life Report ([31] Lenhart, 2006) (Porter, Chung, and Sweetser, 2009, para. 5). The credibility of these blogs has also grown and many people have been reading these for information over the traditional news markets.  Practitioners can use blogs for research purposes, to engage bloggers or even host an organizational blog.  There have been many people that have attempted to make a presence as a blogger; this is a list of 30 of the most influential bloggers. 

The blogs create another way for the PR professionals to complete the tasks that they already perform.  “That is, blogs represent an opportunity for communication professionals to monitor less formal, word-of-mouth type of communication about their organizations or clients” (Porter, Chung, and Sweetser, 2009, para. 6).  This is something that is already done on social media like Facebook, so this is another place to receive the opinions of different followers.

Companies often create blogs for their followers to read, but they do not talk about the company itself.  It is a place for the followers to express their feelings about recent interactions or concerns.  Blogs are another method for PR professionals to show the consumers their value and respond to the comments.  There are many different benefits to creating a company blog, for instance gaining the traffic to the company website by reaching the targeted audience on different social mediums.

Blogs are a great place for people to speak their minds about politics, events and interests.  On the other hand, for public relations professionals it is used to gain information on the public that is served and another way to connect with them to build the relationship.

References

Comcowich, W. The 30 most influential bloggers in public relations. Retrieved from Website: http://www.cyberalert.com/blog/index.php/media-monitoring-news-the-30-most-influential-bloggers-in-public-relations/

Eridon, C. (2013). Why blog? The benefits of blogging for business. Retrieved from Website: http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/the-benefits-of-business-blogging-ht

Porter, L., Chung, D., & Sweetser, K. (2009). The blogosphere and public relations. Journal of Communication Management, 13(3), 250-267. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13632540910976699