"A blogger is a human, not a number or follower count. So, a brand needs to meet them as a human first"

Mumbai: Blogchatter is a blogging community. Blogchatter is a platform for bloggers and social media influencers alike to discover and get discovered by others. Founded in 2016, Blogchatter has created countless campaigns for communities and brands over the years by curating a blogger and social media universe around us. Brands featured on Blogchatter are Pediasure, Vitabiotics, Cif, Ensure, and PayPal. Blogchatter is India's first and the world's second-largest platform to use Amazon Alexa and its associated tools and was listed under the top 100 marketing and advertising companies at the Madcon Awards 2019 held in Dubai.

Blogchatter offers a platform to seasoned bloggers as well as provides mentorship and opportunities to novice writers and content creators. They have their own ebooks along with blogs and podcasts about everything from fashion, business, and tech to personal blog sites, book reviews and views, and voices for social causes.

Indiantelevision.com caught up with Blogchatter co-founder and CEO Richa Singh. Through her constant efforts since 2016, Blogchatter has become India's first and the world's second blogging campaign based on Alexa and associated tools. She has been a blogger for more than 10 years and envisions a better blogging future for India. Additionally, Singh is a trained classical dancer and an automobile engineer by profession. Under her supervision, Blogchatter published 33 ebooks through the Blogchatter Ebook Carnival in 2017, the world's largest number of ebooks published in one go. Singh has not only given the bloggers a life and platform to write and share but also helped them to stand out in the crowd and make their own identities as bloggers, authors, and most importantly, dreamers.

Edited Excerpt:

On the market gap that was seen when Blogchatter started and the progress made since

One of the biggest gaps in digital marketing campaigns has been the lack of an omnichannel approach, as most campaigns focus on influencers. And influencers typically operate only on one platform. These campaigns then have the added disadvantage of running in silos with other marketing efforts. This leads to isolated efforts that do not lead to cross-promotion.

We have been working towards filling this gap by collaborating with bloggers, who are influencers in their own right but also have a presence on various platforms. Through our omnichannel approach, we design more integrated campaigns.

On the goals for 2023 and the game plan to get there

The centre piece for 2023 is going to be the app we’re creating for Blogchatter. Through this app, we want to build a better readership for bloggers and connect readers to bloggers.

As I always say, while there is a custodian for influencers (Instagram) and video bloggers (YouTube), we envision the app as the custodian for bloggers.

On the USP of blogging versus other marketing avenues like influencer marketing

One of the biggest advantages of a blogger is they have their own website - a self-hosted site - that is not at the mercy of algorithms. It provides long-form, well-researched, and anecdotal content to a consumer who has many questions regarding a brand.

Apart from that, all bloggers are influencers, which means they have their own social media channels as well. They then cross-promote their content on all channels, ensuring that their content is present at every touchpoint of the consumer journey.

On how blogging can complement other digital marketing avenues used by brands

Since blogging also integrates SEO where all blog posts written are optimised for brand-related keywords, it helps in improving Google search results. 

While influencers help build reach, bloggers through their long-form content help build conversions.

As I mentioned, consumers today have a lot of questions before they make a purchase decision. Bloggers are often that bridge between a consumer and the brand, helping them get answers for their questions.

Bloggers also build thought leadership around a brand by adding their credibility and authority to the brand they have partnered with. 

On Blogchatter scaling its team

Right from the beginning, I have been very clear that my team has to be happy. If they’re not happy, then Blogchatter does not function.

While looking to add people into the team, I don’t look for a specific expertise but for intent: to learn, to grow, to work together. In fact, one of my team members said that it is like Blogchatter is helping build and shape so many dreams. And that is what my team members should also reflect.

We’re in the business of creativity. So, the only skill set I look for is their creativity and someone who understands community and brands.

On the revenue model

We build 360-degree marketing campaigns for brands using copyrighted digital properties and bloggers as influencers. We don’t charge anything from our community of bloggers for any activities that they participate in.

On the learnings from covid

During covid, everything went online. It’s one of my jokes that while the world was trying to understand how to work from home, my team and I were already working from home. So, in a way, our work increased.

Having said that, since everything went online, it also meant that digital is a cluttered space right now. Coming up with unique ideas to break the clutter is important.

On examples of recent work done with brands to create visibility and boost profitability.

The model we have built works well with brands and industries where the consumer has a long buying journey.

For example, in the pharmaceutical industry, most conversations when it comes to marketing aren’t so much about the product as they are about therapies and diseases. In this case, building awareness around a therapy or disease is crucial.

Through our community platform, we create content and conversations that are empathetic and credible. Thus, helping spread awareness and activations among consumers regarding the space.

On whether blogging will become a preferred marketing tool as startups struggle with a funding winter

For most startups, marketing goals are immediate, short-term, and geared toward quick gains. Blogging, however, is a long-term marketing strategy. It requires investment and is a great way to build a loyal customer base.

This forethought in your marketing can showcase and prove to your investors your vision for your brand and that you’re in it for the long haul. So yes, I think startups should definitely use blogging as a marketing tool.

On factors that decide which blogger should work with a particular brand

I will start with a politically correct answer. Numbers and follower counts have a role to play. But it is not the only metric by which we at Blogchatter select our bloggers for a particular campaign.

The most important part for us is to choose a blogger who creates content that is contextually correct. For example, if I want my brand to talk to corporate moms, my blogger too needs to reflect that journey.

A blogger is a human, not a number or follower count. So, a brand needs to meet them as humans first. See how we’re envisioning their integration into the campaign and what expertise they bring to the table. Numbers come later.

On the whitespace areas of tier 2, 3 towns and cities

Mobile penetration in India has been one of the fastest in the world. One way for bloggers to take advantage of this is to write in their vernacular language. We have a lot of bloggers within our community who create content in Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, and Hindi.

But, if you’re someone who cannot write in vernacular, a good option for you would be to use Google translate. This way, irrespective of the language you speak, or your reader is comfortable with, there is a simple and quick option of translating your content into any language. 

On how ROI is defined

While Blogchatter uses numbers like reach, impressions, and clicks to track ROI, we also believe that numbers only tell part of the story.

For example, a bad conversation reaching one million people can be more damaging than a positive conversation reaching 0.1 million people.

Even numbers need context. Which is why we also check the long-term share of voice (SOV) for the brand in the overall internet space and keyword cloud. Both of these qualitative metrics tell us if our communication has been successful.