Small firms 'targeting bloggers with news'

For small business owners, extending their online marketing reach to include bloggers and social networks is more important than accessing traditional media, a new report has revealed.

The Society for New Communications Research questioned more than 420 marketing and public relations workers and revealed that the majority consider bloggers to be "highly valued targets".

Furthermore, a rising number of firms are using press releases to increase their search engine optimisation (SEO), drive traffic to their sites and maximise publicity, the organisation reported.

"Respondents noted that the two most valuable aspects of issuing online news releases is the opportunity for SEO and the opportunity to reach both consumers and customers directly, as well as traditional media," it continued.

However, the survey discovered that the targeting and distribution of such releases are a concern to businesses, with many considering affordability to be one of the main challenges affecting their use of the medium.

Last year, website designer Jacob Hiller suggested in a post for Only Website's blog that marketing through news articles could be an affordable way for websites to increase SEO and promote their organisation.