Food blogging

Food blogging represents a complex interweaving of “foodie” or gourmet interest in cooking with those of blog writing and photography. The majority of blogs use pictures taken by the author himself/herself and some of them focus specifically on food photography.^[1]

There are different types of Food blogging.[1]

• Recipes
• Food/Restaurant Review
• Food and Travel (Ethics and Culture)
• Food Photography

As long as it is about food it is considered as food blog. Most often a food blog has overlapping elements of all or some of these elements. A blog is a personal journal and there is no real rule of writing a food blog.

Food and travel ethics

Common street food vendor in Pakistan.

Food and travel is a particularly compelling type of food blogging because it involves the engagement of different cultures. These bloggers travel around the globe, visiting and eating their way through cities known for food like Bangkok, Chengdu, and Tokyo[2], as well as lesser known hot food spots like Istanbul, Kuala Lumpur, and Karachi[3], documenting their experience as they go. Food and travel blogging involves a lot of research, shooting, editing, investing & scheduling involved[4]. These blog hosts bear the challenge of embracing other cultures and experiences, even if that means stepping out of their comfort zone[5].

Food photography

Professionally shot photos are used for marketing and advertising.

For many people, it's the visual appeal of food alone that draws their interest towards many food photographers/bloggers.[6] Food photography is simply product photography with a focus on food. Food photographers aim to show, share, and persuade by photographing food arranged in a well lit, diligently arranged background. Unlike the other types of food blogging, food photographers have a specific mission to take the best possible photos and videos of food[7]. Professional food photography is usually a collaborative process involving multiple people including a director, food and prop stylists, photographers, etc.

Influencers and marketing

Blogging is a key marketing and brand development tool for any cause. It's common practice for restaurants, catering companies, meal delivery services, private chefs, and other food and beverage businesses to turn to influential food-bloggers and use their audience to raise awareness for their business.[8] It's important for these businesses to choose the influential bloggers in the market, or "influencers". Popular food-bloggers, like all other successful bloggers, are able to draw a specific audience and build their reputation by consistently posting quality content. Over time, the blogger accumulates influence over some of their audience. Consumers often build a connection with the blog host(s) they closely follow affecting their buying decisions. In the eyes of professional marketers, these influencers are key to spreading word of the company they represent to the appropriate buyer personas. This is what the blogger can "sell" to companies whose products and services they'd endorse or be sponsored by.[9]

The more popular a blog is, the more opportunities the blogger will have to monetize their content. Bloggers use a variety of business and marketing tactics to maximize traffic, the most important of which, is constructing a persona that can connect with the targeted audience [10]. Here are a few ways a food blogger can go about earning profit online[11]:

• Promoting an affiliate product or service
• Pitching to PR firms
• Ad space
• Sponsored Posts/Ads
• Host Sponsored Contests/Giveaways
• Offer Premium (paid) Content/Memberships
• Private Community
• Site Sponsorship
• Sell Merchandise
• Sell Templates, Ebooks, Tutorials, and other useful content.
• Product Reviews
• Drop-ship Products
• Create a Resource Page

Effects on the foodies

Even though most bloggers aren't necessarily experts in their area of practice, this doesn't discourage online traffic. In fact, influencer audiences are highly reactive to content like photos, videos, precise instructions or descriptions with regard to the flow of cooking, eating, or even dieting. The loyalty consumers exhibit to bloggers they follow present those bloggers with inconspicuous business opportunities[12]. The majority of feedback is positive and suggestive.[13] For the most part, people follow these blogs to experiment with new recipes, become aware of new food trends, restaurants, and other creative ideas these thought leaders have to offer.[14] Primarily, foodies and popular bloggers are informative and persuasive, having been posed between consumers and producers. As a result, huge parts of the culinary landscape have sparked a new level of public interest. Cookbooks have made a comeback, popular chefs are treated like celebrities, and dieting trends have gained more momentum than ever.[15] All of this can be attributed to the easily read content that bloggers post. The impact of processing or cognitive fluency is in play when discussing the most impactful blog posts, the bloggers who write, make visual demonstrations, guides, and other content that is easily digestible for consumers often yield the most feedback not only in terms of likes, but comments and shares as well. Being a food expert has almost nothing to do with running a successful food blog. The bloggers persona, persuasion, and engagement style are the main components, aside from content, are main determinants of the amount of influence a blogger gains.[16]

References

1. Lofgren, Jennifer (2013-06-24). "Food Blogging and Food-related Media Convergence". M/C Journal. 16 (3).
2. "The Food Ranger". YouTube. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
3. "Mark Wiens". YouTube. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
4. Daly, Annie. "Here's How To Turn Traveling The World Into Your Job". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
5. Groundwater, Ben (2016-07-24). "Have you ever refused a local dish? That's not polite". Traveller. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
6. "Neatness counts. How plating affects liking for the taste of food". doi:10.1016/j.appet.2011.08.004. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
7. "The Complete Guide To Food Photography : 77 Yummy Tips". ExpertPhotography. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
8. "How are Food Bloggers Turning into Influencers and Changing the Foodscape? - Indus Net Technologies". www.indusnet.co.in. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
9. Council, Young Entrepreneur. "Understanding Influencer Marketing And Why It Is So Effective". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
10. Lepkowska-White, Elzbieta; Kortright, Emily (2018-05-04). "The business of blogging: Effective approaches of women food bloggers". Journal of Foodservice Business Research. 21 (3): 257–279. doi:10.1080/15378020.2017.1399046. ISSN 1537-8020.
11. Rampton, John. "25 Ways To Make Money From Your Blog". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
12. Lepkowska-White, Elzbieta; Kortright, Emily (2018-05-04). "The business of blogging: Effective approaches of women food bloggers". Journal of Foodservice Business Research. 21 (3): 257–279. doi:10.1080/15378020.2017.1399046. ISSN 1537-8020.
13. Philip, Leanna. "Impact of Food Blogs on the Reader". researchgate.net. Retrieved 4/18/19. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
14. "How are Food Bloggers Turning into Influencers and Changing the Foodscape? - Indus Net Technologies". www.indusnet.co.in. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
15. "How have bloggers affected the restaurant industry?". Lightspeed POS. 2015-03-06. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
16. Tan, Luke Kien-Weng; Na, Jin-Cheon; Ding, Ying (2015). "Influence diffusion detection using the influence style (INFUSE) model". Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology. 66 (8): 1717–1733. doi:10.1002/asi.23287. ISSN 2330-1643.