Private bloggers' motivations to produce content – a gratifications theory perspective

Abstract Firms have become interested in blogs, since consumers are more prone to believe in other individuals, such as private bloggers, than firms, and because blogs influence readers' behaviour. Nevertheless, private bloggers may be driven by factors other than commercial motivations, and firms need to investigate carefully how to address these independent but powerful actors. By understanding bloggers' motivations to blog, marketers can better address bloggers' needs and adapt social media campaigns accordingly. This paper contributes to social media and gratifications research by studying the perceived gratifications of 12 experienced private bloggers from Estonia. The bloggers sought process, content, and social gratifications from blogging activities. Several new categories were found compared with previous research. For example, the content gratifications of enlightening others, advertising, and promotion, and the social gratifications of communication, image management, and vanity, are new to blogging. Bloggers' gratifications were found to evolve over time, leading to blog changes. The dynamics of gratifications have not been covered in the literature, and its implications for blog marketing require further research.