Public relations industry professionals find bloggers valuable in providing coverage for their clients.

Over eight out of 10 PR professionals work with bloggers to provide coverage for clients, while 98% find bloggers useful or invaluable, according to new research from DWPub.

The survey also looked at how PRs deal with bloggers compared to journalists, with 67% of respondents stating they have a dedicated approach for bloggers, with 75% of these citing they communicate with bloggers in a more informal tone.

The survey, which questioned 252 PR professionals, revealed of the 18% of PRs who do not work with bloggers, 54% find it difficult to evaluate the usefulness of a blogger, indicating the industry needs to develop measurement skills.

However, the survey revealed interaction with bloggers is on the rise, with 74% saying their communication is gradually increasing or has become commonplace.

Chairman and founder of DWPub, Daryl Willcox, says: “The relationship between bloggers and PRs continues to provoke debate, so we decided to get the PR industry’s perspective on working with bloggers,

“Our survey results show an overwhelmingly positive response. Bloggers are here to stay and the PR industry is beginning to embrace them. Bloggers need to be approached in a different way to journalists - our research and whitepaper reflect this view.”