The rise of "retail blogs"

I think retail companies becoming more media oriented will be a big trend. Rather than buying ads on popular blogs, why not hire a talented writer and turn your own website into a media platform? For the cost one person's salary you could potentially develop a amazing community around your industry and product offerings. Makes a lot more sense than trying to buy attention one click at a time.

It feels a lot less forceful, and if the information being provided is generally useful then they are more likely to have return visitors who will eventually evolve into customers.