As large-scale social media corporations such as Facebook run into a constant wall of problems, smaller blog websites are slowly becoming the wave of the future in journalism and public relations.

Traditionally, websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn are used to build a brand. They are the most used and most viewed social media websites out there and naturally, using them is the easiest way to build a brand. Journalists use all four websites to push their content and opinions, just like people in the public relations industry use the four websites to push marketing campaigns and advertising.

The tide is beginning to turn, though, as those in both the journalism and PR industries are beginning to take notice of bloggers who may not have as big of a brand as those on bigger social media websites. As stated in Blogs as Excellent Public Relations Tools, a growing number of journalists and news editors are reading blog posts on a daily basis to find new, unique story ideas.

Coming from someone who does not work on a blog, but a smaller website, I have seen this take place first-hand. As a writer for JetsWire, a part of the USA TODAY Sports Media Group, unique column and slideshow ideas that we have used on our website have trickled down to the bigger websites, such as Bleacher Report. Likewise, there are Jets blogs and other websites that cover the team that we look at to find new story ideas of our own. It’s an effective tool to come up with “new” story ideas, especially when content is running dry.

None of this is possible without a little self-branding, though. The same way people try to push content on social media, bloggers must build their brand to the point where they are a reliable and recognizable name. As I mentioned before, some of the work published on Jets Wire has been attributed on Jets Wire. At times, I have been specifically name-dropped in those attributions. Those instances of acknowledgment are essentially free publicity for the Jets Wire brand and my own personal brand, as I am gaining credibility by being featured on a “bigger” site.

Bloggers have the freedom to publish individualized content and truly have their own voice — something that is not possible at times in the journalism and public relations field. Unless you’re writing a column of some sort, oftentimes journalists are required to cater to a target audience specified by their employer. For PR employees, there’s no chance to have an individual’s voice heard in a press release.

Blogs are providing a new and fresh platform for writers to get noticed. It might take a while, but it wouldn’t be much of a shock to see blogs and bloggers take over the industry before long.