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Loading ...When I blog about something, I usually first try to check out what’s currently being said online about the subject. What the conversation is all about. When it comes to blogger outreach/blogger relations, I’ve done just that and it’s been quite a journey. I feel as if I’ve been just about every where. Tons of info, all in my head, where do I start?
I have to say, that just like my last post, I come away believing that blogger outreach is legit. But after reading a lot of comments and criticisms, I’ve come up with my own ideas as to how it should be done most of the time. Some go against the grain of what’s being said, but, then again, aren’t we having a conversation?
Let’s first take a look at the four stakeholders groups here. You’ve got the client company, the marketing company, the blogger(s), and the audience or communities. All come to the game with different vantage points and needs. Each carries with them certain benefits and certain burdens. I’ll start with the client company.
The Client
The client, the producer of the product that’s being used and reviewed by bloggers, is taking the greatest risk. And as powerful and as mighty they might be as a corporation, here they’ve been reduced to a job applicant waiting to hear how she did on the job interview for the job they really want or to a high school student waiting to see if he got in his first choice of college, or a contestant for, say, a music award sitting there with fingers cross, closed eyes, heart pounding, waiting to hear of the winner being announced. May I have the envelop please? The winner is…
And that’s the way it should be. Because they aren’t in control any more. Now their job is basically to sit back and shut up.
In fact, I don’t think they (at least for procedural reasons) should be allowed to maintain any contact with any chosen blogger. With the following exceptions - an initial intro to the bloggers, an if-needed training period that teaches the bloggers about the product and can also include a session as to what makes this product stand out, and what would amount to subsequent tech help if needed. The second of those three need not include marketing people and the last of those three most definitely should not.
The client is owed a sincere effort - no winging it - by the marketing company and they’re also owed honest reviews by the blogger if he or she has chosen to accept a product.
The Marketing Company
Whether it’s an ad agency, a PR firm, or a social media consultancy, the marketing company’s most important role is to set the tone for the entire campaign. It must manage - but not control - a series of bloggers (a traditionally independent lot), it must manage expectations by eager and perhaps nervous brand managers from the client company, and it must ensure that the targeted audiences get valuable information about a product…meaning information that pertains to them.
The company needs to take this whole process seriously and look at this as if they’re creating a practice within. They can’t just wing it. CK points out how many agencies are using the “intern approach” as she writes “Go to Craig’s List and see how many ads there are calling for ‘interns needed to manage our blogs and blogger pitches’…it’s astounding.”
Apparently, using this method, one company thought Greg Verdino was named Scott. Another - and this was client based, sent an obvious form letter to Sean Howard of Craphammer. Paul McEnaney reports he got the same one.
These aren’t best practices. These are firms winging it, hoping that something sticks. It hurts what we do and makes us all look bad.
It’s the job of the marketing company to research the both the target markets of readers and the bloggers who both have decent traffic and appear to be capable of being part of a program.
One shouldn’t (if they’re trying to reach marketing bloggers) just go over to Todd And’s power list of 150 Top Marketing Blogs and pick every third one. That way, you may get guys named Greg get called Scott.
The effort has to be a bit more personal. Get to know what the blogger blogs about. The style of writing. The personality behind the keyboard. In fact, it would make sense for a lot of marketing companies to do all this regardless as to whether or not they’ve got a client that they’re conducting an ongoing campaign for. That way, once a campaign kicks in, they’d have a better idea as to what bloggers should be approached.
And once you approach them, you should do it as if they were reporters. Respect their time, their own need to maintain their objectivity. Also, respect their place in the blogosphere. In a take off of Tangerine Toad’s “Your Brand is Not My Friend” series, don’t pretend that you’re an avid reader of the blog. Don’t have the 23 year old single guy intern try to convince the Mommy Blogger from Boise that he’s an avid reader.
Rohit Bhargarva at Influential Marketing Blog and of OgilvyPR and CK have two excellent posts as to how one should approach bloggers as potential product reviewers. Now I’m adding mine.
1) Get to know the bloggers, what they write about, and their readership before you contact them. Just like you would do with a reporter. Take a look at their style, their approach to their readers. How much they interact with them and how much the readers interact with the blogger. Is a community developing…meaning do the readers comment to both to the blogger and to one another? Does the blogger respond and develop ties to his or her readership?
2) Remember that it starts with the client company and ends with the blogger audience. In running a campaign or a multi-faceted series of campaigns, you’ll have to pick bloggers who not only blog about related issues to the product but can understand that, by accepting the offer of receiving free goods, can then, in turn blog about it in a way that educates their readership. That last point is important because the blogger should realize that it’s now their role to educate their audiences about the plusses and minuses of the product.
3) Fully explain to the blogger why they were chosen (they carry influence), what the program is about (product loan, blogger usage, product review), and what is expected of them (which I’ll get into a bit). This way the blogger will be able to make a better decision as to whether or not they want to get involved. They’ll understand their role and what’s expected of them. And they’ll understand what they’ll owe their own audience and yes, what they owe the client company - and the marketing company.
4) Provide the blogger as much info as they need about the product. Features, benefits, what’s new about this new model. Train them how to use the product if need be. In others, develop educated users who can then intelligently blog about their experiences.
Next time, I’ll cover the bloggers and their audiences.
Filed under: Blogger Outreach, New Marketing, Online Brand Promotion, Online Community Outreach, Online Outreach
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Great read! Thank you for sharing.
Brilliant post, Chris. G
er Jonathan.
That’s exactly how it should be done. Great post.
Since I’m a few notches down from my colleague Greg on the 150 list, I can see how the confusion might have arisen.