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Loading ...I began these series of posts in hope of starting a discussion as to how to best set up and implement blogger outreach campaigns. There have been significant disagreements amongst PR professionals, marketing professionals, social media advocates, and bloggers on their legitimacy and how they should be structured. In my mind, they’re a legitimate tactic that is in the early stages of development.
Most conversations occur after a campaign has been carried out. Those discussions are definitely needed as they help us come to terms as to what’s been implemented. I’ve learned a heck of a lot from them. But I’d also have to say that I haven’t read much regarding how we should be setting up programs in the first place. That’s not to say that they’re not out there. Here’s some excellent ones from Christina “CK” Kerley, Rohit Bhargarva, Toby Bloomberg, and Susan Getgood.
Like many, I began paying more attention to Blogger Outreach following the Nikon D80 campaign run by MWW. What got me hooked were Joseph Jaffe’s posts about it here and here and his readers’ responses to them. There’s a great podcast that Joseph held with guests CK and the mysterious and iconic, Tangerine Toad.
My own thoughts about the Nikon effort here was that it seemed somewhat exclusively reserved for high profile social media advocates and practitioners who were “in”, with recipients gushing to one another about receiving the camera. (Check out the comments here Josh Hallett’s blog Hyku.) That and decisions by some not to blog left me wondering if the client really benefited. I honestly don’t know. The results aren’t in yet.
In my last post, I mentioned that part of the reason that I think there’s some confusion here is the three roles that we play here. We’re marketers working on behalf of clients, we’re social media strategists trying to legitimize a practice, and we’re bloggers wishing to maintain our integrity.
To me, it’s important to remember, first and foremost, that we work for the client. Let’s face it. As marketers, our goal here is to create a program in which qualified influential bloggers will write (and hopefully write favorably) about our clients’ products. Or at least their experiences with the products. The favorable part we have limited control over. The product itself has to be good enough to pass the mustard test. Period. The part we do have some influence over is the way we set up the program. If it’s created with in a manner in which bloggers aren’t interested in blogging or don’t understand how to blog from an analytical standpoint, then maybe we’re not doing our jobs.
It’s important to remember that our client’s major focus will be on the audience. Not the bloggers. Not the program itself. Yes, they’ll be seeking credibility though the bloggers. Yes, they’ll realize that it’s the program that will be putting them in front of the audience. But the reality is that our clients will be more concerned about enhancing their brand and selling more product.
I’ve seen a lot of discussions that focus so much on the concerns and feelings of the bloggers that sometimes I’m left wondering if we’ve forgotten about the client. For our clients’ sake, we shouldn’t be so sensitive to not offending bloggers that we’re creating giveaway programs to relatively prominent bloggers who we hope will say a few positive words about our client’s products. If we run clean and honest campaigns that respect carefully vetted bloggers’ integrity, then things should fall into place.
Now that I’ve written all these posts, I figured I’d go ahead and stick my neck out and say how I’d set up a blogger outreach program. Specifics, not just theories.
For the sake of convenience, I’m going to pick a quality camera as the product. Not as a critique of the Nikon program, but it’s a reasonably high end product that could have broad appeal. And with this effort, I’ll make the following assumptions: the product is top quality with no major flaws (but may not always live up to it’s hype or brand promise) and that the client and I agree as to what types of people would have an interest in the camera.
General Structure
I don’t really agree with the idea of selecting a certain number of bloggers and treating them a one large blogger outreach program. Since I’d be vetting and approaching bloggers, along with managing the whole process, I’d segment them in two ways; one horizontally, on vertically. And I’d carry this structure throughout the whole process.
The Tiers of Relevance (Horizontal)
This would be the horizontal segmentation. I’d create tiers separated by the level of expertise they have in understanding the product and in giving critical analyses. In this case, they’d be segmented by the likely role a camera would place in their daily business and/or personal lives.
Ryan Karpeles and I came up with a term via an email discussion: the “flow of relevance”. Meaning the natural flow starting from the company and their product through the blogger and their insight about the product through the audience and their interest in the product. It’s essential to create a program in which this flow can thrive. It connects the company to the audience.
Each tier may need a different approach because each tier may have different needs. They could also look at their roles differently and how this program could affect their readership.
Tier One – The Experts In a case such as cameras, this group could consist of tech bloggers who already give product reviews, professional photographers, and those who blog extensively about photography. They’ve got a deep reservoir of knowledge of the product category and, most likely, they’ve read that this new camera is about to be introduced. These folks are essentially equal to reporters (some may actually be reporters). They may carry a lot of weight and are valued for their expertise.
Tier Two – The Heavy Users Or likely heavy users. In this case it could consist of travel bloggers who use high end cameras to record their journeys. Or architects who take extensive photos of the projects their working on. Or an adventure blogger who writes an article every six or nine months for a men’s magazine.
They know a lot about cameras because need them in their work life, but they don’t necessarily have the level of knowledge that makes them experts. And their audience reads their blogs not for learning about photography, but for the subject matter.
Tier Three – The Casual User This category would consist of people who are highly likely to have an interest in cameras, but may have a limited knowledge of what they’re about. They may not be well-informed on aspects from features to pricing to brand reputation. They’re mommy bloggers and daddy bloggers who are likely to have or want a camera for recreational use.
Tier Four – Other Influencers It would be rare to pick individuals from this group because, while they may carry some influence, the subject matters that they cover don’t really relate to cameras. I’d suggest that social media advocates, writing as social media, fall into this category.
Tier Five – Everybody Else These guys are SOL.
Bloggers by Subject Matter (Vertical)
A travel blogger who takes extensive photos of her travels will be different than a architect who take extensive photos of his projects. I’d segment each category of blogger because the subject matters of which they write on are different and their audiences are different as well. In the end of the campaign, for example, the client may want to know how mommy bloggers as a category felt about the product.
Vetting Bloggers – Examining Who to Choose
I’d think insight before storytelling Bloggers who give clear, clean, and crisp analyses on whatever subject matter they cover are bloggers that are respected. Bloggers who tell great stories with that certain flair are bloggers that are enjoyed. When looking at which blogger to pick, I’d go for the former. They will have a natural understanding of their role and of how a program like this can better benefit their readers. They are more likely to get reader reaction and discussion.
Storytellers can still be important. They, after all, can tell great stories. And those stories can be compelling. This may make them a great choice to include in your campaign. But I’d first make careful observations of the blogger to make sure they don’t end up reducing the client’s product to a bit item of no consequence. For instance, a parent blogger who tells us of a wonderful day in the park, doesn’t say anything about the camera, and shows one photo of a couple of people munching on an ears of corn at the picnic. That doesn’t really help the client or inform the reader.
I’d think relevance before prominence I’d curb any urge I had in approaching big name bloggers if the blogger has displayed no interest or understanding of the product. Instead I’d choose bloggers who have ‘presence’ but either have displayed some sort of understanding of the concept of the product or are ‘topically’ appropriate. Meaning they could potentially have an interest in the product based upon the subject matter that they write about. This may seem elementary but from what I’ve read, it seems that some are getting pitched all the time. If that describes you, do you think this makes sense? Do you feel qualified to examine and review this week’s special?
This means we have to do our homework and take time to read and research, the bloggers who would most suit our clients’ needs. We need to get to know as much about them as possible. Their writing style (more analytical), their attitude (not egotistical), their relationship with their audience (open and honest).
Above all, I’d think value Relevant bloggers writing with great insight about your client’s cool new product to a targeted, qualified audience means value all the way around. To your client, to the audience, to the blogger and to you as a practitioner of blogger outreach.
Remember, your client is most interested in the audience. And the audience here will be most interested in getting information they need in order to purchase a product.
Approaching and Engaging the Blogger
I wouldn’t send them form letters.
I wouldn’t treat them as if they had just won something and, as a result, be “excited” for them and congratulate them on being selected.
No, I’d treat them professionally and respectfully. My attitude would be upbeat by not in anyway sales-like. I’m sure that this is how it’s being done 95% of the time, but Sean Howard and Scott (er, Greg) Verdino may thing otherwise.
And if I had sparked an interest, I would make sure that they understood three things:
A full understanding of the program including the whole concept of blogger outreach. OK, this is a no-brainer. It’s likely that many won’t have a clue as to what is going on when they get contacted out of the blue. It may make sense to set up a web site that they could go to if they wanted to learn more about the program. It could include a video message from an official from the client company
Why they were picked. The most common reasons will be their insightfulness and the quality of their audience. This may stroke their ego, but it’s being honest. And I’d make sure that they’d understand how that insightfulness and audience quality is relevant to the project.
What we hope they’ll do. Yes, we hope you’ll use the product, the camera, and give their readers a fair analysis of it. If they blogger about it, we’d want them to be honest. And we’d send them material that can help them be honest. Lastly, we’d want them to give their audience full disclosure about their participation in the program.
And if they said “yes” to our request to their being part of the program, I’d send them:
The camera. Duh.
Instruction manuals. Yes, that would be good. A bunch of information so they can learn as much about what they received.
A one pager, written by a professional product reviewer on writing critical analysis and product reviews. Huh? Many of you might disagree with this, but I’d look to hire someone who writes product reviews for a living to write up an easy going, informal one page piece on what they look for when they write product reviews. A how-to of sorts. This individual would have no connection to the marketing company or the client. And I’d include it in the material I’d be sending to Tier 2 bloggers on down.
Many might disagree with this tactic as they would think that it’s insulting to bloggers. It’s a form of telling the bloggers what to think. I say it’s the opposite. I’d say it’s a way of freeing them up to think analytically about the product so they can best inform their readers. In other words, create value.
Sure, some bloggers may have no problem understanding how to go about this. But others may not know where to start. How to begin. What to write about. The camera seems nice…here’s a couple of pictures. That doesn’t really help their readers nor does it help the client.
While I’m not exactly sure what a product reviewer looks for, I might guess that they would analyze if the product lives up to its brand promise. If it’s positioned as a “family camera”, is that true? Do the features not only work well, but do they work well together? Things that your average blogger may not know what to look for may now be something that they’d examine closely.
This could have other benefits as well. It may get a blogger to take the program that much more seriously. They may see their role as quite important. Where they are free to – yes – criticize the product if need be…making sure that they aren’t writing puff pieces or becoming inadvertent shrills. One thing that got me concerned about the Nikon program is that a lot of the bloggers seemed to be completely stoked because they 1) had been selected, and 2) received this new toy.
Outside of an initial introduction, I’d largely keep the client on the sideline with the exception of customer support. In fact, I’d stay on the sidelines as well with the exception of periodic check-in to see if the bloggers had any questions. That website that was originally set up would still be live and serve as a informational resource for the bloggers.
Online Review Panel
Here’s another idea that may be controversial. At the conclusion of the campaign, I’d set up an one-time online Q&A panel that consists of bloggers who had been part of the campaign who could take questions regarding the camera from interested parties – be it their readers or anyone who ends up coming in to learn. The bloggers would primarily come from Tiers 1 & 2. This way, a reader could ask to-the-point questions on the product as a whole…how is it different from the previous model? How well does it work in a particular type of setting? The “attendees” of the session are likely to be more qualified and interested in learning more about the product because they’re taking the time to come on in and ask questions. And, also, a reader of one particular blogger can now ask questions to other bloggers on the panel.
Follow Up and Final Stage
Now we’re going to have a bunch of information to deal with. How daddy bloggers felt about the camera. What the greatest points travel bloggers made. How impressed that very important Tier 1 felt.
OK, now it’s time to go back to the mundane world of making our own analyses and writing reports. But the info that we receive could be invaluable for the next stage of the marketing effort…whatever that will be.
Filed under: Blog Strategy, Blogger Engagement, Blogger Relations, Blogging Primer, Online Strategy, Web 2.0
Wowsa! OK, first off, I’m calling these BRPs (Blogger Relations Programs). Why? Because the Diva is (Toby Bloomberg) and it’s nice and short, k?
As most posts (and programs) you had me at value :-). The relevancy factor is pivotal…and you taught me to say “authenticity/relevancy” because when I’m looking at BRPs from the blogger side I think “authenticity” but from the client’s side I think “relevancy”. So thanks for that. Those are my key questions to this MOST thoughtful and organized piece.
You would wait until the end for the panel? Not all the way through? And while the Tier 5 is SOL why not have an added bonus for the community (giveaways, sponsoring a fun promotion)?
Frankly, I prefer pull to push (BRPs are mainly “push”). Take the YouTube/CNN debates–they put the offer out there and pulled in people to upload videos. ANYbody could upload and only a few were chosen. My only gripe on that program was that they didn’t provide embeds for the user videos (you have to go to the site when there could have been a TON of vids on a ton of blogs) and that they didn’t address the int’l community. But see how that was a pull program that gave value to anyone who wanted to take part? win-win-win (CNN/YouTube-Bloggers-TV Viewers)
We also have the Sci-Fi media tour…this was for bloggers and was about the network “relating” to them so, in fact, it’s a BRP. While this one only targed 30 Sci-Fi bloggers their entire communities benefited. Why? Because the Sci-Fi bloggers could take those “behind-the-scene moments” back to their communities. win-win-win (client-bloggers-community).
I hope this comment added value as your post sure has. I’ll keep watching this convo.
CK
Thanks for the awesome comment!!
The reason I’d wait toward the end for the panel is because that would give the bloggers more time to experience and experiment with the product. Learn about it more. And build up ‘interest momentum” from their readers. Remember - those same readers can ask questions via comments. I also figured that having one (or at least a small amount) of panels would mean more ‘attendees’ logging on.
Why not Tier 5? Because you can’t really ensure that ‘flow of relevancy’. But that’s just for the BRP. Giveaways and contests are 100% legit (and recommended), but I see that as a different but related tactic.
Hell, I’d hope to enter one of those.
The version of BRPs I’m talking about is working with influential and relevant bloggers who can authentically and transparently blog about the product…in a way that creates value.
Gee…where’d I get those words from? ; )
“The version of BRPs I’m talking about is working with influential and relevant bloggers who can authentically and transparently blog about the product…in a way that creates value.”
From your lips to the marketing gods and goddesses ears :-).
I really think you’ll like the Sci-Fi example. Coined as “media tour” but truly a relations programs for influential/relevant bloggers who authentically live, love and breathe Sci-Fi (I heart Sci-Fi fans because of their passion and marketing smarts, I admit my bias fully).
Hmmm…different, but related tactic. What if we gave the bloggers a way to hold their own promos, too? Not sure how many logistics are feasible but this format is interesting, too. Though it could imply bias.
That would be my concern…creating bias or creating shirlls.
That doesn’t mean I’m against that type of campaign. It can make perfect sense for events, hotels, etc. But, if it is about value, what did the bloggers experience? And could their readers then experience the same thing?
Jonathan — I think there are going to be many different “right” ways to do blogger relations. You need transparency and full disclosure, and then it will come down to your objectives. Who is the audience and what are you trying to achieve?
I agree with CK that the SciFi online media tour is a great positive example. Check out Marketing Roadmaps (http://getgood.typepad.com) for my interviews with the people involved. Part one was posted earlier this month, and part two should go up later this week.
Are “transparency” and “full disclosure” the same, similar, or different? Are they peas-in-a-pod or can they be mutually-exclusive? Can you have transparency without disclosure? Can you have full-disclosure without transparency? Is full-disclosure a child of transparency?
Susan
Point well taken. For all, here is the link to Susan’s article on the Sci Fi channel’s effort:
http://getgood.typepad.com/getgood_strategic_marketi/2007/07/sci-fi-channel-.html
But I still think we’re comparing apples to pears so to speak. The Sci Fi effort was about an intangilbe object (a TV show) that they were trying to promote to an already established fan base inorder to ensure viewrship. I think the way they went about it was excellent.
With Nikon, we’re talking about a physical product that the company was looking to promto to and educate different categories/ communities/audiences of the online public - audiences that may not have know about the camera but could easily have an interest in it based upon the type of person they are. And these people have a specific relationship to the bloggers who are similar to them. Mommies reading mommy bloggers, travel afficianados reading travel blogs.
I see it as a way of reaching out to new customers.
The Sci-Fi Media Tour for Bloggers wasa BRP as was the Nikon “Picture This!” Program (you gotta laugh that I’m the only blogger who knows the name of the Nikon BRP, eh? Even the people who have received cameras still don’t know the name of the program–great branding, eh?).
The fact that they were both programs that reached out to bloggers was/is the only thing they have in common. Sci-Fi reached out to Sci-Fi bloggers who’s dedicated interest was Sci-Fi. Nikon reached out to marketers who did not blog about cameras (and still don’t care about cameras). Sci-Fi Channel gave 30 bloggers content to share with their communities who received value from that content because….because they have a dedicated interest in Sci-Fi. Just like the CNN/YouTube Video Debates involved people who have interest in politics and issues.
So yes, it’s Apple to Pears being they’re both fruit, or BRPs. But that’s about it.
[…] other day Chris Abraham asked, via a comment on a previous post: Are “transparency” and “full disclosure” the same, similar, or different? Are they […]
Great post, Jonathan. This is a nice primer for any entity interested in doing an influencer outreach program.
I would echo CK’s suggestion of having a blogger panel - an advisory board of sorts - existing throughout the program. One of the benefits of marketing in this digital age is that we can listen, respond and change our tactics in real time.
There are as many opinions as there are bloggers out there (maybe more!), so it’s best to limit the input that you’ll be collecting. But with the right advisory group in place, they’ll help guide you to success. crayon used this approach with the Virtual Thirst program for Coca-Cola in Second Life and we were rewarded with a warm reception and lots of participation in the contest.
And while you touch on it tangentially in your horizontal/vertical tiers, I’d create a third dimension. I’m not suggesting to select based on prominence alone, but to use this as an additional measure against which to measure how far their influence goes. Understanding how many readers they have (ideally) is certainly an important measure; another way of assessing this is to look at the number of comments and links to their posts.
Finally, this may go without saying, but it’s probably a good idea to set expectations early and very clearly with the client. If they’re looking for a sales boost, you have absolutely no control over that. They should be looking for comments, sentiment, and number of hits, for starters. Whatever it is, marketer and client should be aligned.
This is such an important point and I am going to pop it to the fore:
“Finally, this may go without saying, but it’s probably a good idea to set expectations early and very clearly with the client. If they’re looking for a sales boost, you have absolutely no control over that. They should be looking for comments, sentiment, and number of hits, for starters. Whatever it is, marketer and client should be aligned.”
[…] Comments Abraham Harrison on Were I to Setup a Blogger Relations ProgramScott Monty on Were I to Setup a Blogger Relations ProgramJanet Johnson on Attention Profiling […]
First of all, thanks for responding. You’re making great points.
The reason I said at the end was twofold, but it doens’t negate your explanation. I had wanted to give th bloggers enought time to experience the product to be able to take questions from their readers effectively. And I feared that they would be perhaps more cooperative with doing it once…but i like the way you’re presenting it. Feedback throughout. The marketing company and client here the questions as well.
Jonathan,
Very well-written post and quite comprehensive to boot. Many of the crucial points have already been covered, but I think the key is approach this issue in a collaborative manner.
Don’t see bloggers as the ones who will do your bidding. They’re people. People who you need to foster a relationship with. You don’t have to be all warm and fuzzy with them, but you need to break down the barriers and move away from the whole notion of “pitching” something to someone.
Find a way to connect. Be transparent. Be authentic. Throw deception out the window and be prepared to provide plenty of relevant value.
Great discussion so far, and I apologize for jumping in so late. Thanks for sharing all this Jonathan.
When it all comes down to it, I have only one rule: give more than you give.
The moment we fancy ourselves as rockstars who should get the adoration of bloggers is the moment we turn into old PR and marketing.
Who do those marketing, advertising, and PR people think they are, anyway?