The smart PR s guide to blogger outreach

Transcription

1 The smart PR s guide to blogger outreach By Sally Whittle March 2012 The media landscape has changed beyond recognition in the last decade. While mainstream media is struggling to adapt to new technologies and new modes of consumption, online media is thriving and bloggers are at the heart of the new content model. Bloggers are usually independent publishers who write about a specific niche that they feel passionately about. There are blogs about virtually any subject you can imagine type blogs about squirrels or blogs about French bread into Google and you re unlikely to be disappointed. PR agencies and brands overlook blogs at their peril. The most successful blogs in the UK have readership figures that eclipse many newsstand magazines, and have extremely loyal and engaged readers who trust the information they read on blogs. Working with an influential blog doesn t just give brands access to the readers of that blog. It provides a gateway to the blogger s network. With 90% of bloggers being active on Facebook, and more than 80% also using Twitter (based on the Tots100 Technology Survey of parent blogs in 2011), a post on the right blog at the right time, can have enormous impact on a brand s reputation. This whitepaper will provide advice for PR professionals on how to identify blogs in specific niches and locations, and how to evaluate blogs to identify the most influential bloggers in any given community. Of course, identifying influential bloggers is only the first step in successful blogger outreach. PR agencies must also consider how they engage with bloggers, and what techniques are most effective in building long-term, mutually beneficial relationships. Get blogger relations right, and your clients will become a part of authentic, influential conversations. Get blogger relations wrong, and your client might find themselves going viral on social networks for all the wrong reasons. Why smart PR pros talk to bloggers Whatever campaign you re working on, adding bloggers to your media mix will probably be a good idea. Here are four great reasons for working with bloggers: 1) They re interested in your client (sometimes) Bloggers are mostly amateurs and write about subjects they re genuinely passionate about, whether that s fashion or baking or vintage crockery. Providing you re targeting the right blogs, people will be glad to hear from you. The smart PR s guide to blogger outreach, P 1 of 10

2 2) They re genuinely well-read and influential Research consistently demonstrates that bloggers are more trusted than mainstream media, and popular blogs can easily have upwards of 100,000 readers a month. Can brands afford to ignore that sort of audience? 3) Blogs are important for link-building and SEO Most PR executives will understand that SEO and PR now go hand-in-hand for many brands. Working with the right blogs provides a great platform for link-building and SEO campaigns. As a rule, bloggers are much more willing to link to your client s website than mainstream media, and they re more likely to understand the importance of the right kind of links. 4) They re connected When a brand engages with an influential blogger, potentially they re connecting with the blogger s entire network that might stretch to many thousands of Twitter followers and Facebook fans, who may share, retweet and comment on the original message. Of course, not all bloggers are well-read, influential and connected. Very many blogs are barely read at all, and engaging with these blogs is unlikely to deliver any significant benefit to a brand. The key to successful blogger engagement, then, is identifying those blogs that are influential and trusted, and providing interesting and engaging opportunities that will encourage those bloggers to write about a brand. Finding blogs There are millions of blogs in the world, and while typing blogs about X into Google will probably turn up the blogs you need, it will also turn up thousands of results you don t need. Blogrolls can also be useful, but the problem tends to be that bloggers rarely update their links to other blogs, and blogrolls can quickly become out-of-date, or stuffed with dead links. There is a range of tools available to help identify blogs that cover specific issues, brands and topics. Blog directories Blog directories can be a useful resource, providing lists of blogs in specific niches. The Tots100 contains details of around 2,500 UK parenting blogs, while the Foodies100 lists over 1,000 food and drink blogs. Media databases, such as DWPub's FeaturesExec Media Database, often include top blogs in each sector. Other blog directories include: Technorati, which links blogs from all over the world BlogCatalog, a huge directory of blogs on all kinds of topics Alltop, a massive directory of global blogs in virtually every topic The smart PR s guide to blogger outreach, P 2 of 10

3 Blogging forums, networks and communities Independent blogging communities and forums can provide useful insights into which blogs are active and most read. Useful communities include: Beauty Blog Network (beauty bloggers) Blogger.Ed (open to all UK bloggers and PR executives) Foodies100 (food and drink blogs) Independent Fashion Bloggers (fashion blogs) Love All Blogs (open to all UK bloggers) Netmums Bloggers Network (parent blogs) Ravelry (craft and knitting blogs) Tots100 (parent blogs) Travel Blog Exchange (travel bloggers) UKFBA (food and drink blogs) Media request services such as ResponseSource are often used by bloggers looking for information and products to feature. Search tools There are hundreds of free online tools and websites that will allow you to identify blogs writing about specific topics. Some of the most useful: Delicious is a useful search engine, because it allows users to search blogs by tags descriptive labels that bloggers add to their posts. Checking the number of bookmarks against posts provides insight into popularity, too. Facebook is increasingly useful as many blogs have created pages that give an insight into how large and engaged that blog s community might be. Openbook can also help identify mentions of a brand within status updates on Facebook. Wefollow.com monitors Twitter and lets users identify blogs by topic, and then sort them by influence and number of followers. Followerwonk allows users to search Twitter bios for keywords such as food and blogger Evaluating Blogs Not all blogs are created equal For some PR agencies, the research stage of blogger outreach starts and ends with building a list of blogs in a specific niche or sector. It is certainly inexpensive and fast to distribute a press release to 250 bloggers but this is rarely an effective approach, or one that will help you to build successful relationships with influential bloggers. Most bloggers are not professional journalists, and have no interest in receiving press releases. Sending a blogger a press release is akin to knocking on someone s door with a sales pitch about double glazing it s intrusive and most likely irrelevant. Instead, PR agencies should engage in additional research to identify the most influential bloggers in a community, and then develop personalised, individual approaches to those people. The smart PR s guide to blogger outreach, P 3 of 10

4 As with any media campaign, blogger outreach shouldn t be about only ever pitching to the biggest and most well-known blogs in a given niche. Often top bloggers will be inundated with PR pitches, and building a relationship with lower ranked blogs with a fractionally smaller audience can be a far more successful strategy, particularly for smaller brands or smaller budgets. Tools to evaluate blogs There is a wide variety of tools available to help PR agencies to evaluate the influence of blogs and individuals, ranging from free websites and ranking tools to commercial social media monitoring services and platforms that are widely used by large brands and agencies. Most social media evaluation will consider a blog s influence using similar metrics to the following: 1) Links: A blog that has a high number of inbound links is considered more influential because this suggests many people have chosen to share that blog s content with their own readers and network. You can easily see the number of inbound links to a blog or website using OpenSiteExplorer or by typing link: followed by the blog s URL into Google. Google Page Rank (PR) is a rough and ready guide to the quality of links into a blog most influential blogs will have a PR score of at least four. 2) Audience: One of the biggest challenges in engaging with blogs is that there is no way for anyone other than the blog s owner to truly know how many people are reading. PR executives can (and should) ask bloggers for traffic stats before providing any samples or gifts. Additionally, Google Reader tracks the number of subscribers using Google to subscribe to a blog s RSS feed. This information is hidden away in the feed settings when viewing a blog in Google Reader. 3) Twitter influence: Many bloggers are active on Twitter and there are a range of tools that will score bloggers based on factors including the number of followers they have, how often their tweets are retweeted, favourite and replied to, and how active they are on Twitter. The most commonly used include Klout, PeerIndex, Tweetlevel, and a newer site, Kred. Tweetreach is a great tool for tracking how many people are talking about a particular topic, and Followerwonk is great for analysing someone s audience on Twitter. 4) Engagement: The most influential blogs are those that engage with their readers, through comments, social bookmarks and mentions across multiple networks. Engagement can be harder to quantify, since most measurement tools are paid-for, but free sites such as Social Mention can be useful. Alternatively, once you have identified likely blogs, visit them to see whether posts receive comments, and whether the blogger responds to those comments. 5) Relevance: A blog can be engaged, influential and popular but that doesn t mean the author will be interested in writing about swimwear, if their blog is a guide to boots and shoes. There are tools that will allow you to search for keywords and tags, but there really is no substitute for looking at a blog post categories will provide a reasonable insight into the kind of content the blog covers, and spending a week reading the blogger s most recent posts is always a good use of time. The smart PR s guide to blogger outreach, P 4 of 10

5 Some tips on blogger outreach The most important thing to remember at this stage is that BLOGGERS ARE NOT JOURNALISTS. Most journalists represent a publication, website or programme. The content they produce reflects on their employer, and when things go wrong, the journalist is not usually held personally responsible by the audience. For bloggers, the reverse is true. Successful bloggers have often become a brand and everything on their blog represents and reflects on them personally. For this reason, bloggers will often be reluctant to write about anything they have not seen or experienced personally. Some observers have accused bloggers of being blaggers for asking for review samples when journalists are happy to accept press releases and photos, but this is not necessarily true. Successful bloggers care about their credibility and many will not recommend something on their blog unless they feel they can personally vouch for a product, service or destination. If a blogger is writing in their spare time, then it is important to remember that they will not necessarily work the same hours as a PR agency. Many bloggers receive hundreds of s a week, and will need to reply to these messages during weekends and evenings - so allow plenty of time to build up blogger campaigns. Personalise your pitch Once a PR agency has compiled a list of suitable blogs for a campaign, then it is time to pitch the blogger. Do not simply send press releases to a blogger and expect them to write about it (an alarming number of PR agencies have adopted this as a comprehensive blogger outreach strategy). The vast majority of bloggers will delete press releases because they simply don t think they are useful or relevant to them. Blogs are an intensely personal platform for their writers, so PR agencies should make every effort to personalise pitches and explain why a particular product, service or promotion is relevant to a specific blog. For example, a blogger might have recently written about a particular brand, destination or type of food and this could be mentioned in a PR pitch. Alternatively, bloggers will appreciate if you recommend events that are local to them, or relevant to their job, or family circumstances. Some comments on this topic from bloggers include: I love when PR people read my blog and add a personal touch. One company read that I loved chai, and sent me a box. Really inexpensive, but I loved it. I always appreciate when someone has read my About page, and sends me something because they know I ll be interested in it. Nothing turns me off faster than getting something addressed to Dear Blogger, or Dear followed by my blog name. Seriously, it s not hard to find out my name. The smart PR s guide to blogger outreach, P 5 of 10

6 When pitching to a blogger, your pitch should be friendly, and informal but polite. It s great to show that you have read a blogger s recent posts before contacting them, but avoid sending s that say, I loved your recent post on [insert last blog title here]. Bloggers tend to find these approaches insincere, and off-putting. Other quick golden rules of pitching to bloggers: In your own office it s perfectly acceptable to talk about reaching out to bloggers, but using the phrase I m reaching out in an to a blogger is never NOT creepy Dial down the industry buzzwords and remember you re talking to a real person Get to the point Don t send big attachments, lots of bloggers use smartphones Don t congratulate someone on making your shortlist of blogs (this happens more than you d think) Use the blogger s first name Don t include the URL of their blog in your pitch (the blogger already knows their blog address) Make sure to include your phone number and name. Don t send pitches from a Gmail account without explanation. Bloggers want to know your credentials To pay or not to pay It s important to remember that while journalists are paid, the vast majority of bloggers are unpaid, or only earn a small income from their blogs. If you are working on a campaign where everyone from the designer to the junior account executive is being paid, many bloggers will consider it unfair that a PR agency expects them to provide coverage on their blogs for free. Do not be surprised if you ask a blogger to write about a product and they ask, Do you have budget to support this campaign? If possible, allocate some of your campaign budget to compensating bloggers in one of the following ways: Pay a blogger to post about a campaign or product. This is known as a sponsored post and rates can run from 50 to 250 depending on the blogging niche and a blog s popularity. Use such posts with caution, though too much sponsored content turns readers off, and can undermine a blog s credibility and popularity Pay a blogger a fee for the time they might spend running a competition, or creating an independent blog post. This might take the form of a cash fee, or a voucher from a client Provide product samples or other gifts to say thanks. In some cases, bloggers may welcome a product sample to keep as a thanks for running a competition or post. Some PR agencies have also sent gifts to thank bloggers for their support a bottle of champagne and some flowers will rarely go down badly Whatever commercial arrangement is agreed with a blogger, transparency is absolutely essential. Under no circumstances should a PR agency ever ask a blogger not to disclose a commercial relationship to do so is a breach of OFT regulations and compromises the integrity of both the blogger and the client. The smart PR s guide to blogger outreach, P 6 of 10

7 Bloggers and reviews As a general rule, bloggers will not be expected to be paid for reviews on their website, but will expect to keep the item being reviewed (except for very high-value items). If a PR agency offers to send an item to a blogger for a review and asks for the item to be returned, the PR agency should state this upfront and provide a return envelope, or arrange for a courier to collect larger items. It should go without saying that agencies should not demand positive reviews from bloggers, and nor should they ask for negative reviews to be removed. Instead, engage with the blogger constructively and see if a problem can be resolved, or if useful feedback can be gathered. If a review is being run as a sponsored post the PR agency is free to request that specific links, keywords and images are included in the review. These requirements must be explicit and agreed upfront with the blogger. A pet hate among bloggers is when PR agencies offer items for review and then either withdraw the offer, or simply disappear without trace. This is especially disappointing if the blogger subsequently realises that same item was given to another blogger in their place. To avoid souring long-term relationships, don t invite more bloggers to review any item than there are samples available, and always let bloggers know if a review item is no longer available for any reason. Blogger events Blogging is a largely virtual activity, and arranging events where bloggers can meet each other, and brands, is a great way to build relationships. Bloggers will always appreciate it if a PR agency is able to reimburse travel expenses, or arrange transport to the event. If budget does not allow for this, then invite local bloggers to the event venue, to minimise the cost to bloggers attending the event. When inviting bloggers to any event, consider that they will want to share the event with their network the best blogging event venues have open, fast WiFi and a good mobile phone signal. The vast majority of blogging events take place in London even though bloggers are distributed all over the country. Consider holding events in other UK cities where possible. It s also important to think about timings events starting at 9am may be difficult for out-oftowners to get to, while evening events may finish too late for them to get home by public transport. Similarly, trains into the capital on weekends can be extremely limited. Check timetables before committing to event details. Consider what format your event will take. Bloggers tend to have their own agenda, and round-tables or panel Q&As will work better than traditional press-conference style presentations. Always build in time for bloggers to talk to each other as well as the client, and if at all possible, give bloggers the opportunity to have hands-on experience with something (ideally the client s product) since bloggers are far more likely to write about something they have experienced personally. The smart PR s guide to blogger outreach, P 7 of 10

8 If budget is available, it can be useful to offer bloggers access to professional photography and video of an event. In this case, be sure to distribute edited materials promptly, since bloggers will usually write about events within a day or two of attending. Competitions Some bloggers will expect a payment in exchange for running a competition, while other bloggers will be happy to run a competition for a brand in exchange for an extra prize that they get to keep themselves. If a prize is particularly desirable, a blogger may run the competition for free, because of the increased traffic their blog will receive because of the competition. When engaging with a blogger to run a competition, PR agencies should consider: - Providing images and text for the competition copy - Promoting the competition via the brand/agency social media channels - Handling competition entries for more complex entry mechanisms - Helping to choose a competition winner - Posting prizes to winners directly Building relationships with bloggers Smart PR professionals understand the value of building long-term relationships with key bloggers. However, blogger outreach should also involve building new relationships. A successful blog can simply stop if a blogger s personal circumstances change, and it s important to maintain a good mix in blogger outreach. Useful tips to remember in building relationships with bloggers: Use Twitter: It sounds trite but the best way to build a relationship with a blogger on Twitter is to be helpful. Answer questions whether it s about blogging, or just what time a TV show starts on Saturday night. Selectively retweeting someone s blog posts will usually be appreciated too. Follow up: Most PR agencies don t bother thanking bloggers after a post has been published, or a review written. A quick thank you , tweet or comment on the post is hugely appreciated by bloggers. Take it offline: Take any and all opportunities to meet bloggers in real life. If a blogger is in town, drop them a line to see if they have time for a coffee. Offer to buy them lunch if they live locally. If meeting up isn t an option, make it a point to pick up the phone from time to time, and offer them access to samples on a regular basis. Promotional support: Look for ways to promote your favourite bloggers and send them new readers invite them to write a short article for a customer newsletter, or a guest post on a client s blog. Link to one of their posts on a popular Facebook page, or tweet their link to your network. Connect bloggers with other people: Look for opportunities to introduce your favourite bloggers to colleagues, and other clients within the agency. If you have a working relationship with the agency handling a brand s online advertising, recommend your key bloggers to them. The smart PR s guide to blogger outreach, P 8 of 10

9 Foster communities: Recruiting teams of bloggers as brand ambassadors or building a community of trusted bloggers allows PR executives to build trusted relationships, while fostering a community among the bloggers themselves. Conclusion Working with bloggers can present PR professionals with new challenges measuring and quantifying blog campaigns can be notoriously difficult, and the relationship between brands and bloggers is completely different to the relationship with traditional media. Bloggers are often fiercely independent, and the rules of engagement between blogs and brands are new, and still shifting in many cases. However, with good research and open, honest communication, PR agencies can build highly successful relationships with influential bloggers, and deliver enormous value for their clients. About the author: Sally Whittle first caught the blogging bug in 2004, and currently blogs at Who s the Mummy. She is the founder of the Tots100 index of UK parent blogs and the Foodies100 index of UK food and drink blogs, and the Blogger.Ed forum. Sally also runs the MAD Blog Awards for UK parent blogs, and BlogCamp, which holds free blogging workshops all over the UK. In her spare time, she is a freelance journalist and writes about business and technology for UK newspapers and magazines. The smart PR s guide to blogger outreach, P 9 of 10

10 DWPub ( helps PRs, organisations and the media connect, collaborate and tell stories more effectively every day. We provide the media and marketing community with simple, easy-to-use and highly effective online media relations information, management and networking services which together we call the DWPub Media Suite. Up-to-date media contacts database, forward features and media management tools. Maximise your coverage. FeaturesExec is essential for professional PRs as well as businesses, charities and organisations that want media coverage. Media enquiries and coverage opportunities at your fingertips. ResponseSource provides leads for PRs, businesses, charities and other organisations that want media coverage. Targeted news distributed with our press release wires. Get your press releases to the right journalists and get found online increasing your chances of coverage. Over 7,000 freelance journalists in one place. Find independent freelance journalists who want to cover your story. For more information on the DWPub Media Suite or to request a free demo and trial: Visit Call +44 (0) info@dwpub.com Comments or queries about this whitepaper are very welcome All rights reserved Daryl Willcox Publishing, Melrose House, 42 Dingwall Road, Croydon, CR9 2DX The smart PR s guide to blogger outreach, P 10 of 10