Paul Gillin, author of The New Influencers recently pointed out that people trust social media more than advertising, thus explaining why so much time is spent in chat rooms, social networks and critically, blogs. Sharing, community and engagement are todays buzz words and brands are itching for a slice of the pie. Some brands have mastered it; some haven’t - often at the behest of the social or PR agency they’ve appointed. I’ve seen some great articles online on how to best engage with bloggers to build formidable, mutually beneficial and sustainable relationships. Yet I do feel that there is such a thing as being over-cautious and sensitive to the crowd. For example, it doesn’t take months of preparation to engage a blogger. That’s crazy and enormously inefficient. Similarly why would you send an email with no images or with no lead to further information? I follow five simple steps for engaging influencers which have to date harnessed successful relations between brands, PR’s and bloggers.
Bloggers are often opinion leaders in their chosen field and deliver cohesive comms across multiple platforms, offering brands the chance to amplify their messages across various spaces. While finding the right bloggers to meet your campaign is becoming an easier process, it can be a time consuming one. Google searching is often a starting point, though there are some great free tools you can use to find influencers such as Wikio and Cision that provide the top blogs across various categories. Importantly blogs found within these domains often link to similar blogs or blogs they read, found under their blogrolls traditionally dropped down on the right side of the page. This form of peer-to-peer endorsement identifies relative influencers that provide a voice to your target audience and thus an engagement channel for the brand.
RESEARCH
Researching the blog is a vital and often neglected part of the process. First off, ask yourself if the blog is relevant to what you or the brand is trying to achieve. Does it hit your target market? Is your message mutually beneficial? Reading the blog is essential. Find out what they write about, what makes them tick. Have they mentioned brands in the past? Have they mentioned YOUR brand? Often blogs will include a search bar but Ctrl F allows you search for keyword mentions if this isn’t on display. Ascertain its credibility using index engines like Technorati or determine the number of inbound links to the site (references elsewhere online) – this can be done through exploring the URL at Yahoo Site Explorer. Use Twitter to gauge moods and interests. Pete at The Londoneer once told me that the best pitch he ever received came from somebody emailing in response to one of his ‘angry tweets’ earlier that week. See your research as an investment in a mutually beneficial outcome, a two way collaborative process.
ENGAGE
PR’s love the efficiency of the cut and paste job mailers that go to a excel doc of unknown contacts pulled from databases like Gorkana or Media Disk; not very social and not likely to yield results. Bloggers blog about what they love and more often than not do it in their own time. Personalise your first contact; show you’ve read the blog, reference posts to show to how your campaign fits with their content and let them know why you want to work with them. Tell the story concisely. Be less formal but remain professional. Cate at Bitchbuzz once commented that she received an email ending with ‘Holler if you want in’ or something similarly ridiculous - don’t overdo it, you’re not their best mate. Not yet anyway...
ADD VALUE
Contrary to popular posts, often a straight-forward story is value in itself. If I go to a London blogger with an all weekend free event in Leicester Square, chances are that he/she will appreciate being made aware of it (if they’re not already). That said there’s a lot more you can do to empower influencers and get your message heard. Can you offer exclusive content, competitions, product trials, behind the scenes tours? Brands love bloggers and believe it or not bloggers tend to share similar affection for brands, provided they go about it in the right way.
MAINTAIN RELATIONS
The basis of this five step approach is ultimately to build sustainable relationships. First off, if they post about your brand thank them for it. Let them know your client feedback, show how it has benefited the campaign – bloggers like feedback. Sorry, everyone likes feedback. Keep up to date with their blogs, their Twitter, etc. Go to blogger events now and then (they’re usually free and often in a pub) – you’ll learn a little and hell, you may even make a new friend. Remember it’s a marathon, not a sprint but master these steps and you’ll end up somewhere near the top.
So there you have it, my five steps to successful brand, PR and blogger relations. Now where can I sell this in...
