The New Media: The Ins and Outs of Working with Bloggers

 By Melissa Miller, Senior Account Executive, Consumer

Throughout the last five years, the media landscape has changed drastically. Newspaper staff is being cut left and right, and more and more, we’ve seen an increase in online engagement via Facebook, Twitter and individual bloggers. No longer are the days of sending out simple press release email blasts – it is now equally important that PR professionals take a hard look at the online status of their clients by conducting conversation audits to see where and how people are talking about the client’s brand.

Some of the biggest assets (or liabilities) a brand can have are bloggers. In layman’s terms, a blogger is simple a regular human being that decides to write about a topic (or topics) of their choosing as frequently as they wish. But what does that mean for brands?

Bloggers can be categorized by their role (parent, scientist, advocate, etc.) or topic of interest, but what’s truly important is the content they’re creating and sharing, as well as the fan base they acquire. Bloggers become powerful influencers for their readers, and brands should be acutely aware of how and where they are being discussed. Proper engagement with a blogger can turn him/her into a brand’s biggest advocate, ultimately spreading a positive message that could reach thousands of people in the brand’s target market.

So, how do you properly engage with a blogger? Here are three tips that I’ve learned are a must when reaching out to these online enthusiasts:

1. Use transparency. If you are contacting a blogger on behalf of a client, clearly spell that out in the first sentence of your pitch email. If you’re contacting them on behalf of your own brand, say so! According to FTC Guidelines passed in October 2009, bloggers who make an endorsement of any kind must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service, so it’s critical to be upfront and clear about your relationship with the brand when reaching out to them and helpful to remind them of the FTC guidelines as well.

2. Do your homework. As with any media pitch, it’s necessary to do some background work before reaching out to a contact. This is especially true in the case of bloggers – bloggers only want information that is relevant to them and their readers and can easily choose to say something negative about any pitches they receive that do not to pertain to them or their interests.

3. Personalize, personalize, personalize. This goes along with doing your homework, but it’s key to include details in your pitch note that point out why your brand/product is relevant to this particular blogger. Make each pitch email as individualized as possible, referencing recent posts and comments made by the blogger to show that you have done your research.

It’s a scary world out there because there IS a lack of control in social media. The online community can be tough to navigate, but successful blogger engagement can be one of the most rewarding programs for a brand. Beginning a conversation with a relevant blogger can create a solid brand advocate and demonstrates your brand’s commitment to relationships and dialogue. As public relations moves into public engagement, dialogue with your audiences – in the places and forms that they are communicating – is critical.

Don't Be A Twit

by Carolyn Mayo, VOLLMER President

Remember when the word "twit" was an insult?

If you called someone a twit you were seriously questioning his or her judgment, common sense and general lack of manners. Now the word is almost immediately identified with Twitter – the social networking site that has exploded on the scene, now with more than 6 million users. (http://www.twitter.com/)

These days, the term twit could easily apply to generations of business executives that are otherwise known as "digital immigrants." This is in contrast to the "digital natives" that practically came out of the womb with an MP3 player in hand. Those are the people who can program your VCR that’s been blinking red 12:00 for years. The terms were coined by writer Marc Prensky (http://www.marcprensky.com/) back in 2001 and referred to a new breed of students who learned in a different way. Now, the "immigrant" moniker has been taken up as a gentle put down for those who still just don’t get social and digital media.

Yes, I can hear you now. "Why do I care?" "My secretary handles all my e-mail." "Do you mean social media as in high society? What’s that got to do with my business?" "It’s just a fluke." Oh, ye skeptics – gather ‘round the warm glow of your computer monitor.

Why You Need to Care: First and foremost – it’s not going away. Hiding or thinking you’ll just wait it out just isn’t going to cut it. In fact, it’s escalating and competitors who are more tech-savvy will quickly leave you and your business in the dust. Digital tools and channels already are communication lifelines. Remember when people actually wrote letters on their IBM Selectric typewriter and sent them through the mail? Then there was this crazy thing called a fax? And then email hit the scene. Get the picture? Digital communication and networking is critical in both a crisis and when you are throwing a party. Most recently when US Airways flight 1549 landed in the Hudson River, it was only minutes before hundreds of messages cell phone photos were posted. During the Mumbai terrorist attack, the examples of real-time citizen reporting was almost as newsworthy as the well-orchestrated attacks. On the flip side, for South by Southwest, the Texas-based music and media festival (http://www.sxsw.com/) held last month, digital networking was the way visitors found tickets, heard about hot parties and critiqued performances.

Just a Fluke, You Say?: The 2008 U.S. Presidential Election will go down in history books as the first digital campaign, with Barack Obama raising millions in contributions and reaching out to followers directly through online channels. Think it’s a fluke? Wrong – for the President’s first online town hall meeting, March 26, 2009, that was shown on YouTube, nearly 93,000 people logged on to the official White House web site and posted 104,000 questions (www.whitehouse.gov/openforquestions/). More than 3.6 million votes were cast to determine which of those questions would make the cut.

According to http://www.twitterholic.com/, the number one site on the Twitter feed is CNN Breaking News (http://www.cnn.com/) with 600,000 followers. With tongue firmly in cheek, I must also report it lists the number two site as http://www.britneyspears.com/. Just seems wrong, doesn’t it?

It’s All About Relationships: While the social and digital phenomena may have started with those 20-somethings sharing the trivia of everyday lives on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/) and (http://www.myspace.com/), the networking sites have come a long way. Now, companies, organizations, not for profit causes, individuals and more are members of the two sites. These two networking giants have been joined by site for professionals, LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/), which boasts more than 36 million members in 200 countries and represents 170 industries. Connections that at one time might have taken you weeks or months, now can be made in just a few clicks of the mouse. Jobs can be found, references given, introductions made and business done.

What Does it Mean For You? If you think you are one of those hopeless digital immigrants in a foreign land who doesn’t understand the language and is wandering without a roadmap (much less a GPS), don’t despair. It’s never too late to get your bearings. It does, however, require an open mind, a willingness to experiment, a commitment to stick with it and maybe even more than a touch of courage to step out there. If you are sitting in the C-suite, pull in your communicators or consultants. Find out what your competitors are doing. Think strategically about your audiences and stakeholders and how they get their information. Take control of your own message and reputation. Think about a policy for employees who might be online and talking about your company and/or their jobs.

If you need some help, VOLLMER can step in and facilitate, from the basics to fully executed digital campaigns. In fact, we have a formalized practice area that specializes in digital and social media. Just call. Or write. Or text. Or tweet.

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To Blog or Not to Blog: Creating a Corporate Blog

by Mary Kate Smither, VOLLMER Dallas

Developing a blog can be a great asset to any company or organization if implemented and used correctly. For example, a corporate blog can provide a great tool for interacting with customers to discover their feedback and learn about their interests, likes and, yes, even dislikes about your company. A blog allows for open and honest communication on a more personal level that, over time, can foster deeper relationships with target audiences, build a trust bank and lead to development of stronger customer offerings that may positively affect the bottom line.

When deciding whether or not to blog, there are a few key questions to keep in mind. Because blogging is very conversational, are you prepared to step away from a strict corporate persona and use your own voice to engage with your target audiences? Are you willing to write regularly – at least weekly – to keep the blog current and relevant? Are you prepared to accept feedback from both your fans and your critics, and to listen to and respond to these audiences equally? Does your blog offer information and advice that readers can put to use and that cannot be found easily elsewhere? If you can answer yes to these questions while also understanding the goals of your blogging, whether to sell more widgets, interact with customers or just build awareness about your company, then developing a corporate blog can definitely be a good option.