All Annotations of Marketing Article: 10 Steps to Building a Better Blogger-Relations Program by MarketingProfs[Preview]

saved byMaggie Tsai on 2008-03-12

• The Magic Middle is defined as the bloggers who have from 20-1,000 other people linking to them. It is this group that enables PR people to reach The Long Tail, and its effects on the bottom line are measurable
• Customers and people are influenced, inspired, and driven by unique channels and communities. Figuring out whom we want to reach, why they matter to us, and why we matter to them, is the ante for getting into this game. Then, to learn about how and why to reach them, we reverse-engineer the process of where they go for their information and which discussions they participate in. And, while there may be several horizontal mediums that overlap, the vertical avenues are usually distinct and dedicated
• blogger relations is about respect.

• It all starts with listening and reading.

  
  

  The next step is to really think about why you should reach out.

• Defining Blogger Relations

  
  

  Blogger relations is about people, many of whom might be customers and peers.

• Be knowledgeable, transparent, honest, and trustworthy. Add value—or don't bother.
• respect, articulation, and relevance. Personality helps.
• doing PR in the Long Tail so that you can develop more meaningful relationships that have a more significant impact on the brand, business, and customers service (the perennial Quality vs. Quantity question).
• It's all about trust and respect.

• Promote and Reach Bloggers Through Social Media

  
  
  
  
  • Submit their posts/articles to social networks and news aggregators such as digg and reddit.
    
  • Link to them.
    
  • Comment before reaching out with meaningful content—participation is marketing.
    
  • Leverage personal networks.

• Use Social Tools

  
  
  
  
  • There are alternative contact channels to email and forms (no spam or invasive tactics allowed).
    
  • Use social networks such as Facebook, Yahoo Mash, LinkedIn, Plaxo Pulse.
    
  • Use micromedia such as Twitter, jaiku, Tumblr, Utterz, Pownce
• Podcasts. Invite bloggers to co-host a podcast or to be a guest on something like BlogTalkradio. Or create pre-recorded interviews or discussions that matter to bloggers. Think about creating custom content for different people.
• Google Alerts allow you to be notified if anyone is talking about your company, competition, you, or other important topics.
• • Blogpulse reveals blogs and bloggers that have strong authority around relevant memes.
    
  • Technorati allows you to discover blogs that cover certain key words.
• Explore the blogroll.
• • Concept: What's the compelling plan.
    
  • Context: Why is it relevant to them.
    
  • Consumption: Create a package that makes it easy for bloggers to write their story.
    
  • Credibility: What makes you credible? Become the expert.
    
  • Community: Join it, participate without expectations.
    
  • Conversation: You are not invited to the conversation as a marketer. This is about people, so be articulate, responsive, honest, smart, and resourceful.
• Focus on the Magic Middle, bloggers with 20-1,000 blogs that link back to them.