Don’t you hate it when you come across a great article, save it, and then spend half and hour afterwards trying to find it? Errg. Anyway, I was reading an article that had some very good statistics about the effectiveness of PR firms reaching out to bloggers – the figures were shockingly low, actually. As a “travel blogger” myself (our sister website is a travel lifestyle magazine), I see both sides of this PR/blogger relationship, and I have to say that both are to blame.
- They often take a heavy-handed approach, not understanding that bloggers prefer a relationship-based approach and often work on their blogs part-time.
- There is sometimes over-emphasis on numbers and not taking a closer look to see if there is actually a community spirit.
- They are often not from a journalism background, so their approach to PR can be a bit amateurish.
- They’re juggling a lot of balls – and often not getting paid much to do so.
I have great relationships on both sides, but you don’t have to look hard to find PR and bloggers not meeting eye-to-eye. But now that you have your expectations set, your approach will be different, right?
Why Bloggers Are the Small Business Owner’s Friend
Bloggers are your friend, my dear small business owner! You see, they provide the do-it-yourself PR approach with easy to access fodder. If you keep all of the above in mind, you’ll have some good results I think. Some ways you can utilise an effective business-blogger relationship:
- SEO: As mentioned above, bloggers are usually operating on a shoestring budget, so most offer the option to buy links. Yes, I know I know, that’s totally not cool in Google’s book, but people do it.
- Content: Similar to the above, many blogs accept sponsored content – meaning you can buy a place in their editorial. Yes, advertorial. It sounds gross, but it can be done very very well – in fact, to do well in a blogging environment, the less your advertorial looks like an advertorial, the better.
- Access to Niche Markets: The strength and the USP of a blog is niche. Niche niche niche. Are you a travel agency known for your knowledge in adrenaline tourism? Then target adventure blogs. Are you a gay tour operator? Time to hang out on the gay travel blogs. Luxury B&B nobody’s heard of? Time to tweet the luxury travel bloggers.
- Direct Access: Unlike a New York times journalist, bloggers are usually pretty accessible – just send them a tweet or an email. Others can be harder to get ahold of, but overall I’d say they are very approachable. They might even have a connection to someone else in their network you might be interested in getting access to.
I’m sad to hear PR folk are not finding success with bloggers – because these niche platforms in many cases have a huge following and can do wonders to get the word out. Take advantage of them by taking some time to evaluate the blogs that you feel are a good match for your offering and ethos, then make an approach! The worst they can say is no (or, actually, not reply at all…).
To Learn More
Is there a online marketing problem you are struggling with? Why not visit our resource library, where you can find other materials and services that might be just the thing!
Photo by oneras.
email
facebook
twitter
LinkedIn
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Nodding my head as I read your post. You’ve hit the right spot, mentioning the problems with both parties – bloggers aren’t journalists, and they don’t know how to deal with PRs, while PRs come on as too practical and hard-headed.
I’d recently been on a blog trip that has taken a different approach to traditional fam trips. It was more of an interaction opportunity between bloggers and social media experts, to exchange ideas and understand how to work better with one another. I found it an amazing learning experience, and I think that’s the direction we should all take going forward.
To be successful, the relationship must be mutually beneficial.
It also starts on the blogger side with stories one feels like writing.
Recent stories I wrote and enjoyed doing were on the ‘Blue Train’ in South Africa and ‘Food and Wine service aboard Qantas Airbus A 380′.
Patience is a key ingredient as well.
The PR firm can see which stories gain visibility and which are not.
Granted not everything regardless of how interesting it is will get some attention.
My 2 cents
Serge
‘The French Guy from New Jersey’
http://www.sergetheconcierge.com
Facebook: sergetheconcierge
Twitter: @theconcierge
Excellent article, food for thought. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Sandy!
Thanks for all the additional comments, folks.
Nellie, I’d love to know more about the blog trip you went on. It seems to me that generic, BIG fam trips are going by the wayside in favour of custom itineraries, which are really better for both sides, the PR/CVB teams and the media.
Andy – As a professional journalist turned blogger, I agree with you on many of these points. I’ve noticed some wacky unprofessional behavior on press trips (not always by bloggers, though, I should point out) and received cold shoulders from PR people who fell over me when I was at USA TODAY. Not that I blame the latter, in some respects. I understand that ROI is the end point.
To that end, I would love to see articles or statistics that prove or disprove the value that bloggers give. Niche is definitely the answer. I wonder how many people take action because of what bloggers write (I know that when a mention appeared in USAT, calls to hotels, resorts & destinations radically spiked).
As far as blog trips go, I prefer the individual ones. Sometimes on Twitter, bloggers talk about partying or their interactions with other bloggers, more than give news or info about the destination itself. I wonder how PR people feel about that trend.
I suspect that, if anything, many PR people need to be MORE skeptical of blogs as media outlets, for two reasons:
1) Most blogs have small audiences, and…
2) People who read blogs for entertainmment, to participate in a community (whether of bloggers or of a blogger’s fans), etc. are less valuable to DMOs and travel vendors than active travelers are. The highest ROI will generally come from real travelers (as opposed to armchair or aspiriig travelerf) who are researching where to go, how to get there, where to stay, and how to spend their money. Marketers know this; it’s why ad CPMs on premium travel-information and booking sites are so much higher than ad CPMs on social-networking sites.
3) Blogs, like news sites, tend to be “last in, first out” media, which means they’re unlikely to generate the steady stream of readers and referrals that evergreen travel-planning sites do. Don’t get me wrong: ‘m not knocking blogs per se (our own travel-planning site has three related blogs), but it’s understandable that savvy PR people are looking for measurable results that many, if not most, travel blogs can’t provide.
Thanks for your comments Durant. I totally agree, although I have to say your comments about readership could apply to many “publications” including a lot of magazines built on loose footings. Thankfully I know many CVBs and DMOs building some excellent relationships and getting great results with niche bloggers, so it should be interesting to see as this new medium evolves.