The Importance of Bloggers to PR (and How Best to Woo Them)

 

With fewer opportunities for PR placements in traditional media, blogs have emerged as an influential new media outlet for PR stories and product reviews. Unlike traditional journalists who typically take an arms-length neutral position on specific products, many bloggers willingly advocate for products they like.

According to Research Now, 84 percent of people have purchased products based on their descriptions in blogs. Readers naturally trust third-party blog posts about a company more than statements from the company itself, just as they trust newspaper articles more. Like media placements, blog posts increase awareness of a brand and improve its image.

In some ways, blogger outreach can be more effective than traditional media relations. Because bloggers cover specific topics, they enable brands to target precise demographic groups.

Reaching small demographic groups is a hallmark of successful outreach, stresses Doug Karr, author of Corporate Blogging for Dummies and founder of the Marketing Technology blog. The small group strategy is best defined by direct marketing where the proven methodology is to pursue a certain age group, gender and neighborhood, and get 100 percent saturation, Karr said in a Social Media Marketing podcast.

The same holds true today in online PR and marketing. The target is usually the “interest” of the audience. The smaller, specific groups have higher conversion rates and bloggers who address specific topics have become major influencers of those niche audiences.

In the past, PR strived for placements in the most influential publications (defined largely by circulation). Most of the publication’s readership had no interest in the topic and ignored the article.

A placement in a blog that specializes on a specific topic guarantees an interested audience. While the audience may be smaller than the traditional publication, the level of interest and trust is far greater – resulting in greater impact.

In digital media, identifying and reaching out to the influential bloggers in your market niche is often the winning media relations strategy.

Methods to Reach Influencers

The pitching tactics to bloggers are not much different than PR has used forever with traditional journalists.

After you research your audience demographics and define your audience persona, seek influential bloggers with audiences that match yours or overlap key segments of it.

Research the bloggers’ reach, popularity and influence to determine if a placement with them will be worthwhile. Tools for researching bloggers include GroupHigh or BuzzStream for mid to large firms and Inkybee or BlogDash for small businesses, according to KISSmetrics.

Social media monitoring can reveal bloggers and social media influencers who are writing frequently about your niche.  It can also uncover brand advocates you didn’t know you had. Common mistakes in identifying influencers include focusing on reach and popularity rather than influence. Influence equals the power to prompt conversions (i.e., sales), not a swarm of retweets or shares.

One way, Karr advises, to spot an influencer: They retain their sponsors for prolonged periods as opposed to replacing sponsors every month.

How to Approach Bloggers

Tell bloggers what you can offer them and how it can benefit their audience. Some prefer infographics, webinars or case studies; others want blog posts or even networking.

Test how well the relationship might work. If the test works well, move forward. As a trial, Karr wrote about Lead Forensics on his blog and invited readers to try its services, while Lead Forensics built a specially identified landing page. Results were excellent, and the company is now one of his sponsors.

Give them products. Send bloggers your products for them to review. They can blog about the products and include links to the brand’s website. Give them a store credit to select an item from the brand’s website so they can write about the entire experience. In some cases, the blogger’s audience may enter contests to receive items companies offer.

Fashion clothing merchandisers like ModCloth, a vintage clothing site, employ these types of tactics to good effect.

Measure results. Build a custom landing page to measure results and convert visitors. Measuring can also involve counting demonstrations or downloads, but should eventually include conversions. Remember that conversions take time.

Promote their blogs. Mention their blog posts on your social media accounts to boost their web traffic as well as their ego.

Thank them. Appreciation can work wonders. A simple tweet “Thanks for the review on your blog” will help.

Consider commissions. Consider commissions for bloggers who are helping boost your sales substantially. Some companies offer product discounts in lieu of financial payments. Both the company and the blogger should acknowledge any type of remuneration.

Before you commit to working with an influencer, make sure you have a way to end the relationship graciously in case it doesn’t work out.

Bottom Line: Similar to traditional media relations, blogger outreach is a valuable tool for improving brand awareness and image. By building relationships with bloggers and other online influencers, PR and marketing professionals can transform bloggers into brand advocates and reach specific demographic groups, a key to success in today’s fragmented media environment.