Hidden Gems In Comments: Blogger Relations
09/06/2007
I was skipping 
around the internet looking for inspiration and found this wonderful quote - "To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity." Douglas Adams
Then I received an eMail from Qui Diaz, 360° Digital Influence - Ogilvy Public Relations. I met Qui at the Success In The City's Social Media Conference this June. She is smart and kind and likes Diva Marketing and Max .. so of course we hit it off right away.
Seems Ogilvy has developed A Blogger Outreach Code of Ethics. So I clicked over to see what they were doing and dropped a comment. Sometimes the best "posts" are the comments that I leave on other people's posts. Do you feel that way too? Here's what I said -
Nice to see a large agency thinking through and putting together "ethics" on how to work with bloggers. My thanks to Qui Diaz for the email about your guidelines.
Taking into consideration that the title of your post is "Creating A Blogger Outreach Code of Ethics" there is an element that is not mentioned and although it might not fall into a 'code of ethics' is one of the most significant reasons bloggers will even begin to consider reading your emails and then posting. It is the reason I clicked on Qui's link. Relationship. Qui and I have developed a relationship over the past several months and I trust her ideas will be of interest to me and to my community.
MK's #9 and #10 address how you might begin to build relationships with bloggers. In my post, 12 Blogger Relations Secrets For PR, Advertising and Brand Marketers, I offer a few tips that run similar to MK's list.
10. Remember what your Mama taught you. A follow-up thank you for mentions would really be over the top.
11. Join me in the conversations. Drop a comment on a post. Send me an email note about a post I wrote.One note of caution, be careful who you offer payment to and/or freebies. Some bloggers are dead set against accepting anything because they feel it compromises their integrity with their community. They would prefer a way to give back to their community. Be creative. Keep in mind bloggers are not journalists.
MK Milker's, The Not Quite Crunch Parent, comment should be a post. Here are #9 and #10 that I referenced. Her comment alone is worth a click to the post.
9. Respond to or engage me. You can comment on my blog – you can. Jump in any conversation that seems to fit with your client’s marketing message. Unlike in the mainstream media where you play a background role, you can respond to my commenters’ questions or ones I raise myself. Come on, Mattel, get out there and tell us what you’re doing about the recall. Don’t you have a crisis plan in place for the blogosphere?
10.Follow up. Not with me. Don’t ask me to send you the link to my article when it runs. Run a search for it. Send me a gushy thank you note thanking me for my time.
There are as many beliefs about what is ethical when it comes to blogging as there are bloggers. Each bloggy village e.g., Mommy bloggers, Real Estate bloggers, Golf bloggers, Business bloggers, Baseball bloggers has its own culture and acceptable norms. A few weeks ago, in the biz blogosphere, there was a lively debate on the ethics of accepting an expensive camera to test. Some bloggers felt it was cool while others had very different views and concerns.
MK's #4 is a reminder that some bloggers do accept and encourage samples. "Don’t expect something for nothing. In the early days of blogging, bloggers were so thrilled to receive an email from a large company to that they were happy to write a review. Now, as blogs gain more influence, bloggers are bombarded with requests. Send me the product you wish me to review. At least I receive a free sample."
Recently Alison Bryan Fields, Ogilvy, conducted an interview with Chris Jordan - Notes From The Trenches. I hope Chris will forgive me for posting my 2 favorite lines out of context but they bring home two very important concepts.
I think a lot of PR people haven’t realized that — and I think a lot of bloggers haven’t realized it. It is valuable real estate that you’re asking me to give up for free.
Even if a blog doesn't have thousands of RSS subscribers or thousands of visitors there is significant value in a niched, loyal community, as well as, value in visitors coming in through the search engines. A post about a product/service/ offers one more customer touch point. One more viral pass along. One more opportunity to create a sale. Valuable real estate.
On the other hand, most bloggers understand my second favorite line from Chris' interview -
If you don’t value what you are putting out there, you lose your voice. Your readers are not going to come back.
My but it's been interesting to watch as the PR/AD/Brand Marketers circle round trying to figure out how to tap into the buzz from bloggers. Assuming that bloggers are, as MK put it, " .. thrilled to receive an email from a large company .." Or anyone who ass-u-me-s that bloggers are waiting to tap their keyboards about anything that comes into their in-box.
Which leads me full circle divas and divos to what inspired this post, Douglas Adams' quote, "To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity."
Now if our PR/AD/Brand Marketing friends can understand that we'll have a triple win for the bloggers, for their communities and for marketer's clients.
Thanks to PR Couture for the use of the graphic.
