A useful case study on Panasonic’s blogger relations strategy by AdWeek’s Brian Morrissey, with a commentary by Robin Grant of We are social, one of the leading exponents of this emerging discipline. When executed smartly, targeting a small number of influential bloggers can be a highly effective part of the communications mix.
Blogger relations is bound to become an even more important activity for PR and digital agencies, although it does need to be approached with a degree of caution. The most highly connected and influential bloggers are, almost be definition, opinionated, cynical and demanding. They are as far away from being passive receivers of corporate information as it is possible to be, which is worth bearing in mind before you press the send button on that corporate press release or think you can buy their favour with a bit of corporate entertainment. If you thought dealing with journalists was tough, you try pitching a weak story to a leading blogger. Chris Anderson, author of The Long Tail, has even produced a blacklist of PR firms he refuses to deal with.
These guidelines for dealing with bloggers, produced by Social Media Training, are useful if you want to avoid some the the main pitfalls.
One Comment
fascinating and communicative, but would be suffering with something more on this topic?