For those who don’t know, most bloggers start out as ordinary people who decide to become authors of their own online blogs. But today, popular bloggers are becoming opinion leaders and influencers with audiences skyrocketing to tens of thousands of readers—the bottom line, they are listened to and trusted. For these internet superstars, blogging is a business. How do they reach that level? Personal talent and drive coupled with expert guidance from boutique agencies such as Exclusive PR Solutions, which works closely with bloggers to expand their audience and evolve into a lucrative business. But how do they build relationships with bloggers?
Basic ways to promote a brand in a blogosphere
1. The direct presence of the brand itself at different sites (blogging) and communication with users of the blogosphere. The blog format and site selection are determined by the company’s profile and the specificity of its target audience. As noted at the Exclusive PR Solutions guidelines: “a blank, abandoned account is worse than no account.” If the company has a blog, be prepared to regularly update it, answer user questions and respond to possible criticism. A corporate blog is not a personal page of a company employee. But users should feel that a real person, or even better a team of people, is supportively communicating with them. What to do if there are direct mentions of a brand in other people’s blogs or on social networking pages? Ideally, the direct mention of the brand should be responded to promptly: the bill goes on for hours, and sometimes for minutes. It is better to monitor brand references daily, using search services or special programs, but you can also view the references manually using the company name in the nominative case, the name of the manager and the company hashtag as keywords.
2. Order direct advertising from bloggers. This is the most common mistake of advertisers in the blogosphere – certainly, the wrong choice of bloggers. There is another option. Connect with a company committed to your growth. While expert advice with large firms can outprice the budget of a nascent blog, there are young companies out there like Exclusive PR Solutions that like yours wants to offer prime service with top results. Another option is to do it by yourself. However, it is crucial to keep track of what bloggers are writing about, whether their blogs coincide with the theme of the brand, whether these bloggers are ready to place paid advertising. You cannot ask a blogger to talk about the non-existent advantages of the advertised product. In the blogging environment, “selling opinions” without an appropriate “as publicity” tag is bad form. An authoritative blogger usually values his reputation, and he will not publish information about a poor-quality product.
3. Mailing of social media releases, i.e. information messages about products and services, events related to the brand. A social press release is a press release of a new type that is created specifically for Internet resources. Among bloggers, you can find people who like the brand, and they are ready to publish an article about him for free if the PR man offers him a competently written smm release.
4.Bloggers who regularly write on a targeted topic are trendsetters and are very demanding on the content of releases. A good SMM release should be written personally for each blogger. Such messages should contain unique information, facts, hot news that may captivate both the blogger and his readers. When writing a release, it is essential to encompass not only the theme of the blog, but also the stylistic features of the posts, the needs of the blog’s audience. The form of filing in this case is not a dry presentation of facts and figures, but a fascinating story related to the company’s brand. Such releases have a good chance of being published on blogs. In addition to the news, the SMM release can and, perhaps, should even contain links to the company’s website, its corporate blog, links to publications in online media related to the release, links to multimedia resources. The blogger will not ordinate with the PR his final post. Actual errors can be corrected only in the comments, because it is so important to provide the blogger in the release with accurate information about the brand.
5. Proposal for a test product or service company. Usually, the blogger is sent a test item with a proposal to publish a review about the product or service. Auto shows often offer bloggers a test drive of a new car and then share their impressions. A good post from a blogger can seriously affect the decision of users to purchase. PR cannot put pressure on the blogger and prevent him from expressing his own opinion. You can only point the blogger to the advantages, strengths of the brand, without demanding to publish a positive review.
6. Inviting a blogger to a press conference or blog conference. Bloggers participate in the press conference together with journalists. And they can ask their questions about the meeting. A blog conference is a meeting organized specifically for bloggers. How does a blog conference differ from a press conference? The format of the meeting with bloggers should be an exciting event. A blogger is more likely to write a post about an interesting presentation of your project than about a boring lecture.
The bloggers—independent by nature—do not obey editors, they do not rely on the opinions of others. Therefore, the organization of the whole event should be at a good level so that the event is recounted in an exciting, positive way. In any case, you should thank the bloggers for each published post mentioning your brand. It is very important to maintain genuinely friendly relations with bloggers, since they can later act as advocates (advocates) of the brand in various discussions in the bloggers sphere.