Targeting Bloggers for Online PR
- Targeting Bloggers for Online PR
- Finding Bloggers to Target / Reaching Bloggers Where They Live
- Making Contact / Giving Bloggers What They Want
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When it comes time to make important purchasing decisions, more and more consumers are turning to blogs to find the information and advice they seek. For this reason, you need to target influential bloggers as an important part of your online PR efforts.
Targeting bloggers involves more than just emailing your latest press release, however. You need to know what bloggers to target, what information they’re looking for, and what materials they need to mention your company or products in their blog posts. Do your job right and you’ll get a positive mention; make a mistake or two and you won’t get mentioned at all.
Why Blogs are Important
It may not be the most glamorous component of your online marketing plan, but it’s certainly one of the most effective. I’m talking about blog marketing – in particular, encouraging bloggers to write about your company and products.
That’s because more and more consumers are going online to research important purchases. Yes, they search Google and visit company websites and do all the things you’d expect them to do, but they also visit industry-specific blogs – and for good reason. Blogs are often a source of product information and reviews, and thus can help consumers make more informed purchasing decisions.
Most industries have one or more bloggers writing about the latest developments, new products, and the like. For example, if you’re into aquariums, the Reef Builders blog is the go-to place to learn about new trends and equipment. If you’re looking for a new digital camera, you’ll find the Digital Photography Review blog a wellspring of useful information. If you’re an auto enthusiast, check out AutoBlog, with all sorts of auto industry news and info. And likewise for just about any product category and industry you can think of.
Some of these blogs are professional organizations with multiple contributors. Others are more single-person affairs, run by individuals with strong opinions and loyal followings. The musings of these big-name bloggers can be quite influential to their readers. When a blogger says he likes a certain product, that can drive a lot of traffic to your site – and result in increased sales.
This is why targeting the blogosphere should be an important part of your company’s online public relations efforts. One kind word about a product or service functions as an endorsement, and has a lot more impact than any advertisement you might target to that customer base.
The bottom line is simple: You need to do whatever it takes to get the most influential bloggers on your side. It’s time well spent.