A mistake commonly made in blogger relations is treating bloggers like traditional media. Public relations is about building relationships and connecting with people, not about blasting the “audience” with messages. Relationships should be the main focus in public relations. Talk with people on a one-on-one level. Get to know the people you are having conversations with and find out about their likes, dislikes and interests. Remember you are having a conversation with real people.
Commenting is an important part of blogger relations. Make sure to thank people for commenting on your blog. Commenting is one of the best ways to build and maintain a relationship. Frequently commenting on blogs shows that you care and you are interested in the topic. Make sure the comments are relevant to the conversation. Do not get into arguments. I know it can be hard to bite your tongue at times, but a public relations professional needs to listen to people and their opinions.
Remember when blogging, do not just talk about yourself. You may be an interesting individual, but only talking about yourself, your company or your product will drive people away from your blog. Not a good public relations strategy.
Brian Solis’s blog 10 Steps to Building a Better Blog-Relations Program also provides information about blogger relations.
The relationships built and maintained through blogging can definitely benefit your business or clients.
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I really enjoyed reading that blog by Solis. He mentions having real conversations through honesty and relevance. By reaching out to readers, communities, customers and many others, PR professionals will begin to approach situations through the eyes of the customers, not the competitors. I think looking at things that way can truly bring out the genuineness in relationships and conversations.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment Emily. I agree that it is important to have real conversations through honesty and relevance, because we are connecting with real people. It is important to have genuine relationships in the public relations industry.
ReplyDeleteYou made a good point about talking about yourself in your blog. People will be driven away from your blog if you are only saying me, mine and I. Blogger relationships are becoming more and more important. Our blogs should be full of valuable information that people want to read. Commenting on blogs and responding to comments are also important when maintaining blogger relations. Nice post Krista.
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