The Voice

Engaging with bloggers

blogging@signals.co.uk (The signals team) — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 16:36:44 GMT

I’m opening a discussion with bloggers and PR professionals about engaging with the Blogosphere from a PR perspective. I’ve seen a few blogs recently talking about communication with PR agencies and how they should deal with them.

As you are all aware, blogs are journals that generally represent the personality of the author. The majority of bloggers like to post information about things that interest them, and their posts tend to show some form of bias. Tom Hume has raised an important point on his blog about blogging and pr.

Tom mentions that he has recently received a lot of emails from PR companies informing him of latest tech news and/or offers to review or meet tech companies. I’m sure many other bloggers share the same view as Tom in that they are divided over how to deal with these PR approaches.

On the one hand, if you target the right blogs, they will be genuinely interested in the news you have to offer, but as soon as it gets to the point when the author is posting information about a product or service that they don’t like, this is where things go wrong.

One way to avoid this situation is for the author to always make their own thoughts and opinions known. If they don’t like product X, they should let their readers know why. People like to read blogs because they are an engaging source of news relevant to their own interests. They also like to know what others think about a specific product or service. This way, the author gains the trust and respect from their readers. Blogs are, after all, a global forum for debate.

When communicating with bloggers, it’s important to communicate at the same level. Using blog “word of mouth” is essential for promoting your product or service. It’s important to remember that many bloggers are not paid journalists and they don’t want to sit there and read through endless press releases to find the bits of information worth reading (many journalists gave this up years ago as well). The majority of bloggers have full-time jobs and write their blogs in their spare time.

A more effective method of contact is the following:

“ Hey xxxx

This new product X does Y for guys who want Z. Why don’t you check it out

here http://link.com ”

It’s vital to include a link to the story, otherwise how will readers find it? Send only targetted linkable information.

Obviously this view may not be shared with all bloggers. I am aware of many sites that like to receive press releases and have a dedicated email address for this. It all boils down to understanding who you are trying to contact.

Read the blog on a regular basis first in order to understand the views and opinions expressed by the author. Get a clear feel for how they write and how they view the industry or issues they are writing about. Also read the comments made by their readers in order to get a taste of what their views are. Without this knowledge, how do you know that they will be interested in your piece of news? Add them to your news feeds so you always know what they are talking about.

Diane Ensey at A List Review raises another interesting point, in that the agency needs to be transparent – give bloggers the information they need and tell them why they have been approached. But don’t send over too much information, give them little tasters and make them ask for more.

I fully agree with Diane in that you must remain open and honest with bloggers and don’t try to pull the wool over their eyes. You have to be prepared to take their criticism and feedback as well because this is what the Blogosphere is all about. If you receive negative feedback about your product or service, go to work directly with that person and find out exactly what the issue is. Do it publicly via the comments in their blog and ask them and their readers how to make the product/service better.

Following on from the discussion over how to engage with bloggers leads into the idea of ‘pay-per-post’. If you are not already aware, there are a few pay-per-post services currently operating – payperpost and ReviewMe are two key services. They are not exactly the same but effectively work on the same principle.

Similar to an advertorial with a print publication, Payperpost allows companies to pay bloggers to write about their product/service. The main area of controversy with Payperpost is the fact that the company can mandate whether posts be positive on the product, and disclosure of payment is optional for the blogger. Surely this method is undermining blogger credibility?

ReviewMe requires bloggers to disclose that they are being paid for the post, and advertisers cannot require a positive post. The fact that ReviewMe requires disclosure and prohibits advertisers from requiring a positive post is a good thing for blogger credibility, although some still think the very act of paying bloggers to write about a product is a very bad idea.

TechCrunch are not happy that one of their sponsors (ReviewMe) has launched this type of service, and they've notified them that they will not allow promotion of ReviewMe through TechCrunch. See the following post by Aaron Ross Powell at Symbolicorder

Let me know your thoughts

Adam >

blogging@signals.co.uk (The signals team) — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 16:20:13 GMT

Knowing me, knowing you

blogging@signals.co.uk (The signals team) — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 13:44:34 GMT

I would like to follow on from Nick and Andrew by introducing myself and giving you some of my thoughts on social media and the shift in PR practice.

A quick intro to me: I have studied Journalism and Marketing Management at degree and masters degree level respectively and have been working closely with social media for over a year now. I have just moved to Frimley with my girlfriend Jess after living in Saffron Walden for most of my life. I like to keep active, playing in a five a side league in Yateley twice a week, and I like to go running, having run the New York Marathon last year for the Dreams Come True Charity. I also like to draw caricatures in my spare time, here's a little sketch of Nick and Andrew:

It is clear that the PR industry is currently experiencing a fundamental change. I’m sure that you will all agree that the huge rise in the online arena has led to a clear shift in balance, in that the citizen is now armed with the tools to disseminate information, and in a very short space of time the ability to control this flow of information has now gone, along with the power to regulate what this information is. Any Joe public can post a blog about their personal opinion on any given subject and this will instantly be viewed across the world.

Everyone is now a journalist with the ability to write and publish content on the web and it is now very hard to disseminate which information sources are valid and which are not. This process is somewhat straightforward with the print media; you can identify which publications are top tier, 2^nd tier etc. This is very difficult with web content.

Stephen Davies of PR Blogger has started to tackle the somewhat blurred idea of blog measurement by compiling a list of the top 50 UK influential bloggers (according to Technorati). Stephen stresses that this list is by no means definitive, but it does provide a good starting point for us to learn more about the UK Blogosphere. Surely this is the first step of many towards finding a way to measure blogging.

The Internet is filled with information-clutter from a variety of different sources, and we need to make sense of this clutter and make it understandable by filtering the important channels from the non-important ones. We can therefore help organisations focus on the ‘publics’ that matter/influence. What is now important for PR professionals is the ability to demonstrate ways in which we are able to deal with these multiple information sources and utilise them for the benefit of our clients. This is the fundamental thinking behind STONK, helping organisations to maximise their new media potential.

Blogging is a very powerful communications technology and it is surprising when you think how long the Internet has been around and yet many organisations are only starting to understand blogging and grasp the opportunities that the Web provides. While PR professionals have always known that if you’re not engaging with your clients or customers, you’re not reaching them; the Internet has shifted these traditional rules of engagement. The Web network is increasingly acting as the cornerstone of human interaction, work and entertainment.

The rise of Podcasting is significant, as it is now regarded as an important aspect of the social communications strategy and it represents a great opportunity for PR. One of the great advantages of Podcasting is that it is more light hearted; by putting a human voice to an organisation it allows you to connect with them more successfully. Podcasting is seen as far more intimate than blogging, giving a sense of personality.

Of course we can never neglect traditional PR channels, but you only have to look at the number of print publications that have been cut recently to see how mainstream media channels have been gradually disappearing. This mainly boils down to the fact that you can get your company message out to your target audience far more cheaply and far more effectively through online methods.

Watch this space for more thoughts on this and how organisations can utilise social media tools.

Adam Clatworthy

blogging@signals.co.uk (The signals team) — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 14:28:46 GMT

Saturday 14th October

'Improving the conversation'

Nick and I had the opportunity to hook up with some of the blogoshere's leading exponents and commentators at an event hosted by Keith Collins
in London on Saturday.

Following a lively dinner I had the opportunity to interview Rick Segal, VC, Shel Israel and Hugh McLeod. I wanted to know their thoughts on the opportunity for corporates to engage at another level with their public and in particular offer some words of wisdom to CXOs who may be confused and concerned about the blogosphere.

You can download the podcast here.

What we heard validated Nick and I's thoughts on what we have already been doing with some our clients. The short answer has to be that corporates (large and small) should not be in fear of the blogosphere more embrace it as a channel of communication like any other. Social media is an opportunity to get up close and personal with an audience whether they be peers or customers. The ability to engage on a one-2-one basis with a 'public' is a dream scenario - it certainly beats the random 'shot gun' advertising approach favoured by some - well said Hugh!

Social media a slap in the face for PR?

blogging@signals.co.uk (The signals team) — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 08:39:22 GMT

Well we're all experts in PR now aren't we....could social media be a slap in the face for PR?

>>>

blogging@signals.co.uk (The signals team) — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 08:21:04 GMT

This is an early podcast Nick and I recorded as we were forming the framework for what we wanted Stonk Media to be.

Some funny moments.

To download please click Episode One

or here:

A very warm welcome

blogging@signals.co.uk (The signals team) — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 13:03:44 GMT

Yes indeed this promises to be a lively blog - so much to discuss as everything unravels.

Clearly, I echo Nick's thoughts and to add....... 'Bottom-up' delivery of news and communications where it meets traditional channels is where we (www.stonkmedia.com) play from a PR perspective.

But before I share my thoughts and ideas, a brief intro to me. With 39 years on the clock, I've been active in the tech PR world for 15 years, consulting to numerous organisations including: www.bt.com www.syntegra.com (now part of BT Global Services) the author James Martin - http://www.martininstitute.ox.ac.uk/jmi/ and http://63.137.52.40/ and loads more. In more recent times as MD of MUSTARD PR, which I set up in 2000 (www.mustardpr.com) I have been lucky enough to work in the mobile/telco industry which has fed my passion for neat applications. I've consulted in the mobile content long tail field for around two years working with serveral amazing organisations including www.purpleace.com authoring aricles including: Is content The True King.

I'm married to Kylie (a true rock!) and we're expecting our first baby Durkin in the next few months.

I played semi-pro football for http://www.fchd.btinternet.co.uk/RAYNERSL.HTM and enjoyed several years playing rugby for local clubs. Now any free time is spent on the golf course http://www.gxgolf.co.uk/.

Back to work things, I'm currently involved in serveral groups looking at the environment and how PR can work hard to make us all more aware of how we conduct ourselves and urge readers to take a look at the following campaign we devised http://www.arkadin.co.uk/about_arkadin/sub-page.cfm?ID=206 in a nutshell Arkadin provides the mechanism for organisations to substitute business travel for a conference call, they will give all proceeds from the ACCD to http://www.treesforcities.org/ - simple, easy and proving really popular.

I'll be back with more shortly, specifically on the social media side of things.

Overview STONK Media

blogging@signals.co.uk (The signals team) — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 16:22:44 GMT

Let me introduce our new blog - the voice of STONK Media - a new agency venture I am launching with Andrew Durkin, owner of MUSTARD PR and a PR colleague for many years. STONK Media (web site to be launched in two weeks) is our new media agency focused towards online PR strategy and implementation. I was invited to join Active Conversations via Keith Collins, who we worked closely with during his tenure as marketing director at Xerox Office.

In addition, I run NSPR - a specialist hi-tech PR agency. I broke out of the big agency scene some 15 years ago wanting to chart my own destiny and work with company’s that interest me, both large and small. To that end, it’s worked well and together with Gino Mainolfi, my co-director here, we’ve enjoyed working with a long list of clients that have been great fun and an interesting PR-sell. Past clients have included: Bosch/Blaupunkt, Motorola, Symantec, Tektronix, Open Text, Xerox, Stac Electronics, Babel, Changepoint and Lernout & Hauspie (I have some interesting tales here). Current clients include: D-Link, TIBCO Software, Tideway Systems, Nuance, VASCO, Sentito, Lanode, Priocept and Perforce Software. Our ethos has always remained the same – treat the press community with the same attention as you do your clients and provide a pro-active and creative PR service at a reasonable cost. What’s more, we’ve always enjoyed ourselves.

By way of introduction – I’m 43, have three boys aged 13, 10 and 5, and of course, a beautiful wife. I’ve become hooked on wakeboarding, which is a bit like snowboarding but on water. I’m still trying to convince my boys to have a go but they’ve probably seen their dad fall in enough times to put them off for life! Andrew Durkin is ‘marginally’ younger, an expectant father and fancies himself…as a golfer.

Let’s get on to de-programming PR’s. I listened with interest to Shel Israel’s interview on this and am looking forward to meeting Shel this Saturday, when he visits the UK in research of his next book - Thanks to Keith Collins for establishing contact with Shel and setting this up.

In the last 15 years, I have seen the PR game transformed by the growth of the Internet. Initially, the Internet was harnessed by PR’s as a way of communicating efficiently and swiftly with a growing list of IT journalists. It enabled instant dissemination of information and quick follow-up, with the opportunity to supply supporting photography at the touch of a button. In fact, historically the Internet has been a PR man’s dream. Previously, getting press releases out the door meant stuffing a mountain of envelopes, standing next to a fax machine and programming tons of numbers and a pretty substantial back office requirement. Now issuing a press release can be initiated at the touch of a button.

We’ve also seen the growth of online news sites and now the advent of the blog, which I’m sure causes a headache for many a PR department and undoubtedly many companies who are still trying to get their heads around how to engage with the blogging world. I think Shel’s right - PR’s do need to de-programme and start thinking about how they will advise their clients and, importantly, how they will operate to provide a window into what bloggers are saying about a given client and how they respond.

Our thinking is as follows:

The approach and strategy for each company will be different. Industry leaders have a brand to maintain and I’m sure are now fully aware that they need to monitor blogs to ensure they are listening to their user community and acting on customer feedback. Their traditional PR techniques: providing product news and corporate announcements via press releases, review samples to press and influencers, direct engagement and interviews and show attendance etc. will still be very relevant, but the PR machine does need to de-programme to take account of a new communications channel, in the form of blogs. The strategy and approach will undoubtedly depend on each company’s willingness to engage directly with bloggers.

For smaller companies looking to get exposure and a seat at the table with the big guys in a given industry, the advent of blogging presents an interesting opportunity and there are numerous case studies where blogging has literally put a company in the spotlight overnight. Content will always be ‘king’ and if a company has interesting intellectual capital that would be of use to potential customers, or an individual with an exciting story to tell, blogging could well be the way forward.

With every client we always try and build a picture of the media and the relevant importance of different newspapers, magazines, online news sites and influencers (analysts etc) right from the outset. If you build a pyramid view of the media this provides the PR machine with some focus and enables you to gauge success. It is possible to include the most prominent blog sites in this view, but with the nature of blogs this will be ever changing.

Two colleagues have recently raised the same criticism about blogs as a way of realising information and the lack of editorial regulation. If you rely on the FT, Independent, Guardian or WSJ for news and analysis you have an editorial team in place that you are familiar with and, to a degree, trust. With blogs however there is no editorial team, no check in place. Or is there?

From my standpoint, it’s self-regulating.