Presentation delivered at Dx3 Conference & Tradeshow on January 24, 2012, examining the problems with the blogger outreach process and proposing a new model of interaction.

1. Getting the Insiders Onside
Communicating with Bloggers and Influencers
Dave Fleet – Vice President, Edelman
1

2. Why are we here?
2

3. Why are we here?
For years, the media environment was clear & structured.
We knew who the media influencers were. We knew where
they worked. We knew how to reach them.
Then social media came along, and the game changed.
3

4. • 207,000
followers
• 100-200K
monthly visitors
4

5. • 1.1 million
YouTube
subscribers
• 228K
Facebook fans
5

6. 6

7. How Not To Work With A Blogger
 Step 1: Blogger receives irrelevant pitch.
 “The Kardashian’s once again show they are right on trend, and this is on
(sic) Mommy’s are all going to want to follow.”
7

8. How Not To Work With A Blogger
 Step 1: Blogger receives irrelevant pitch.
 Step 2: Blogger sends polite response humorous blowoff.
 “And here’s a picture of Wil Wheaton collating.”
8

9. How Not To Work With A Blogger
 Step 1: Blogger receives irrelevant pitch.
 Step 2: Blogger sends humorous blowoff.
 Step 3: PR rep’s boss mis-clicks Reply All.
 ”What a f***ing b***h!”
9

10. How Not To Work With A Blogger
 Step 1: Blogger receives irrelevant pitch.
 Step 2: Blogger sends humorous blowoff.
 Step 3: PR rep’s boss mis-clicks Reply All.
 Step 4: Blogger is… less than impressed.
 “If you’ve read my blog you would know [… the importance of] public
relations companies doing research before sending form letters to
bloggers. […] So much so that I made that actual Wil Wheaton collating
paper page to combat this very sort of thing in a quick and painless way.
My blog has nothing to do with fashion, the Kardashians or pantyhose…
10

11. How Not To Work With A Blogger
 Step 1: Blogger receives irrelevant pitch.
 Step 2: Blogger sends humorous blowoff.
 Step 3: PR rep’s boss mis-clicks Reply All.
 Step 4: Blogger is… less than impressed.
 Step 5: Boss stands by his words.
 “…maybe you should be flattered that you are even viewed relevant
enough to be pitched at all…”
11

12. How Not To Work With A Blogger
 Step 1: Blogger receives irrelevant pitch.
 Step 2: Blogger sends humorous blowoff.
 Step 3: PR rep’s boss mis-clicks Reply All.
 Step 4: Blogger is… less than impressed.
 Step 5: Boss stands by his words.
 Step 6: Village burning ensues.
12

13. Seriously.
13

14. Lessons to Learn
 Think twice when targeting your pitches.
 Do your research before sending... or better yet, get to
know the blogger.
 They’re not “just a blogger” – they’re influencers.
 Don’t go tit for tat with influencers.
 BONUS: “Reply All” is bad.
We need to get better at this.
14

15. Our Agenda
15

16. Our Agenda
 PROBLEM: What’s wrong with blogger relations
 SOLUTION: A better model for interaction
 THE FLIP SIDE: From the blogger’s perspective
 BONUS: The Paid/Unpaid Blogger Conundrum
16

17. What's Wrong with Blogger Relations
17

18. How Blogger Relations Often “Works”
1. Plan calls for program or product pitches
2. Company pulls list from database
3. Manager hands list to entry-level
person and says “pitch this”
4. Blogger gets bcc’d or unpersonalized pitch
18

19. Problems With “The Norm”
 The most inexperienced people do the outreach
 No relationships built with the influencers
 Irrelevant pitches irritate recipients
 Standard pitch lists often out-of-date and generic
 Poor results; irritated bloggers
19

20. Doing it Wrong
Pitch
Pre Pitch Pitch
Post
20

21. Relationships
A Better Model for Interaction
21

22. LEAF: A Better Model for Interactions
Listen
Follow-
Engage
up
Activate
22

23. Relationships Are Key
 Know the blogger’s interests
 Know the triggers and the pain points
 Know how (and if) they like to be approached
 Know how to tailor the pitch
23

24. Value of Relationships
Poorly-Handled Blogger Relations
True Relationship Value Growth
24

25. LEAF: A New Model for Interactions
Listen
Follow-
Engage
up
Activate
25

26. Authority
The degree to which
an individual is an
accepted or trusted
source of information.
26

27. Context
The significance of
the individual in
relation to the issue,
product or
stakeholder group.
27

28. Engagement
The degree and
depth to which the
individual and their
audience interact with
one another.
Source: xkcd.com 28

29. Reach
The highest number
of people that
reasonably could see
the content produced
by the individual.
29

30. Identifying the Right People
Reach
Relevance Resonance
30

31. LEAF: A New Model for Interactions
Listen
Follow-
Engage
up
Activate
31

32. Building Relationships
 “Hi, I’m Dave”
 Comment on posts
 Events – yours and others
 Sharing interesting news
 Conversation
 Do things that aren’t just work
32

33. LEAF: A New Model for Interactions
Listen
Follow-
Engage
up
Activate
33

34. Objectives
 Generate awareness  Form or change an opinion
 Product launch  Drive action
 Education  Establish or regain trust
 Influence the
 Community or channel
influencers
growth
 Establish need/want
 Create a positive
association
 Product or service
comparison
34

35. Audience Selection
Risky Consider these too!
Influencers / People who
advocates the client really care about
wants to reach your topic
Sweet spot
35

36. Preparing Perfect Pitches
 Know what they write about
 Know where they live
 Remember their name
 Write to them personally
 Think about what’s in it for them
 Forget that “BCC” exists
36

37. LEAF: A New Model for Interactions
Listen
Follow-
Engage
up
Activate
37

38. Following-up with Bloggers
 Engage with them and their readers
 Answer questions
 Correct mis-information
 Get feedback
 Say “thank you”
 Amplify their posts
 Syndicate (with permission)
 Rinse and repeat, i.e. KEEP building a relationship, not
just when you need it
38

39. Investing in the Relationship
Tips for Bloggers
39

40. Challenges for Bloggers
 Why should I bother to build a
relationship with PR agencies?
 Who should I build relationships
with?
 How should I go about building
those relationships?
40

41. Why to strive to add value
 Everyone looks good – win/win!
 People want to work with you
 Life is easier for everyone
before/during/after campaign
 Agencies more likely promote you
organically to other connections
41

42. Don’t Press the Big Red Button
 Don’t waste your time trying to educate
every agency that reaches out
 When an agency does it right, take baby
steps to be human as well
 When an agency tries to do it right, take the
time to begin investing in the relationship
42

43. 6 Tips for Working With Agencies
1. Be proactive if you want to receive outreach
2. Consider publishing pitching guidelines
3. Make connections in your area of interest
4. Think creatively, beyond the initial ask
5. Show the return
6. Be nice, professional, courteous even
when things don’t go your way
43

44. Putting LEAF
into Action
(get it?)
 Set-up
 Resourcing
 Maintenance
44

45. Questions?
@davefleet
dave.fleet@edelman.com
45

46. BONUS: The Paid/Unpaid Conundrum
“Journalists get paid to write stories. I
have an audience too, so why
shouldn’t I get paid?”
46

47. Should PR Agencies Pay Bloggers?
 Remember: PR agencies don’t pay
journalists; the outlet does
 Earned media/paid media – there’s a
difference
 Going after money is a slippery slope
 Maybe we need a new model – of more
than transactions (sound familiar?)
47

48. THANK YOU!
@davefleet // dave.fleet@edelman.com
48