So it seems bloggers are climbing their way up to the top of important content producers. They've even arguably become more beneficial than celebrities in the influencer space because of their uber loyal networks.
But what hasn't changed is that reaching out and tactfully forming relationships with these modern influencers who can cause action over awareness is something PR professionals have been doing for years.
Because of this, PR pros have an advantage over some of the brands who are jumping on the blogger outreach train. They understand the importance of nurturing relationships, having a two sided relationship and recognizing advocacy-key components of blogger outreach.
To successfully appeal to bloggers, PR pros are using their traditional charm with a few minor tweaks.
Bloggers Are a Little More Sensitive Than Traditional Journalists
And rightfully so. They have had to fight harder to make their way in a niche. Once their way is paved, they usually cannot make a living from the blog, it's the job they do after their full time day job.
Cater to their sensitivity by actually reading the blog and referencing a post or a topic they write about a lot.
Examine Their Entire Digital Footprint
Most bloggers aren't just bloggers. That's why they are a great springboard when acquiring social media coverage.
Take a look at the topics they actively talk about. Finding their common post tags can help with this. Do their topics align with your brand? If not, move on.
Bloggers tend to be very active across social media channels as well. Find these channels. Observe their engagement with their audience and the size of their audience.
Next take a look at their SEO metrics to see how they'll rank on Google and traffic data to see how much exposure they can give your brand. While reach and metrics shouldn't be your first priority, you don't want to reach out to a blogger with 5 followers, right? It's the whole if a tree falls in an empty forest does it make a sound scenario...
Luckily there are blogger outreach tools out there like GroupHigh so that you can examine a blogger's entire digital foot print in one place.
Bloggers are Niche Specific-Go Beyond the Genre
It's easiest to search for bloggers by genre but do the research to make sure they are a contextual fit by niche. Traditionally it was okay for professionals to pitch every fashion journalist. Bloggers dive a bit deeper, though.
Fashion bloggers need to be filtered by niche. High risk fashion. Animal friendly clothing. Vintage. Etc. Pitching the wrong fashion blogger would be like wearing a neon green t-shirt to funeral. A big no-no.
Mid-Level is In
Instead of pitching only the best, many brands are seeing success by pitching a higher volume of mid-level influencers. Thus, finding blogs with a loyal audience who fits snugly within a niche has been more beneficial than getting on the radar of a mega influencer. Not to mention cheaper and easier.
Lose the Press Release
With the nature of my job, I talk to a lot of bloggers. They all gripe about being sent press releases. They may still work for traditional journalists but bloggers hate them.
For PR pros, blogger outreach is just more of the same with a few modern digital tweaking. From letting go of the press release to researching every blogger, these tweaks are easy to adapt into any strategy so if you're not doing blogger outreach already what are you waiting for?
Do you have a tip for other PR professionals when it comes to reaching out to bloggers?