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I love data, stats and research so I was uber excited to find some new blogger outreach research and of course; I had to share! Econsultancy recently surveyed over 250 of the UK’s top bloggers to provide insights into what bloggers really want when it comes to working with brands and agencies. You can read the study here or keep reading for my summation and what I believe these findings mean to us marketers.... 
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The FTC announced on Thursday that it has caught ADT paying bloggers for endorsements (on blogs as well as national TV/radio) and not disclosing it. Folks, the rules and the law on social media ethics are clear, as I’ve been sharing for years.More here. In addition to ending the program, ADT will now be required to get a signed confirmation that a blogger has reviewed and understands their disclosure requirements — from every blogger they work with, for the next 20 years. How awesome of a punishment is that?
Jeff Domansky's insight:
The FTC gets serious about enforcing social media ethics and disclosure.
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I recently received a letter from Dale Dixon, the author of a new public speaking book called Sweating Bullets: A Story about Overcoming the Fear of Public Speaking. Until I received his note, which was accompanied by a copy of his book, Dale and I had never communicated. But the tone of his pitch letter was perfect—and a great example of the right way to pitch a stranger....
Jeff Domansky's insight:
Brad Phillips offers a look at an effective pitch letter by an author to his media training blog. Key lessons? Research, relevance, respect.
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From
moz
Traditional guest blogging campaigns start by finding websites on which they'd like to post. To build better links, I'd suggest turning that around, and focusing first on finding the right authors and influencers ...What I propose (and what I've been doing for some time now) is that we approach this from a different angle. Try starting with authors.Influential authors and bloggers have the ability to not only write great content, but they have access to channels that they can distribute the content through. Additionally, these authors will often have lots of existing relationships with big industry publications that can be taken advantage of, giving you a competitive advantage. Considering this, it makes much more sense to be building relationships with authors instead of webmasters, especially when it comes to scaling high-quality link building....
Jeff Domansky's insight:
Matthew Barby suggests we rethink influencer marketing starting with authors. Its a full circle for blogger and media relations A long post but good reading for PR and markmeeting pros.
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If you’re a financial marketer, you can”t sit around all day reading banking blogs (even if you wanted to). So what are the top 20 you should focus on? The Financial Brand ranks them for you. Today, The Financial Brand follows approximately 100 active blogs in the banking space. But in the last six years, more than that have died. That’s right, there are more dead blogs in the bank and credit union marketing world than live ones (108, to be exact). That’s why The Financial Brand thinks it is important to recognize the best of those that are still going. This isn’t a popularity contest. This list is created for one reason, and one reason only: to help bank and credit union marketing executives find more information and insight with immediate relevancy that they can put to use in their daily jobs...
Jeff Domansky's insight:
Financial marketers can't sit around all day reading banking blogs. Here's a list of 20 to help bank and credit union execs prioritize.
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We all know how important consumer reviews can be to clients, especially those in the publishing, service and retail fields. For that reason, we were taken aback by a new study demonstrating how easily the reviews that authors and businesses work so hard to earn can be manipulated. In short, online critics behave like sheep: the first and most prominent reviews drive the herd’s behavior, lending an inordinate amount of power to these first-touch “influencers” (who may or may not be legitimate critics).It seems the wisdom of the masses isn’t as pure as we’d like to think. Researchers for Science magazine conducted an extensive experiment by measuring the public’s reaction to more than 300,000 reviews over a five-month period. Some of the reviews had been manipulated by the researchers while others had not....
Jeff Domansky's insight:
There was valuable insight and a great look at the impact of customer reviews on sales, both positive and negative. the real eye-opener was how easily influencers and impact can be manipulated.
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...Technorati released a great report at the start of 2013 showing that after retail and brand websites, blogs are the most influential for consumer purchases. The best part is that the majority of influencers blog, and quite a few have multiple blogs!So where’s the disconnect? Why are brand marketers only spending 6% of their social media budget on INFLUENCERS? (Brands spend about 10% of their digital marketing budget on social, with 6% of it dedicated to influencers). It’s shown to be effective and that consumers trust blogs more than social advertising and other networks. Influencers have a community that’s built on trust. When they recommend something to their community, people listen and trust them. Why are marketers still hesitant?...
Jeff Domansky's insight:
Not only does research to show that consumers trust blogs, there are several excellent tools to help you connect with influencers easily and efficiently.
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Even Rodin, the French sculptor who created iconic images like The Thinker, (left) might have a hard time getting his opinions published in some media outlets today. That is, unless the artist also possessed a writing style with a strong viewpoint that was provocative or counterintuitive with a catchy, conversational tone.
Those were some of the pointers from the editorial panelists at a recent PCNY event on pitching opinion pieces, bylined and contributed content. Other desirable criteria include articles with compelling angles that are well sourced and grounded in facts. Self-serving or promotional pieces don’t make the cut. So if a sculptor like Rodin was intent on seeing his name in print or online, he’d be well advised to write about the fine arts category, not focus exclusively on his own masterpieces....
Jeff Domansky's insight:
Smart media relations and blogging advice.
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Implications - Superbloggers, like supermodels, are online authors who are establishing themselves as authority figures outside of their initial industry. In today's information age, blogs are more influential than any other media outlet. This propels their owners to celebrity status, opening opportunities for smart companies to treat them as such with sponsorship deals and related merchandise....
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Prestigious brands like Badgley Mischka, Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein will take to the runways September 6-13 at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York. These and other design icons will showcase their Spring 2013 collections, while some industry up-and-comers will carve out a niche for themselves in the highly competitive fashion world.
In anticipation of this event, we’ve used Cision’s media database to compile 50 independent blogs in North America that cover fashion and ranked them based on our Cision Influence Rating. Covering everything from high fashion to athletic footwear, these blogs provides updates of the latest trends, and some can be contacted to help you promote your latest brand....
[Awesome free media relations, blogging, marketing resource from Cision. Kudos to them for making it available - JD]
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Pitching stories to journalists (and bloggers) is at the heart of many public relations campaigns. However, as the media landscape has evolved what makes a successful pitch has changed too....
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Bloggers are often the recipients of poor pitches to share a company's story. Here are some ways to improve your blogger outreach program.
It was sent in the hope of garnering some press for the company’s website, that helps students connect with potential employers. Great – nothing wrong with that, and here’s to more companies helping students get a great start in life.
The problem is, the approach is all wrong and will probably put off every blogger they reached out to (and there were some big names in there). Here’s why...
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They are a key stakeholder in your online strategy and should be carefully approached, engaged and nurtured. Here are some key tactics for working with online influencers.
...Research by LEWIS PR shows that there is groundwork to be done if marketers are to be successful in engaging with online influencers. 53% of marketers that actively use social media in their campaigns have approached online influencers over the last 12 months. But, 55% of them indicated they have little to no understanding of which of these online influencers are relevant to them.
So, how do you know which influential bloggers, Twitterers and other online authorities play a big part in the online reputation of your brand? And how do you engage with these influencers? These six steps will get you started properly...
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One of the best ways to apply next level tactics to your own outreach marketing strategy is not to read another post where someone simply outlines steps that you should be doing and tactics you should be applying. Dull right? This ebook is full of real examples and actionable advice from some of the best and most experienced marketers and communicators when it comes to working strategically with influential bloggers. Examples Include:
Jeff Domansky's insight:
Great free resource if you're planning a blogger outreach program.
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Find out what PR methods are tearing down our industry, and what fresh tactics can help us build mutually beneficial relationships with publishers.
Jeff Domansky's insight:
Kelsey Libert's presentation offers useful media and blogger relations lessons and tips.
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From
moz
Suffering from blank-page anxiety? Before you go on the hunt for inspiration all over the Internet and elsewhere, turn to the resources around you and realize that you can create exceptional content with what you already have at hand. Thinking of content topics doesn't have to be such a long and grueling undertaking. Use the following starting points the next time you need an idea....
Jeff Domansky's insight:
If you've got blogging blues, this awesome list of 75 tips will motivate you and get you writing: quickly. Recommended reading. 9 / 10
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QUESTION: What are some tips for creating really interesting company blogs even in my dry, boring old industry? Twelve members of the Young Entrepreneur Council share their tips for remaking boring business blogs to create an interesting user experience....
Jeff Domansky's insight:
Practical tips that you can put into action today on your company or personal blog.
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Who would have known that the popularity of blogs would grow to reach such mammoth levels.Social media has revolutionized the way we communicate, share and interact and this has provided the platforms and the marketing networks for bloggers to achieve global reach and influence. Blogs such as Huffington Post, Mashable and Gawker now rank in the top 1,000 websites in the world. This publishing revolution has in turn led to the increase in the popularity of “Blogger Outreach” programs. While the online community remains divided upon their opinions about this new age marketing strategy (some calling it a PR gimmick), others maintain that it is merely a symbiotic channel to further strengthen the relationships. So what is the best approach for blogger outreach?...
Jeff Domansky's insight:
There are a range of of social media tools to identify influential bloggers. Here are 3 cool tools to assist you in your blogger outreach strategies.. Each tool has useful features worth a look.
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How To Be Proactive In Your Blogger Relationships... Here’s something to start living by immediately: Rule of thumb: Never try to SELL anything in your first contact with a blogger. That sounds pretty awesome, right? But what should you talk about then? This is where the Honeymoon Outreach Technique comes into play....
Jeff Domansky's insight:
Smarter influencer relations: Learn how to do a Honeymoon Outreach, and why this technique increases your chances of Blogger Outreach success.
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I get several hundred pitches a week from well-meaning PR people. My conversations with other bloggers suggest this is the norm, meaning it is as tough to reach a blogger as it is to reach a mainstream journalist. It may be even more difficult since most of us bloggers work part-time on our blogs, and devote less time to wading through pitches as journalists.
Sadly, nearly all of the pitches I get are just plain spam. The good news is that I pay attention to things people send me, and occasionally write about them.
How do you increase your chances of getting a blogger like me to talk about you or your clients? Here are some ideas...
Jeff Domansky's insight:
David Meerman Scott shares 10 excellent blogger pitch tips starting with don't pitch your product and to be open to other social media response..
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... [Jeff] Bullas explains, “Blogs are one of the top online services to influence a purchase. When making overall purchase decisions, consumers rank blogs third behind retail and brand sites. Despite this influencing power brands are spending very little on blogging advertising and marketing initiatives with bloggers.”
Nearly all influencers blog “If you want to be an influencer you need to blog,” writes Bullas. “Influencers have realized that to have their voice heard on a social web, they need to have a blog. The power of the reach and velocity of online publishing supercharged by social media cannot be underestimated.” According to Bullas, 86% of influencers currently blog, and a third of all influencers said they have been blogging for five or more years.”...
Jeff Domansky's insight:
Want influence? Blog. Want to reach influencers? Reach out to bloggers.
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My friend Geoff Livingston wrote a piece recently about the term 'Content Marketing,' a term that makes me bristle, the moment I hear it.
...To me there is a very contrary definition to Content Marketing. To me it is the concept that traditional marketers can take traditional and contrived messages and cram them into new communications channels such as Facebook. Content Marketing is about message mongering and not about conversations. Listening is not involved unless you consider count “like” clicks as a form of engagement. It isn’t that I think Content Marketing is evil, as a purist might call it.
Instead, I think it is lame and ineffective as a strategy. In social media, your audiences an make you smarter. It can help you bring better products to market faster. It can improve your service response time. It can reduce your time to market and your costs of traditional marketing expenses....
[Nice counterpoint to the content-is-king argument ~ Jeff]
Mark Matchen's curator insight,
December 11, 2012 9:50 AM
Key take-away: old media is about broadcasting; new media is about conversation.
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Online influencer outreach is a big part of the social media playbook, but we confuse audience and influence, and overlook advocacy. Here's how to reconfigure.
Trying to convince online influencers to tweet, blog, instagram, or pin nice things about your company is the post-modern version of celebrity endorsement, but with less impact. Public relations firms and/or in-house communication apparatchiks take the same concepts and mechanics of celebrity endorsement and bring them online, using Klout scores in lieu of celebrity Q scores, and blogger ID software like Group High in place of Hollywood agents.
The idea is that once drafted into the cause and compensated in some way, online influencers will spread the word in social media to their acolytes, increasing sales for the brand. But these programs often prove ineffective at driving behavior beyond social chatter.
There are two reasons for this....
[Jay Baer offers great insight into REAL online influence - JD]
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I was reading the paper this bank holiday Sunday when I saw an interesting piece about how McDonalds is approaching blogger outreach. After a couple of disastrous forays into using social media it is now trying to build an army of friendly bloggers to drown out noise about pink slime, McDstories and recruitment. McDonalds are trying to recruit 1m bloggers which sounds like the social media version of Dr Evil!!...
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Yesterday I received a strident email from Restoration Hardware's "Senior Public Relations Leader" who had her chonies in a twist about my recent sofa satire post. She demanded to know the source of my information and told me to take down the post immediately. It seems she hadn't read the entire post or she would have noticed the disclaimer at the bottom linking the sofa to its true manufacturer. When I pointed out it was clearly all in jest, her response had me laughing out loud...
[Raina Cox blows the whistle on several pompous PR peeps. Not good blogger relations. - JD]
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Econsultancy recently surveyed over 250 of the UK’s top bloggers about blogger outreach. Here's what bloggers want when working with brands and agencies.