Why does blogger relations fail? Simply, people don’t plan well. That’s an important fact to remember. So what do you need to do?
First, planning brings focus, purpose, relevance and context to our work. So we can say, effective blogger relations begins with a carefully thought-out plan to competitively position your organization in relationship with bloggers you intend to reach, which is to say, you must understand the audience of these bloggers, and your plan must align with overall objectives of the company. Without this fundamental understanding, you’re likely to meet with failure in any type of blogger outreach.
The planning we do, however, will crystalize more than an understanding of the audience and the bloggers we intend to reach; we’ll put our finger on the pulse of the organization and find the right ways and best words to enhance image before key audiences.
Which brings us to a few important questions we should be asking:
- What’s so special about our organization that makes it stand out from anyone else pitching bloggers?
- What things appeal to people who matter outside our company and who rely on our organization?
- How do we want bloggers talking about us, our company and what it does. More importantly, how do we want their audiences to think about us?
- What is genuinely newsworthy about the organization or whatever widget being pitched to bloggers?
Questions aside, think of blogger relations planning as a beacon to guide important people to your organization. This, like other planning in an organization, should align with the company’s objectives, which bring the plan to life.
To plan well, let’s remember these points:
- Situational overviews are short summaries that summarize the lay of the land — what’s the environment like, what are challenges that may be faced, how might we overcome those challenges, and what are the opportunities for doing blogger relations right now.
- Audience analysis helps us understand who we intend to reach. You want to describe their interests and values, and this includes the bloggers you intent to reach. For bloggers you also what to document their reach and influence.
- Positioning statements codify the core values of your organization and can be used to connect with bloggers. You have to understand that meaningful relationships are built on shared values, as well as trust, which come from being transparent. Using this approach help you develop a much deeper and more meaningful relationship with bloggers.
- Objectives gives us something to measure. It’s the statement that says, we are going to do X. It is usually led with an infinitive, always identifies a group and behavior, has a specific timeline and is measurable.
- Strategies tell us how we are to accomplish said objective. That their is one strategy per objective makes sense too. This is where you describe in detail how you plan to achieve an objective.
- Tactics are things we use to build relationships with bloggers, get bloggers to pay attention to our company, support our purpose and get their audiences jazzed to do the same.
- Measurement is where we understand whether the objective that were agreed upon have been accomplished. If they have, great! But what’s even more important are understanding our failures and learning from them. From this data, we’re able to adjust the blogger relations campaign and continue pushing toward success.
I don’t want us to go away from this post without having the tools to make planning for blogger relations easier. Sign up for my newsletter and receive a free influencer relations document that will help you organize your planning for success.
Good luck!