The Golden Rules of Online PR.

The marketing and PR industry are waking up to the true benefits of Online PR for a wide variety of reasons, but primarily because of the search optimisation advantages and ongoing ROI it brings.

As ‘lifestyle’ bloggers ourselves and having carried out a wide range of online PR campaigns over the past 6 months, both B2B and B2C, we think we’ve hit upon a revelation in respect of three key pointers to keep at the back of your mind when targeting bloggers for coverage. We’ve narrowed it down to three words that are absolutely imperative to an online PR campaign – we call it them the three ‘R’s!

RECOGNITION – Ask yourself why bloggers blog for a moment. Well, you may have come up with a few reasons but at the forefront is recognition for their subject or their own personality. Bloggers don’t tend to make any money from their sites, they simply use blogs to reflect their own views about a subject they love… that’s what social media is about after all isn’t it! Therefore if you really want to put some powerful potion into your comms strategy we suggest you find the top 10 blogs within your niche and connect with them through regular comments and a direct email to the blogger saying how much you enjoy their work – but don’t get gushy as a blogger will see straight through this. Offer to support the blogger in whichever way you can or perhaps meet them for drinks and you’ll make a friend for life.

RELEVANCE – Keep the product/service that you are trying to promote relevant to the blogger and state why you think it’s relevant! It’s incredible just how many non-relevant emails we get from PRs which go straight in the bin. In your primary target list don’t waste your time on semi-relevant blogs and sites, quality over quantity remember. A second hit can contain semi-relevant sites of course!

RESPECT – Respect the blogger! Don’t treat them any differently to professional journalists, in fact you could argue bloggers actually have less boundaries to adhere to and therefore more power. Be nice to them, they are ordinary human beings with a passion for their subject so get to know their trends in writing and their views and engage them with topical conversation on their subject – you’ll make a powerful ally!

If you would like some assistance with your Online PR strategy please contact us to arrange a meeting.