As we’ve seen this week alone, from the Camp Baby blogstorm and other incidents (like inviting Jewish moms to Disney over Passover), it is painfully apparent that many PR firms and reps reaching out to bloggers don’t do their homework. This is probably the root cause of the most egregious blogger relations SNAFUs. A poorly written pitch makes you chuckle. A poorly targeted one pisses you off.
Some of you may recall my 4Ps of social media:
- Prepare
- Participate
- Then and only then Pitch or Publish.
Companies and agencies spend far more time analyzing every word to create the perfect pitch and putting together spectacular events designed to wow bloggers and customers, than they do on the research — on getting to know bloggers, reading the blogs, figuring out who would be most interested in a particular product or program.
They still play the numbers game — build as big a list as possible, focus on the "top" blogs and bloggers, blast the pitch and see what falls out. I, on the other hand, am convinced that if you spend the time to narrow your list and reach out to a smaller number of bloggers who will be very interested, you’ll get better results.
I’ll give you an example. I created a small program for HP last year for the launch of the HP Photo Books. I’ve written about it here before, and we’ll be presenting a case study that includes it at BlogHer Business in April. I’ll publish the full case study here after the presentation, but for now, I want to focus on how we decided who to reach out to with the Photographic Memories component of the program.
You could make an assumption that most moms take pictures of their kids. Pretty safe bet. But the Photographic Memories project involved a time intensive component of writing interviews with the moms for HP.com. We also had a limited supply of the compact photo printers we were offering to make it easier for the moms to try out the books.
Twenty interviews. Something in that vicinity felt right. With 20, we felt we’d have a nice cross section of women from all over the US with different personal and professional backgrounds. We also wanted moms who were really into their photos, but that didn’t just mean women who were actively engaged with it as a hobby. We wanted a mix of moms that simply liked to take and share snapshots, dedicated hobbyists and professional photographers. Why? Because when other women came to read the interviews, we wanted everyone to be able to find someone they could identify with.
Homework time. I combed through my blogroll of mommy blogs. And trust me, that is a lot of mommy blogs. Looking for moms who wrote about their pictures, often included pictures in posts, and had a Flickr badge on their home page or a special photo album for family pics. I also contacted a friend who is a professional photographer and blogger for her recommendations.
In the end, I had a balanced list of 40 mommy bloggers. Some of them have lots of readers, but most are in what has been termed the "magic middle" – blogs with 20-1000 other people linking to them.
Only 40? I can hear you all now. That’s not a lot. Well no, it isn’t. And that’s the point. If you do your preparation properly, you don’t have to cast a wide wide net. Twenty-two –22 — from that initial list of 40 participated in the project. Even math-challenged me can do that math — more than 50 percent.
Do your homework. Build relationships. Develop programs that offer strong value to both sides. Narrow cast. As narrow as possible. Your program will benefit, and by the way, your selection criteria are much more defensible. One of the things J&J got tagged with this week was reaction from the many mommy bloggers who weren’t invited. The more focus you have, the better off you will be.
Friend and colleague David Wescott of APCO Worldwide has been working on a project for the past year or so with the Council of PR Firms to understand the perspectives of both PR agencies and bloggers. There’s a lot of good information in the study, as well as an opportunity to contribute to future research, so I urge you to check it out. What I found the most interesting was that it clearly proves the biggest disconnect between agencies and bloggers. Agencies think they are doing a good job identifying the interests of bloggers and sending them relevant information. Bloggers resoundingly disagree.
(source: The State of Blog Relations)
Uhmm. Yeah. That would be my experience. And that of many bloggers I know.
We have got to get this right, folks. Bloggers are your customers. How do you want to talk with your customers? Think about it, and think hard.
I’ve said it before, and I guess I’ll say it until we get it right. Bloggers are your customers. It’s about the relationship over time, not overnight. Do you want a one night stand or a commitment?
If you want a commitment, figure out what matters to your customers.
Tags: Camp Baby, APCO Worldwide, blogger relations, Council of Public Relations Firms, HP, HP Photo Book, Photographic Memories, BlogHer
Average Jane says
Great follow-up! I wish I could be at BlogHer Business to hear you present your case study. I’d love to get a copy of your presentation afterward, if you don’t mind sharing.
Devra and Aviva says
Susan,
Thank you for linking to us and writing such a comprehensive take on the situation. We look forward to seeing you again at BlogHer in San Fran!
QueenofSpain, Erin Kotecki Vest says
Susan I just wish we could make you the poster woman for this effort. So many of us are happy to work with these PR co’s, etc. but they treat us so poorly that we can’t help be lose our minds. Thanks for fighting the good fight with us. There is great opportunity for all of us if we can just LISTEN to eachother.
Mom101 says
Nice Susan. Can’t wait to hear the case study too. Oh wait! I’m in it! Cool!
Busy Mom says
Again, I wish I could hear what you have to say at BHB.
Would be interested in hearing your thoughts on bloggers’ responsibilities in the relationship.
Christine Perkett says
Susan, thank you for the comprehensive example. It’s unfortunate that our industry (I own a PR firm…although I also have a pseudo-mommy/wife/woman blog… hmmmm) continues to a) screw up with reporters and bloggers and b) get lumped together (some do a great job).
In any event, my hope is that the more communication with solid examples like yours, the better the situation will get.
Most PR professionals have always pitched too many, too fast – usually to appease clients who want to see – rather, insist on pursuing – those long lists that you mention. It’s an ongoing battle – one I hope will continue to improve in this new landscape of communication.
Susan Getgood says
Busy Mom: Interesting question. As we were preparing for the Improve this Pitch panel, one of the things we discussed was that you should never ask a blogger to write. If the pitch is good, you don’t need to ask.
Now, things like Parent Bloggers Network are different –there is an agreement that the bloggers will write, but without constraint. As many know, I am a huge fan of PBN for products that lend themselves well to product review.
I’m going to think more about this. Stay tuned.
Sherrilynne says
Susan thanks for sharing this case study. You sum up what is essentially media relations 101. The channel is different; the problems the same. Some things never change.
Wish I was going to BlogherB, but am on the wrong side of the ocean.
David Wescott says
Thanks so much for highlighting this, Susan. We need more people like you who just get it.
I really hope everyone will weigh in on this and help the industry build best practices in a meaningful way. I have no idea where it will lead us – but that’s the fun part, isn’t it?
selfmademom says
I was the one who tipped Devra off about the Disney/ Passover thing. Before the conversation online started, I emailed Maria Bailey of Blue Suit Mom, from whom I received the invitation and advised her that the event was over Passover. I got, what I thought, was a sincere apology, stating that it was an oversight. I left it at that. Yes, it’s a media person’s responsibility to read our blogs and understand our points of view, but can we chastize them completely for not being smart enough to check their calendars twice? I’m not defending any of the actions. In fact, I worked in PR for many years for a large firm. However, I find it hard to believe that the snafu with the Disney event was anything more than a dumb mistake from a dumb intern who isn’t Jewish. It’s called Event Planning 101 – check the calendar before you plan a major event, but I’m not sure it’s a mistake on blogger relations. In that arena, I’ve seen a lot worse. So I’m torn on this one, honestly. J&J is another story, but they’ve I think made good on that, at least for now.
Susan Getgood says
selfmademom- I have the utmost respect for Maria and the team at Blue Suit Mom. In fact, they did another piece of the HP Photo Books launch which we will talk about at BlogHer Business. I didn’t know that they were part of the Disney project mentioned on parentopia until your comment.
You are right — it is event planning 101 and the Jewish holidays, like Easter, are tough because they move around the calendar. Holidays that are “dated” like Christmas don’t pose the same problem.
That said, I personally don’t have any problem with scheduling an event over Passover. Just don’t invite Jewish moms to that particular event. Have one for them over Christmas ๐
It’s all homework. And the mistakes are almost always dumb and avoidable. I’d like to see PR people institute the simple practice of checking a blog right before they send the email to reconfirm that it is an appropriate invite.
And yes I have seen a lot worse too. These just all hit over the same few days.
mothergoosemouse says
The HP campaign was one of the most successful (and well-read) we’ve had at PBN – thanks again for such a great opportunity!
Again, I wish I could make it to BHB to see you present, but I look forward to seeing you this summer.
Motherhood Uncensored says
I truly believe that homework needs to be done. The question is how much — and clearly, you did your homework well. You’re also a blogger and intimately connected to the mom blogger community.
As companies and firms decide to reach out to bloggers, I think there needs to be a better decision making process before they attempt to go forward. For many companies, that includes working together (either for an entire campaign, or just consulting) with a blog marketing agency.
Of course, I’m personally invested in this since I run one, however, I think that if companies don’t want to spend the time reading blogs and getting to know them, there are other ways to do it, like seeking out the assistance of bloggers, particularly ones who do this for a living. We know that there’s more to the power of a blog than its traffic and technorati ranking.
There are things that folks can’t really get by just reading someone’s about page or their blog’s front page.
However it’s definitely a good start.
Jeremy Pepper says
Would love to be there to see the presentation, and you speak.
Alas, I have to miss my first BlogHer. ๐
The APCO survey is interesting – I need to look at it deeper, though, and hopefully they released the raw data (and I would like to know who they interviewed).
PunditMom says
I can’t wait to read it after BlogHer. The whole ‘doing your homework’ thought seems like such a simple one. Do you think it’s more about some people thinking it’s not worth their time to get to know us better?
Susan Getgood says
Sadly, I think it is in part that they don’t realize they do not know us. Many PR and ad agencies have a mass media focus — to some degree, they believe that demographics tell the story.
To which, surprise to no one I’m sure, I call bullshit. Demographics, psychographics, ethnographics… reasonable starting points, but if that’s the only way a company intends to relate to its customer???
Not good enough. Not by a longshot.
Sherrilynne says
Susan, this post made Jo’s PR top 5 ๐
http://strivepr.com/wordpress/2008/03/27/march-27th-jos-pr-top-5/
John Cass says
Interesting stats. Why are we only thinking of blogger relations in terms of pitching people? How about engagement and dialogue without pitching?
I receive a lot of pitch emails, most I ignore, either because they are not relevant, or time passes and I was too busy doing something else. If someone asked me a serious question, or invited me onto their blog, I’d respond immediately.
Purvika says
Hi there,
I am training to be a PR without any theoretical knowledge whatsoever and this bit was good information. ๐ thank you – across the oceans…
must say, the comments make you look like a blogger version of Erin Brockovich. =)
All the best and wish me luck in my noble venture into the world of BR… (>_<)
james jeffers says
I do think homework is really bad because we do work for 6 hours already in school, we shouldn’t come home and do more.
NOTE FROM SUSAN: I have left this comment up because, as irrelevant as it is, it makes me laugh.