They were started a few years ago by political observers who
made their running commentaries available online, but have recently
emerged as a potent media force for PR execs: blogs. These days,
blogs go well beyond the political scene, with diverse sites
offering all kinds of news by the day, hour and minute. Indeed, a
recent survey by Perseus Development Corp. predicts the top
blog-hosting services will be home to 10 million blogs by the end
of 2004.
"I know journalists visit the better blogs, so this is a way to
spread a story or spread awareness of your company," says David
Burt, PR Manager at security software firm Secure Computing, who
spends about 5% of his time trying to get bloggers to mention his
company. In one case, a blog reported on a security study conducted
by his firm. That story, in turn, drew a call from a writer at
Information Week. (Curiously, Burt sent a press release on that
same study to another reporter at the magazine but did not get a
call back.)
Other PR execs have been able to make inroads through pitching
blogs. Take Brian D. Johnson, PR director for CenterBeam, a
network-management outsourcer. In the summer of 2003 he sent a
press release to Jeremy Wagstaff, a writer for The Wall Street
Journal, who covers technology in the "Loose Wire" column on the
Journal's Web site, and also runs a daily blog of the same
name.
At a time when the computer virus threat ran high, Johnson
offered 10 tips for protecting one's PC. Wagstaff ran the column
verbatim on his blog, positioning CenterBeam as an expert
resource.
It takes strategy to score a blog win of that magnitude. "I knew
from his blog that [Wagstaff] was a fan of 'Lord of the Rings,' and
so I wrapped my 10-point plan in a metaphor of [the movie],"
Johnson says. "Just as the humans defend their mountain castle
using successive lines of defense, network security defends a
system using a tiered system of blockades."
Blogs offer a new opportunity to craft that kind of pinpoint
pitch. "If I read Jeremy Wagstaff's blog every hour of every day, I
am peering deeply into his consciousness as a journalist," Johnson
adds. "If somebody is printing their consciousness on line every
hour of the day, then I as a PR person have an opportunity and an
obligation to understand how that person operates and how to appeal
to them."
A PR executive who spends time learning a certain blogger's
style can score more than just a one-shot deal. "PR people can take
advantage of this [investment] by becoming a source of information
for the blog author, rather than simply asking the author to report
on them and what they are doing," says Matthew Bailey, Web
marketing director for The Karcher Group, an Internet marketing
agency. "Approach them in a nontraditional way. Lose the pitch.
Comment on their stories and give them feedback, and then as they
get to you know you and they come to respect the value of your
feedback, then you start to become a resource."
It also helps if you can get there first. Many blogs follow
specific industries, "and like any reporter, they want the scoop.
They want to be the first to report something and they love
scooping traditional media," Bailey says.
While getting a mention on a blog has some value, it is just as
useful to follow a blog for the sake of its own existing content.
Industry blogs, in particular, can offer dish on developing news
and trends.
"Good blogs, all they do is search for trends," says Michael
Prichinello, a vice president with RLM Public Relations in New
York. "By the time a newspaper makes sense of a trend, it is
already known to everybody and it is not really news anymore. Blogs
are not interested in what is 'newsworthy.' They just want to know
what is happening."
Finally, there is the proactive blog. Few corporations at this
time maintain their own blogs, but the idea already is taking
shape. Johnson produces a daily news summary and posts it to the
company Web site. "Every day I have to read an unhealthy amount of
media because that is what I do for a living," he says. "I may as
well make added use of that information if I can."
The blog gives Johnson an easy way to archive the information he
collects. It affords his firm a way to freshen up its Web page each
day, and creates a bigger presence on the Internet. "When people go
into Google and type 'desktop outsourcing management,' or
'CenterBeam,' I am filling the first screen-full of results with
stuff that I have created, rather than other random links," he
says.
For PR professionals interested in pursuing this route, numerous
tools exist to help would-be bloggers get started. The online
application TypePad, for example, offers blogging basics and a
content management tool starting at about $60 a year. While all of
these tactics can help PR execs take maximum advantage of blogs,
there's also one sure way to get yourself booted from the blog
community.
"You must never participate under a pen name or hidden agenda,"
warns DeeDee Legrand, president of BRW LeGrand. "You will be found
out and blackballed and do permanent damage to your brand,
particularly if the blog is hosted by an analyst, thought leader,
politico, journalist or technologist." This may sound like Ethics
101, but the inherent anonymity of the Web can tempt people to
skirt the rules. Few things draw disdain in the blog world quicker
than covert PR.
Clearing the blog
Blogs have gained momentum and draw millions of hits daily, but
looks can be deceiving.
In Oct. 2003 Perseus Development Corp. randomly surveyed 3,634
blogs on eight leading blog-hosting services. The study showed that
some 4.12 million blogs had been created on those services. Perseus
estimates the number will top 10 million by the end of 2004. But
there's a catch. Some two-thirds of surveyed blogs had not been
updated in two months, meaning that 2.72 million blogs had been
either permanently or temporarily abandoned. In fact, 1.09 million
blogs were never used at all.
Among those still in use, links forged a potentially powerful
network. Some 80% of active blogs connected to at least one
external site from a post on their home page -- yet these links
rarely connected to traditional media sources.
Who's blogging? Mostly young people, with more than 92% of blogs
surveyed created by people under 30. Females outnumber males,
having created 56% of surveyed blogs.
Find your (inner) blog
Not all blogs are created equal. Before launching a PR effort to
get mentioned on a blog, it makes sense to choose your target
wisely.
- First stop, Google. Pull together a list of likely blogs,
especially those that focus on your target industry or related
subject areas. - Follow the trail. See what kinds of links are referenced within
the blog: They are a good indicator of its popularity and its
seriousness. - Judge the content. Is there true substance here or just
somebody ranting about his cat? - Finally, check the family tree. Many blogs have institutional
affiliations, for example with a university. That kind of
connection often indicates a more serious intent.