"Every single day, someone, somewhere is discussing something important to your business: your brand, your executives, your competitors, your industry. Are they hyping up your
company, building buzz for your products? Or are they criticizing your service, complaining to others about your new product launch?"
Tara Hall, account supervisor for the Web relations group and the Center for Media Excellence in the Dallas office of Weber Shandwick Worldwide, quoted these words from Andy Beal,
a blogging and search engine marketing consultant, during a PR News webinar on How to Manage & Leverage Your Digital Reputation on December 12, 2006. These words have never been
more accurate, as the Internet allows instant access to untold quantities of information, while facilitating the growth of bloggers and citizen journalists. In addition, the crossover
from traditional to new media is bringing many old school journalists to the Web.
According to blog search engine Technorati, more than 60 million blogs exist, with an additional 175,000 new blogs being created every day. Among bloggers, 34% identify themselves
as journalists, and 36% of Americans read blogs regularly.
"Journalists today contribute to so many platforms, so many media," says Hall. "A lot of journalists have blogs already -- it's just another outlet for getting information out."
How can a company or its PR team manage, or even track, its reputation in a media world that has as many heads as a hydra?
Build Bridges
As with traditional journalists, in the blogosphere, says Hall, "Building relationships is important, as well as monitoring your space, even if your client decides not to blog. You
must monitor the bloggers who blog about your client, so you can respond in a timely manner to the chatter that's out there. A rumor or critical situation can turn to wildfire very
rapidly."
Often, the rumors spread beyond fact or even reason. A few weeks ago, Edelman was lambasted on tech blogs for sending laptops to prominent tech bloggers, pre-loaded with its new
operating system, Vista. The rumor mill was quick to accuse Microsoft and its PR firm of bribery, and the company had to be fast on its feet to send a message that the bloggers could
(should?) give away their laptops or send them back to Microsoft once they had experienced Vista. But in the meantime, snarky comments had gone out accusing the computer giant of
giving "pay for play" a whole new meaning.
Many bloggers gave equal time to more reasonable notions, noting that installing a new operating system on an existing computer can create software havoc, destroying any chance of
giving a reviewer an accurate read on a new product. But the bloggers continued to roil, resulting in numerous Web rants and dubious coverage.
Damage Control
It's not always possible to avoid such unfortunate incidents, but you can influence what is being written, if you spot the warning signs early. As with traditional journalists, it
comes down to media relations, says Hall.
"Bloggers are well informed, savvy and opportunistic," says Hall, who adds that they are "passionate about their topics but also very willing to listen. They have opinions, but
they are open to listening to arguments. They won't always agree, but you can start a conversation."
As with traditional media, this means extending yourself to provide bloggers with information, especially information that no one else has. "Bloggers want the exclusive as much as
The New York Times does. It's good to offer things like that to bloggers, especially ones with a big audience base. Because they are so viral, you need to build good relations with
bloggers."
While you are building those relationships, it's worth noting a few variations on the journalist theme. For example, although many bloggers aren't averse to phone calls once they
know you, many prefer the initial contact to come via e-mail, or through their blogs. "I never, ever cold-call a blogger," says Hall. "Once they open up to you, then phone calls can
be very welcome." In addition, sending an old-school press release can be a turn-off. Instead, Hall advises, try sending them a link to the information, where they can find all the
answers for themselves. And including graphics is always helpful.
Even once a story starts to roll, you can turn it around, particularly if the problem is one of simple accuracy. "If they are getting incorrect information, it's good for someone
from the company to reach out with the right information, while being very careful about the messaging," says Hall. "Bloggers, just like journalists, welcome this, even if they don't
have the image of being approachable."
But if you see that a blog posting is simply a rant, most of the time it is best to avoid entering the fray. "You have to monitor the space and make a judgment call, and sooner
rather than later," Hall advises. She also notes that if you approach a blogger in what is perceived to be an inappropriate manner, it could hurt you. Transparency is key, and Edelman
executives will be the first to tell you this.
Keep It Transparent
Alexandra Levit, senior account supervisor for Edelman Interactive Solutions, which launched the very successful Sisterhood Six blog for client Avent, says, "Transparency is the
most critical part. We were concerned about what people would think. The agency warned Avent not to appear as if they were endorsing a certain perspective." Avent and Edelman took
steps to ensure they were totally up front about their identity and took care that the blog (which was about breastfeeding) didn't appear too promotional for their own product (a new
breast pump).
Hall agrees. "Transparency is very important with blogging. If you do something to approach bloggers (for instance, "flogs" or fake blogs) in the wrong way, it will hurt you. If
you are offering a product, be very open about who you are and what your expectations are. With the recent laptop situation, there was a lot of back and forth about whether or not
bloggers could or should keep the review units they were given. The team in charge of communicating the details of this review program may see it as a lesson learned, in terms of
doing a better job with managing the expectations, clearly communicating the process and even asking bloggers if they were interested in advance."
Contacts:
Tara Hall, 972.830.4747, [email protected]; Alexandra Levit, 312.297.7027, [email protected]
The Basics Of Monitoring Your Space
Many companies and PR agencies wonder how to locate the blogs that will affect them or their clients. "There is some science to it, but not a lot at this point," admits Tara Hall,
account supervisor for the Web relations group and the Center for Media Excellence of Weber Shandwick Worldwide in Dallas. "A lot of companies are creating tools that will help with
monitoring."
To identify the blogs in your space in the meantime, she advises, start looking down your traditional media lists and go through Google to find journalists and see which people
from your media list are blogging. In addition, check blog rolls, which list favorite blogs read or referenced daily. Most blogs will have a blog roll off to the side, although people
call them by various names now.
Once you have located a journalist or blog that covers your area online, "Read their blog rolls, see who is reading what," says Hall. "Start off with your traditional media list,
look at their blog rolls and see who they are reading."
The next step is working through search engines for blogs. Some examples include:
* http://blogsearch.google.com
"There are many tools in development," says Hall, who is currently beta testing several, "but there's no set standard yet for monitoring tools."
Once you start checking blog rolls, it's easy to become obsessed, as one roll leads to another. But this can be useful, as you can tell the popularity of a blog by how many people
are including them on their favorites. "It takes a lot of grunt work to understand your space," Hall notes. "It takes time to develop it, but you can do it."