How To…Conduct Successful Blogger Outreach

Organizations' executives know that most of their biggest influencers have moved online in some capacity, raising the question: How can they be reached via effective integrated social media marketing? When faced with this challenge (especially as it relates to bloggers), Greg Verdino, chief strategy officer of Crayon, suggests the following roadmap:

1. Look, listen and learn: If they've heard it once, they've heard it a thousand times, and Verdino makes it 1,001. However, the constant repetition underscores the monumental importance of the tip, as those who ignore it have no foundation from which to grow. So, when trying to engage bloggers or other social media users, PR executives must look at the sites and hubs, listen to what the influencers are saying and learn how best to approach them.

Verdino points to PR-Squared Blogger Todd Defren's rule of thumb: Don't target a blogger until you've read at least 20 of their posts, including the comment threads. These threads will give you the best insight into the blogger's tone, interests and means of responding to readers' comments.