Bloggers are people, too.

A recent study by Cision found that "the top 20 national magazines and newspapers mentioned blogs and bloggers 13,066 times in the one-year period ending June 30, 2008. That compares to only 795 times in 2004 and 2,179 times in 2005."

"This stunning growth in blogger influence magnifies the importance of employing common sense when contacting bloggers," said Peter Granat, Cision executive vice president. "Knowing the blogger and his/her focus is the critical element in a successful blog relations campaign. While many blogs are highly visible in their own right, the growing influence with the mainstream media elevates their importance."

So, how can PR professionals, on behalf of their clients, tap this growing crop of influencers? Carefully, very carefully.

Bloggers can certainly provide a unique perspective not found in mainstream media coverage. But in order to better understand exactly how bloggers are different, it's helpful to look at their motivations for what they do.

For example, journalists in traditional media are paid. And depending on the market they're in, and the prestige they've cultivated throughout their careers, they're paid well. Bloggers, not so much.

Now, this data is a few years old, so it's likely many bloggers have found ways to monetize their blogs and put a price on the value of what they do. The Gawker Network, for one, pays bloggers per click. So the more people click-through to their full post, the more money they make. It's still good, though, to keep in mind that up until just a year or two ago, most bloggers were doing it for nothing. This might help in getting inside the head of a blogger.

More help comes from Jeff Pulver, an influential blogger in the IP Communications industry. These tips are from his blog:

“Get to know your target (me)”

- Read my Bio. Get a feeling of what I’m about.
- Read my Blog posts. Try to get to know me.
- Join in the conversations on my blog.
- Follow me on twitter<. - Make the effort to reply to one of my “Good Morning” messages. - Follow me on Friend Feed. Comment and establish yourself.
- Friend me on Facebook and say somethng.
- Email me and introduce yourself. Ask questions.

By engaging in the above, you are sending me a meta message. That you care enough about what you are doing to make the effort to get to know Me. That to you, I am not just a name on a call sheet but someone who you want to build a relationship with. And this in turn will result in the establishment of a new node in our social networks.

“Friends are invited to come in the front door”

Once you establish a relationship with me, you are encouraged to pitch me again in the future. And as you get to know the kinds of things I find most interesting, you might share with me something you discovered that is outside of the work you are doing. And sometimes a real friendship is born because of this.

“Bloggers are People Too”

Investing the time getting to know the bloggers who are in the space you are covering will prove to be a worthwhile investment over time. Take the time and make the effort to get to know us and some of us will be there when you need some help getting the word out about a shiny new product or service.

“The Virtual Cocktail Party”

The next time you decide to solicit a blogger with the pitch of a client, imagine we are both meeting at a cocktail party. Imagine I don’t know you and we are meeting for the first time. What is the first thing you would say to me? I don’t think it would be the same words that you would have otherwise used when doing your “pray and spray” email solicitations about your client’s shiny new product or service. No, I think you would first introduce yourself and look for something in common between us. And then only if you were feeling comfortable would you try to pitch me on behalf of your client.

“PR is Not an Industry for Lazy People”

After looking at the suggested road map to approach Jeff Pulver, a PR professional might feel that it is not worth the effort to get to know me if my name is one on a list of 150 others. The lazy PR professional might just continue with making the minimal effort to establish relationships and promote their clients with spam emails. But the engaged PR professional might take my list as a starting point and add to it and create a methodology that works for them which can be shared with others in their firm.

In life there are few times we can be success and lazy at the same time. Successful PR is not a lazy person’s sport. Real energy and real efforts needs to be done on a continual basis to grow your network, grow your relationships and to stay on top of your game.

PODCAST: Online PR Technology Trends

This podcast, Proactive, is hosted by Sally Falkow of The Leading Edge. Sally is joined by Heather Dougherty, Director of Research for the US at HitWise.

In this clip, "Heather speaks about the need for online reputation management and being aware of how consumers talk about your products. PR people need to understand how to tie their news stories into these trends and be aware of the right search language."

Click here to listen.

How Green Can You Go?

Industry experts are worried the Green trend that has taken off over the last year is on its way out. This is in part due to the standard threshold for public concern over a specific issue. A timetable, according to Jonathan Banks of Nielsen Research, that typically lasts 18 months. Also factoring into the supposed wane of All Things Green are the growing complaints that companies are "misleading consumers about a product’s environmental benefits," according to a recent article in the New York Times.


The Times also reports, "The Advertising Standards Authority, an industry-financed group that monitors ad content in Britain, said it had received 561 complaints from consumers about green claims in 410 ads in 2007, up from 117 complaints about 83 ads the year before."


What does this mean for PR pros, advertisers and marketers? Be careful how Green you go. If you're going to zero in on your client's environmental messaging, know your stuff. Make sure the company is practicing what they're preaching. Be consistent.

We'd all like to think the Green trend is more than just that--a trend. There is hope it will eventually transcend into a globally-pervasive lifestyle. Which makes it even more important for agencies to be adept at understanding Green concepts and initiatives.

Tons of agencies are popping up all over the world specializing in "Green Marketing." How can your agency or brand develop this specialty?


Jacquelyn A. Ottman, consultant and author of Green Marketing: Opportunity for Innovation offers this advice:

"...when played by "the rules," green marketing can lead to product improvements that can enhance marketability, improve overall performance, and become a potent new source of innovation. To prevent your greener products from winding up in the green graveyard, focus communications efforts on the primary benefits that your environmentally inspired technologies can support. Avoid the clichéd "babies, planets and daisies" that will conjure up the negative perceptions of the green products of yesteryear.

From an organizational standpoint, integrate environmental considerations into all aspects of marketing—new product development and communications and all points in between. This requires the support of cross-functional teams with marketers at the helm. The holistic nature of green also suggests that besides suppliers and retailers new stakeholders be enlisted, including educators, members of the community, regulators, and NGOs.

Finally, consider green as an ideal goal achieved though continuous improvement. Ask: In what ways can customers reduce environmental impacts during use? What is the next radical evolution of our product? In what ways might we offer a service rather than, or in addition to, a product?"

Here's an example of a placement INK got for Earth Day 2007. We pitched the idea to MTV's Pimp My Ride producers and coordinated with our client, leading biofuels manufacturer, Imperium Renewables, to outfit a car with a biodiesel engine. Even Gov. Schwarzenegger jumped on the bandwagon!

"5 Important things I've learned"

Allow me to introduce myself: my name is Matt Lowe, the latest addition to INK Inc’s head quarters in KC. Previous to this position I had worked in marketing for several Chicago radio stations and while I was familiar and comfortable with "the media," this is my first true PR position.

My experience at INK has been great-I am surrounded by pro's who've generously shared their insight with me. I can only imagine how difficult it would be without experienced people to guide you. So in an effort to help those who are just starting out in PR, may I present:

"5 Important things I've learned"

1.Do your research. In order to pitch successfully you need to understand who you are pitching to. Take a half hour or an hour and read/ watch/ listen to the outlet your pitching and find the person it makes the most sense to pitch. The assignment editor may seem like a good idea but what about the financial reporter who's under deadline?

2. Ask yourself: What If I got this pitch? If it seems like you're pushing too hard, or something doesn't feel right then there is probably something wrong. Introduce yourself, start a conversation then exchange information.

3. You are sharing information (not just product.) The goal of a PR campaign is to generate news about a client. The key is to make that client relevant.

4. K.I.S.S. Forgive me, but its true, in PR you must keep it simple. Keep your pitches short and sweet, convey your idea and leave it. No one likes a 2 page email, especially when that email is "selling something."

5. Don't be afraid to pick up the phone. Send an email to introduce yourself and comment on something the journalist has said. After that, and only if you have something relevant- call them. The easiest ice breaker is "is this a good time?" after that keep it short, and ask "What do you need from me to move forward?"

One final note: don't be afraid to ask questions- and more importantly trust your instincts.

Hope this helps.

How NOT to get a job in PR (or anywhere else for that matter)

When someone goes through our web site to inquire about job opportunities, their inquiries come to my email inbox.  I try, even when we're not specifically looking to hire, to at least look at and consider every resume that crosses my desk.  Some are pretty good, many are not.  But the one below is downright rotten.  

Hello, My name is **** and I just graduated from the University of ***** with a B.F.A. I am interested in working for company that is specialized in media and public relations.  For the past 7 months have been working for a design and branding studio in Lawrence, Ks that helps clients create ideal images for their company.

I am attaching my resume for your review.  Thank you for you time.

Best Regards,

*****

A few problems with this note, mostly with missing words and letters:

1.  You have a "B.F.A."?  I'm assuming that means Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts.  You shouldn't assume I know that.  And based on the rest of the letter I'm wondering if B.F.A. should stand for "Bad Freaking Application".

2.  You're "interested in working for company"?  I'm interested in someone who can write a sentence with all of the words included.

3.  "For the past seven months have been working for a design and branding studio..."  Another missing word.  "I have been working..."   Unless you're trying to write like Boris from Rocky and Bullwinkle.

3.  ..."in Lawrence, Ks..."  Missed capitalization in the state postal abbreviation for Kansas.  

4.  "Thank you for you time."  I think you meant to say, "Thank you for your time."  Perhaps you should have taken more of your time proofreading before sending this.

5.  And lastly, despite promising to attach a resume, you didn't.  

OK, I know typos happen.  I've certainly made my share, and have probably done so in this post.  But you're telling a potential employer that your previous job was helping clients create "ideal images for their company".  And you are creating an image of yourself that's not very ideal.  Your note to me is the equivalent of a PR pitch to a journalist.  Is this how you would pitch a reporter?  Is this how you would represent our clients to members of the media?  

Our results come because we take the time to craft individual pitches for specific reporters and editors.  And our livelihood is based on turning those pitches into positive media placements.  I'm fairly certain that the person who sent this note to me cut and pasted the exact five sentences to every PR firm in the Kansas City area.

This isn't the only bad resume (or lack thereof) that I've gotten.  How about the candidate whose email address included a link to her personal web site--where she had a blog post about how she would be a horrible employee?  Or the candidate who, along with her resume, attached a candid photo of her in a somewhat revealing outfit?

Anybody else have any horror stories or advice for those folks out there looking to break into PR?

The Yahoo Button

I've got it! Let's start a blog!

So you're considering a company blog. After all, look at all the Fortune 500 companies with blogs. It's clear this "blogging" fad you started hearing about a few years ago isn't going to die off and you're wondering whether you should create a blog for your business. You, my friend, are not alone.

The chatter within the PR and Marketing communities online indicates starting a company blog is the most frequent request they're getting from clients. It seems any company providing a product or service who hasn't started a blog in the last couple years is now considering it. That said, you may be feeling you're a little late to the game...but don't get discouraged.

First, let's get the initial question out of the way:

Should my company have a blog?

Katherine Heires of the Harvard Business School's Working Knowledge suggests "a blog is an incredibly effective yet low-cost way to:

* Influence the public "conversation" about your company: Make it easy for journalists to find the latest, most accurate information about new products or ventures. In the case of a crisis, a blog allows you to shape the conversation about it.

* Enhance brand visibility and credibility: Appear higher in search engine rankings, establish expertise in industry or subject area, and personalize one's company by giving it a human voice.

* Achieve customer intimacy: Speak directly to consumers and have them come right back with suggestions or complaints—or kudos."

If these goals align with your company's marketing and communication goals, it would be a good idea to get in the game.

BUT, consider these points first:

• Who is your audience? How are you going to reach them and direct them to your content? Are you hoping to get the attention of your customer? Or are you trying to secure your place with industry experts or media professionals? Or both? Where do these groups gather online? How engaged are you with this community currently?
• Can you provide useful, helpful content that is "action-ready" as it relates to your business/industry? What do you have to say? Is it a unique perspective? Think about it objectively, will people outside of your organization find your posts worthwhile? What can you do to make your reader ACT on the information you're providing?
  
• How much time and energy can you commit to maintaining a blog? Will you have enough time to keep the content fresh? Posting daily, or at the very least, weekly, is the standard. Can you keep up with it?
• Will you be The Lone Blogger or will the whole company have access to posting? Allowing other employees to post may help with the time-sucking issues, but definitely consider a Blogging Policy if you decide to go that route.
  

Now that you've determined who you're writing for, what you're going to write about and how much time you'll invest, it's time to navigate the actual blogging process.

Chris Brogan consistently offers great advice on better blogging. This post breaks down his process quite nicely. Check out the comments there, too. He knows how to get great feedback. Which is the goal of blogging, after all. Remember, you're not posting just to hear yourself talk.

Here are some more tips:

1. Get to the point. Brogan suggests you "put the best stuff up front" in case your reader doesn't have enough time. Things move at lightspeed online. You've got one minute to hook a reader. One minute.
2. Don't sound like a press release. Think about it. How often do you surf the web looking for great press releases to read? You don't. Connect with readers on a human level by revealing your personality. Personalities sell ideas, not press releases.
3. Be original.Not to be redundant, but I think Jules from Pulp Fiction said it best when he said, "Personality goes a long way." Find a way to infuse your unique perspective into what might be an old idea.

4. Be conversational. Imagine your posts are a transcript of what you would say if someone you know asked you for advice.
5. No ghostblogging.If you hire someone to blog for you, be up front about it. Your readers will know. And then you've lost their trust.
6. Cross-link. Geoff Livingston makes this point in his post on the Buzz Bin.
7. Make commenting easy, but moderated. Again, the whole point of your blog is to engage your current and potential customers, as well as industry leaders. In order to engage, there must be a mechanism to facilitate feedback. Don't make your reader jump through hoops to comment. If you're afraid of negative comments getting out hand or spam attacks, set up a tool for moderating comments that won't push away those valuable readers ready to engage.
   

For a GREAT example of a company blog, I like Southwest Airlines' blog, Nuts About Southwest. They do it right. Take notes. And if you'd like to make some comments on THIS company blog you're reading right this moment, please do so. Let's get engaged. Without the pricey ring and months of planning. Please say yes!