If you have a brand with an online presence, chances are you spend a large portion of your time searching for new avenues for promotion and platforms to increase the reach of your products or services. It can be incredibly frustrating, if you're a smaller brand trying to compete in a densely populated industry, such a fashion, beauty or lifestyle.
During your searches you more than likely keep reading about Blogger Outreach, but you have no idea what it is, or how it can help your brand. I have broken down the essentials, once you understand these, you can make an informed decision about how much Blogger Outreach can support your online positioning.
What Is Blogger Outreach
Just as traditional PR works, Blogger Outreach is a matter of relationship building, between the brand and the blogger. The result of which is engaging content created by the blogger, using the brands products or services and then sharing them on their blogs, social channels and further afield.
These posts in most cases will include all the info interested parties would need to get their hands on the services or products blogged about, including links to websites.
Blogger Outreach is the newest from of word of mouth, instead of simply reading journalists thoughts which may feel slightly warped, instead bloggers are very much seen, rightly so, as an honest source of review.
Why Blogger Outreach
Although blogger outreach can be time intensive, it also has the power to dramatically increase not only a brands presence online but also increase sales.
Here is a striking fact:
81% of the people online trust the information they read on blogs, and 61% of those people have made a purchase based on a blogger's recommendation.
That cannot be ignored, an overwhelming percentage of the average internet user means an overwhelming percentage of your potential customers.
Blogs are the 3rd most likely source to influence a purchase, coming in just behind brand sites in a survey of online services most likely to influence a purchase.
It isn't just the reach of the bloggers that matters, or the loyal readers, it is the development of relationships with individuals who have the potential to become ambassadors for your brand, on a longer term basis. They provide wonderful imagery, they talk about your brand, they become an extension of your unique selling points.
Getting Started With Blogger Outreach
Before you get started contacting bloggers you need to take into account a number of factors;
What Is Your Goal? There is no point in even beginning until you can answer this question. It is the first thing I ask my clients, what do you want from it? Increased social followers? Visits to your website? Sales?
Do You Know Your Audience? Yes Blogger Outreach can work for near enough all brands in almost every industry I can think of, however deciding on the bloggers to work with requires you as a brand to know who you are aiming to reach. There are no hard and fast rules about demographics, but with a little time spent understanding your client demographics will help dictate the bloggers you work with
What's Your Hook? It is most certainly not enough to simply send your products to a blogger and expect them to work magic. In the same way you wouldn't just throw together an interview with a journalist or a photo shoot. Time spent at the beginning creating a compelling, engaging hook for bloggers to grab onto will not only make conversations more interesting, it will also ensure that the resulting blog posts are on brand and on message.
And Finally...
Remember this. Google never forgets. Bloggers have large, loyal followings, when a blogger writes about your brand or product, you can be sure Google will find it.
In fact, blogs are visited by search engines more often than static web pages, as the content is more frequently updated, meaning your content will get noticed even faster.
By their nature, bloggers are inherent storytellers and can create compelling content supporting a brand for you. They’ve worked hard to built a following, their readers are loyal because people care about the stories they have to tell. In fact, the lifeline of a blog is its ability to produce relevant, timely and engaging content for its audience.
I know this can all seem very intimidating, and if that is the case and you feel you need some support, I offer Blogger Outreach Management & Consultancy.