On Friday, Google explicitly stated what it expects from bloggers who receive free products (read the blog post here).
In a nutshell: a prominent clarification of a commercial relationship, a no-follow link and content that isn’t suspiciously hotchpotch.
We already knew this, so why has it peeved some SEOs?
The rise of influencer marketing doesn’t seem to be slowing, and it’s easy to see why.
It is the inevitable result of content and social coming together, and many brands have already seen some impressive results from this channel.
But with it comes a number of challenges that many marketers are struggling to overcome, as outlined in our recent report, The Rise of Influencers, in collaboration with Fashion and Beauty Monitor.
Monday next week I’m to appear on a webinar panel talking about journalist relationships. You can sign up for it here if you’ve always wondered whether I talk in dulcet tones or a high pitch falsetto.
The Econsultancy blog has featured much on blogger relations, this article from Henry Elliss provides a rather good list of outreach don’ts.
However I wanted to write a piece of my own, partly to draw attention to the upcoming webinar hosted by Vocus (let’s not veil the truth) and partly to add an Econsultancy staff blogger’s opinion to the debate.
So what are the best ways for PRs to engage with Econsultancy’s writers? I’m going to start with some entertaining flippancy that nevertheless holds more than a grain of truth and then move on to some best practice for PRs.
A lot of these are dos and not don’ts, but to fit the commandment theme I’ve had to use a few double negatives. Forgive me.
One of the most common obstacles to blogging is the feeling that you haven’t got anything to write about.
This prevents new bloggers from getting into the habit, and prevents more seasoned bloggers from keeping it going.
You want to write, but you need something to write about; what’s your subject going to be?
Building relationships with bloggers can be time consuming, but if done with integrity it can bring fantastic success to a brand in the way of genuine advocacy.
Quite simply, if you take the time to engage with bloggers in the correct manner, then bloggers in turn will engage with your brand as part of a mutually beneficial relationship and more often than not, go above and beyond what they’re asked to do.
Recently, the New York Times published a review of the Tesla Model S electric car.
The review, written by a well-known journalist, John Broder, was titled Stalled Out on Tesla’s Electric Highway, and as the title suggests, was not favorable to Tesla. According to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a well-known entrepreneur, Broder’s review was, amongst other things, “bogus.” Not one to shy away from the spotlight, Musk took to the web to prove he was right.