Breaking Through to BloggersTapping the Power of BlogsBrian G. Smith, Ph.D.University of Houston

The First Blogger?Name: Isocrates

Profile: Loved Politics – Wasn’t a PoliticianDebated Issues – No town hall meetingsPopular – No Personal Interaction

Blog Purpose: “to wage war against the false pretenders of wisdom”

Topics:Proper conduct of GreeksDirect political affairsPublic opinion

Source: Blogwars by David Perlmutter

argue from a safe distance.

Does this sound new?

It isn’t.

Blogging Isn’t New…

...Just the Technology is

…as many people as possibleBlogging is…

Argue

Debate

Impulse

Force opinion

Human Nature

Blog-specificThe blog post:

Short, Random, What’s on your mind?

Hyperlinks: Linking people and ideasEndless Surfing?

Feedback

Interaction – Opportunity to participate is Critical

The Power of the “Comment”

Niche-orientedHow do you tie YOUR shoes?

Four Blog Metagroups:Politics, Gossip/Celebrity, Motherhood/Family, Music

The Million $ QuestionWhere do posts come from?

How do Bloggers decide what to write?

First…understand how bloggers become bloggers.

Blogger Evolution1. Explore

Create something purely personal that only die-hard fans and aficionados read

2. Community Membership

Reader interests take precedence, bloggers feel pressure to write for the community

3. Autonomy

Blogger returns to original purpose, takes content control, becomes more proprietary and personal

Fight or

Flight

“I think a lot of bloggers, when they first get started out, get excited about the metrics, the traffic they get, how many people are reading the RSS feeds, and it matters to them a lot. But I think once you cross a certain threshold, it really doesn’t matter anymore. I think that’s something I had at first…but now, I tend to write more my own perspectives…the postings get more personal and deeper.”

-A Technology Blogger

Blogger Decisions

Blogger Interests1. Autonomy2. Self-interest3. Blog as an extension of the

self

Reader Interests

1. Reader reactions / feedback2. Serve the community3. Meaningful Contribution

PR / Marcomm Actions

The Rules: No Spam

No “Wowing” with fancy copyNo forgetting they’re human

Blogger Interests

“One thing I try not to do is pander or write what I think readers want to hear. I lose a lot of individuality and it becomes an assembly line…I write it more for me, and I’m glad they like what I write.”

-A Political Blogger

Reader Interests

“I think it’s worse if people read something that’s dumb than if they don’t read anything at all.”

- A Personal Blogger

Public Relations Actions

“The only red flag would be if someone wrote me a note that said, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if you wrote something like this?’ trying to influence the way that I write my column. That would be a right red line I wouldn’t cross, and I would probably have a few choice words for him.”

- A Political Blogger

At best…You Are A Last Resort

“Sometimes I have writer’s block and I have nothing to write about. If I haven’t written in four days, I’m much more likely to say ‘screw it’ and just talk about whatever, a press release or whatever.”

– A Tech Blogger

10 Reasons why your buzz blog will fail?

Maybe you’ve done this…

Dear PR Agents

“And in the end…the love you take, is equal to the love you make.” – the Beatles

It’s a love-hate relationship.They want a relationship.

So….let’s take a look at what you’re doing

Information source?

Niche Audience Targeting?

“Street Cred” - The In Crowd

Promotion – an easy route to publicity?The most common

Dialogue, Interaction, and Feedback?

Blogging on your own?

Some of these may of have worked with journalists, but bloggers don’t play the game.

Sorry, I do this because I love writing, not because I want to be pitched.”

“It’s not just this quick-fix that people think it is…you have to treat them as a long-lead publication. You should know their blog, know who they are, and go back to your client to develop content they will find interesting. Don’t just try to push whatever the client says is their press release to them.”

Social Media Relations Principles

CreativityCatch their attention – but be personal

Create a Win-WinApproach them on own terms

Build RelationshipOpen, Honest

“I usually make fun of my industry [and] am irreverent about my job. I throw myself under the bus because I know they want to already. I usually introduce myself as a PR flak who has to do this.”

Skills and Tips

1. Manage the media flow1. RSS Feeds

2. Categories, Keywords, Tags: Strategic

3. Recent Posts / Popular Posts

2. Company Speak vs. Fun1. Humanizing the Organization

2. Creating an identity

3. The importance of diversion

Summing up Social Media

Start CreativeFirst communications should be catchy

Go Conversational-Be HumanLimit corporate speak

Personal interest

Emphasize Win-Win

Be consistent

Go Niche

How About You?If you can’t Beat ‘em…

Are You Blogging?

Become part of the 20%

“In a world of fragmented media, employees’ online diaries can be a seductive way to lure customers into conversations.”

“They’re sticky – readers check back several times a day. And posts get linked to other sites amplifying their impact.”

“They’re efficient. Employees can post questions about their work and get instant, mass feedback.”

“Done well, they can humanize faceless behemoths. The Evil Empire of Redmond can instead become the home of ‘The Scobleizer,’ Microsoft’s most famous blogger.”

Talking Content

Publish content & ideas (52%)

Build Communities (47%)

Thought leadership (44%)

Get info to customers (36%)

Get feedback from customers (23%)

Corporate Blogs

Kodak: Educating Customers

Xerox:Becoming an expert

Starbucks: Testing Ideas

PBS: Building Relationships

Good Corp Blogs: The Authority?

Technorati AuthorityPopularity: the # of blogs linking to a website in the last 6 months. The higher the number, the more authority the blog has.Blog Links: #of blogs linked to the blog, rather than number of times linked. Though, a new link on the blog means +1 point for another 180 days.

Google RankingKeyword Usage: Most important in the title, but body text as well. Also relevance of keyword rate.Links: Not just quantity, but quality, in- and outboundOriginality: Negative rank for similarity of content to other sitesAge and Update: i.e. ongoing incoming links, updates

Top Blogs (Technorati)

Top 100 Blogs

Top 15 Corporate Blogs

Email: bgsmith@uh.edu

Twitter: @bgsmithphd

Blog: http://theorynpractice.com

Slide Deck – slideshare.net/bgsmithphd