There is a growing experimental industry that is cultivating networks of bloggers who want to be notified about interesting Websites and stories. The image of the “Citizen Journalist” has inspired a few companies to create blogger outreach channels that are just used for pitching or announcing stories the bloggers might want to write about.
What’s in it for the bloggers? They are presented with ideas that may inspire them to write some great content. In some cases they may also be presented with opportunities for sneak previews into new products and media.
What’s in it for the companies seeking exposure? They have a softer marketplace than traditional journalism provides; the news media have so many stories pitched at them that it’s hard to get the focus you want for your marketing efforts.
This emerging market does not consist of guest posts, guest post exchanges, or infographic distribution. Sure, you might send out this kind of content but the idea is that the bloggers — the “Citizen Journalists” — will take your information and use it however they see fit.
This Isn’t About Native Advertising and Advertorials
Some companies are championing a concept like the “blogger release”, a sort of “press release for bloggers and social media mavens” who have substantial (not necessarily large), loyal followings.
A movie studio might reach to fan Websites with press kits and exclusive giveaways for them to share with their readers. Book publishers might do this as well.
In fact, as a science fiction blogger I have been approached by studios and publishers many times through the years with offers of sneak previews, advance copies, and more. Most of the time I have to turn down these promotional offers because I only do the fan Websites part-time. Still, there was a time when I throve on this kind of outreach.
The entertainment industries are much more adept at outreach than most other industries, but we can teach everyone how to do this properly.
This Isn’t About Link Building
Reflective marketing may produce a lot of links but what it’s really after is creating visibility, interest, and traffic. If you can inspire people to search for a Website you don’t have to link to the Website with targeted keywords. Just mention a story on Forbes and people will go look for it; say that you can buy an item on eBay or Amazon and people will go quietly search for it. The traffic comes because someone who is trusted by an audience merely mentions the site and what it has to offer.
Getting the word out is more important than getting the link. If you can entice a blogger to give you a link with compelling content, great. Otherwise, just make sure they spell your name right and know what you do. Let the bloggers and social media mavens do the rest.
This Isn’t Viral Marketing
In a true viral campaign Website after Website will pick up a story and run with it. Hey, it’s great when that happens but not every business has a story to tell that is so compelling. You want to reach out to the 1st tier of blogging in your circle. These are the people who will reach the audience most likely to be interested in whatever you have to offer.
It should not matter if the story goes viral. You’ll have more stories to tell in the future. You are cultivating a semi-news channel among “Citizen Journalists” who are writing from the heart of passion. They want to tell your story because they care about what they do and maybe what you do.
Call this Passion Marketing. Your passion marketing audience may not be very large but they may be the first adapters (aka “early adopters”) you need to help you attract attention from the next wave of interested audience members (aka “the early majority”). Your blogger channel creates credibility for you as well as visibility.
This Is About Building Relationships With Small Blogging Communities
The communities are small; some of the blogs can be big. You’re doing great if TechCrunch and Mashable are in your blogger channel but you’re not a failure if you can only hook up with bloggers who just reach a few hundred people a month.
The relationship must serve as the foundation for a consistent stream of communication. The communication will help you and the bloggers stimulate interest in what you are doing (and what they are doing). Ideally you want to share these blogger channels with other businesses (maybe even competitors) because the more helpful information those bloggers can publish the larger their audiences will tend to be.
If you’re a media specialist and you don’t have a roster of bloggers you can pitch stories to, you have to build that roster.
If you’re an Internet Marketing specialist charged with acquiring links, you need a roster of friendly bloggers who are willing to listen to (and maybe write about) your story each and every time you have a story.
If you’re just a small business looking to grow your traffic, finding some friendly bloggers who are willing to be your allies is about the best thing you can do in the online world.
In traditional sales we call this “magnifying your efforts through others”. But it’s all reflective marketing.
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