Just read an interesting PDF regarding blogging that I thought would be of help for you bloggers, lots of good insight and from a PR (Personal relations) perspective, not a PR (Pagerank) perspective.

http://www.vocus.com/bloggerwp/white...elationswp.pdf

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Just got it via e-mail as well. Very interesting that the same principles that build credibility with bloggers also tend to build Authority elsewhere. It was a good read. My personal fave was "Bring something to the party." (grin)

Thanks for pointing it out.

Eric

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Yeah I enjoyed this, thanks Morgan. The transparency thing seems important, especially with regard to bloggers. I often see posts like this on Curbed, a great city real estate blog: "A PR guy sent us this link to a new development today.." Naming its own sources allows Curbed sound a bit more like a traditional news outlet while still putting its own spin on things. Works well for them, and the PR people they like.

On the other hand, the notion of "blogger relations" does seem like a like a lot of work for results that are way less dependable than traditional news PR.. and it generally seems preferable for the blogger to find you rather than the other way around, which the paper talks about a bit.

I would definitely experiment with some these ideas though. Also, i'd never heard of Vocus - interesting company.

SEO Matt;

You said:

On the other hand, the notion of "blogger relations" does seem like a like a lot of work for results that are way less dependable than traditional news PR.. and it generally seems preferable for the blogger to find you rather than the other way around, which the paper talks about a bit.

I think the exposure that bloggers (especially A-list ones) provide is getting more and more dependable and bigger every day.

The main thrust of this is that you have an entire generation or two of old media PR types that were banking on not having to connect with bloggers until their retirement. They felt if they could "avoid" the problem it would go away. They thought (mistakenly IMO) that the internet held no advantage over the paper or TV or radio et al.

The bottomline is that blogging, podcasting and the internet media as a whole is getting to be BIG business...when you have major media / PR firms looking desperately for ways to re-tread their thinking to be able to accomodate bloggers, you have PROOF (IMO) that new media is carrying a lot of weight--and the eyeballs of more and more folks. The ABC (Audit Board of Circulation) showed US newspapers dropping readership in a big way, with several major US papers reporting a drop of double digits in six months alone...

And that is nothing but good fo the seo business as well. They go hand in hand in my book.

But back to the point of what Morgan was driving at..which is that this provides great insight into HOW to enter the blogosphere and do it successfully.

Best

Eric

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Eric Blackwell
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Louisville Real Estate My Home Real Estate Site

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I'm in full agreement with you here Eric, but it's not exactly what I was getting at. I probably should have said "less dependable in terms of the type of exposure they give you." As the Vocus paper points out, "not all PR is good PR," and this seems especially true with blogs, where opinions weigh heavily. So, PR people will probably have to do more homework to make sure the blogs they're targeting aren't going to trash them. Newspapers are of course less liable to do this on a whim, and so more dependable, in that way.

At any rate, I think blogs can and should be used for PR.. there might be a little more trial and error involved, but in the long run, if journalism is evolving with the web, then so must PR!

I see what you are driving at and agree 100%. You said it right...I read it wrong!


They DO need to do their homework and know that one well placed blogger with a strong opinion about their product or service can have a serious impact on their business. Positive or negative, the stakes are high.

One good trend I have seen is some medium / large firms ACTIVELY trying to work with bloggers and when a negative situation comes up, not provide "spin" or damage control, but actively solve the issue and many times the negative exposure turns positive....Bloggers don't tend to suffer "spin" too long and they tend to stay focused on the negative if it isn't dealt with.

Blogging tends to intensify your personality (grin)--whether your a nice guy or gal OR (ummm......) not. (smile)

Pleased to make your acquaintance Matt (think that's the first time we've conversed via the forum!).

Best;

Eric

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Eric Blackwell
Technologist, SEO Specialist and Consultant

Louisville Real Estate My Home Real Estate Site

Search Engine Marketing, Coaching & Custom WP Blogs Learn how to get the MOST out of your already awesome REW site.

Real Estate Industry Watch - Real Estate Industry News Blog Get up to date info on the Real Estate Industry

Nice to meet you as well Eric! I'm trying to increase my participation on here so I'm sure we'll cross paths again.