How to Engage Bloggers Down the Long Tail

1. How to Engage Bloggers Down the Long Tail How to Engage Bloggers Down the Long Tail Thanks for joining! @chrisabraham #outreachmarketing Hashtag: #outreachmarketing Twitter: @chrisabraham Google+: google.com/+ChrisAbraham Facebook: facebook.com/chrisabraham LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/chrisabraham Chris Abraham

2.  Principal Consultant  Avid Blogger/Contributor:   Director, Business Development Your Speaker: Chris Abraham 2 @chrisabraham #outreachmarketing  Principal Consultant  Avid Blogger/Contributor:   Director, Business Development Your Speaker: Chris Abraham 2 @chrisabraham #outreachmarketing

3. My Personal Digital PR Philosophy  Find people where they live (and meet them there even if it’s a forum or message board)  Explore the long tail (there are millions of people blogging, sharing, and posting online – and PR tends to pile on the same 100 “influentials”)  “We want you to take 50 million of us as seriously as you take one reporter from The Wall Street Journal”  (#83 of the 95 Theses from The Cluetrain Manifesto)  Spoil everyone (like you would Guy Kawasaki)  Be grateful (nobody is required to help you) 3 @chrisabraham #outreachmarketing My Personal Digital PR Philosophy  Find people where they live (and meet them there even if it’s a forum or message board)  Explore the long tail (there are millions of people blogging, sharing, and posting online – and PR tends to pile on the same 100 “influentials”)  “We want you to take 50 million of us as seriously as you take one reporter from The Wall Street Journal”  (#83 of the 95 Theses from The Cluetrain Manifesto)  Spoil everyone (like you would Guy Kawasaki)  Be grateful (nobody is required to help you) 3 @chrisabraham #outreachmarketing

4. Campaign Questions  Goal: what is it you need to do?  Monitor: what are you looking to find?  Discover: where are people talking?  Learn: who are these talking people?  Collect: what groups do you need?  Engage: how best to connect?  Outreach: how best to pitch?  Analyze: how did you do? 4 @chrisabraham #outreachmarketing Campaign Questions  Goal: what is it you need to do?  Monitor: what are you looking to find?  Discover: where are people talking?  Learn: who are these talking people?  Collect: what groups do you need?  Engage: how best to connect?  Outreach: how best to pitch?  Analyze: how did you do? 4 @chrisabraham #outreachmarketing

5. Goals: What Do You Want to Accomplish?  Build brand awareness?  Increase community engagement?  Prospect new brand ambassadors?  Drive sales, traffic, membership?  Drive conversation volume?  Improve organic search?  Get a feel for your neighborhood?  Launch a new product, service, investment? 5 @chrisabraham #outreachmarketing Goals: What Do You Want to Accomplish?  Build brand awareness?  Increase community engagement?  Prospect new brand ambassadors?  Drive sales, traffic, membership?  Drive conversation volume?  Improve organic search?  Get a feel for your neighborhood?  Launch a new product, service, investment? 5 @chrisabraham #outreachmarketing

6. Monitor: Listen/Look Before You Leap  Google Search is the best tool to get a feel  When it comes down to it, Google does an amazing job of giving you a 30,000-foot view of the blogosphere  Spend some time understanding the space  It’s not always obvious how people engage with you, your brand, your space, or your industry. Allow your community to lead your exploration; do not be willful: people don’t always use your language  Include message boards, forums, etc., in your recon  Try out all the tools: it’s a buyer’s market  SDL SM2, Radian6, Sysomos, Sprout Social, Lithium 6 @chrisabraham #outreachmarketing Monitor: Listen/Look Before You Leap  Google Search is the best tool to get a feel  When it comes down to it, Google does an amazing job of giving you a 30,000-foot view of the blogosphere  Spend some time understanding the space  It’s not always obvious how people engage with you, your brand, your space, or your industry. Allow your community to lead your exploration; do not be willful: people don’t always use your language  Include message boards, forums, etc., in your recon  Try out all the tools: it’s a buyer’s market  SDL SM2, Radian6, Sysomos, Sprout Social, Lithium 6 @chrisabraham #outreachmarketing

7. Discover: Finding People Where They Live  Social media is much bigger than Facebook  There are a multitude of social networks, self-run message boards, threads deep in reddit, and ad-hoc discussions everywhere online (Dailymile.com, etc.)  If it exists, there is blog of it (Rule 34 variant)  There are more than a billion active blogs worldwide  Always start with Google  Influencer discovery  GroupHigh – grouphigh.com  Little Bird – getlittlebird.com  Alltop – alltop.com  eCairn – ecairn.com 7 @chrisabraham #outreachmarketing Discover: Finding People Where They Live  Social media is much bigger than Facebook  There are a multitude of social networks, self-run message boards, threads deep in reddit, and ad-hoc discussions everywhere online (Dailymile.com, etc.)  If it exists, there is blog of it (Rule 34 variant)  There are more than a billion active blogs worldwide  Always start with Google  Influencer discovery  GroupHigh – grouphigh.com  Little Bird – getlittlebird.com  Alltop – alltop.com  eCairn – ecairn.com 7 @chrisabraham #outreachmarketing

8. Learn: Do They Want to Be Engaged? And How?  Blogs (including online journalists, curators, aggregators, group blogs, and bloggers)  Can you find their name and email address?  If contacting them is hard, maybe they don’t want to be  Look for a “how to engage/pitch” message  Follow their directions to a T (or don’t engage them at all)  Forums (including bookmark & link aggregators)  Engage forum owners directly, don’t jump in there!  Social Networks (including FB, Twitter, etc.)  Engage before befriending before pitching 8 @chrisabraham #outreachmarketing Learn: Do They Want to Be Engaged? And How?  Blogs (including online journalists, curators, aggregators, group blogs, and bloggers)  Can you find their name and email address?  If contacting them is hard, maybe they don’t want to be  Look for a “how to engage/pitch” message  Follow their directions to a T (or don’t engage them at all)  Forums (including bookmark & link aggregators)  Engage forum owners directly, don’t jump in there!  Social Networks (including FB, Twitter, etc.)  Engage before befriending before pitching 8 @chrisabraham #outreachmarketing

9. Collect: Demo-, Geo-, Psycho-Graphic Lists  The A-list (the crème de la crème of influence)  Generally professional bloggers and journalists, including the blogs and profiles of mainstream media platforms, celebrities, high Klout scores, high-traffic blogs, authors, actors, scientists, pundits, newsmakers, and people with mad followers  Will blog for free, but only if they’re compelled to (exclusive content, big news, financial releases, new investment, etc.)  Never, ever, include A-list bloggers in a bulk email pitch – hand-written only  Prepare your kid-gloves and your checkbook – find ways to woo them personally (over lavish meals, inviting them to HQ, or meeting them down at one of the many conferences they attend)  Become a persistent “bestie” – either as someone who is a communicator pitching them good, consistent, and valuable content or, even better, a personal friend who doesn’t just collect them as a method of access or a sign of prestige 9 @chrisabraham #outreachmarketing Collect: Demo-, Geo-, Psycho-Graphic Lists  The A-list (the crème de la crème of influence)  Generally professional bloggers and journalists, including the blogs and profiles of mainstream media platforms, celebrities, high Klout scores, high-traffic blogs, authors, actors, scientists, pundits, newsmakers, and people with mad followers  Will blog for free, but only if they’re compelled to (exclusive content, big news, financial releases, new investment, etc.)  Never, ever, include A-list bloggers in a bulk email pitch – hand-written only  Prepare your kid-gloves and your checkbook – find ways to woo them personally (over lavish meals, inviting them to HQ, or meeting them down at one of the many conferences they attend)  Become a persistent “bestie” – either as someone who is a communicator pitching them good, consistent, and valuable content or, even better, a personal friend who doesn’t just collect them as a method of access or a sign of prestige 9 @chrisabraham #outreachmarketing

10. . Collect: Demo-, Geo-, Psycho-Graphic Lists  B-D-List (the mid-section of the long tail often asks for money)  While not all B-D-list bloggers lead with an advertising rate sheet, many do  Most PR campaigns aren’t budgeted for advertising spend so I don’t pay for posts  Ideally, earned-media is the goal of PR campaigns, so it’s up to you  Many of the B-D-list bloggers can get you what you need for less than a strong ad buy  While disclosures are essential everywhere, they’re doubly so for “advertorial” content  I tend to put any blogger who asks for money into a DNC* list  Midrange bloggers are easier to access, harder to garner earn media mentions from, but a worthy investment of time and attention toward a long-term relationship  People help out their friends, so becoming close may curry favor for earned media pitches  I generally include B-D-list bloggers in general long-tail bulk email outreach *Do not contact list 10 @chrisabraham #outreachmarketing

11. . Collect: Demo-, Geo-, Psycho-Graphic Lists  E-Z-List (the long-tail of the blogosphere, including ~1 Billion bloggers)  While a billion active blogs are well out-of-scope, please remember:  No matter how obscure your product or service, there’s probably a blog about it  The original Rule #34 is: “If it exists, there is porn of it;” same for the blogosphere  Collect email addresses, blog name, and maybe location only for E-Z-list  While I might be willing to chase down the contact info of A-D-list bloggers via forms or hunting them down via LinkedIn or Facebook Messenger, Dailymile mail, or Twitter DMs, I only engage long-tail bloggers if they share their email address gladly  If bloggers don’t make it easy to contact them, they may not want to be contacted; and, if you contact someone who doesn’t want to be, there will be serious blowback  Send everyone in your list a bulk email pitch but be ready to engage in person  Don’t worry, most people aren’t fanboys – a cold-pitch is fine if your “gift” is generous 11 @chrisabraham #outreachmarketing

12. . Collect: Demo-, Geo-, Psycho-Graphic Lists 12 @chrisabraham #outreachmarketing

13. . Engage: Pitch It Slow and Right Over the Plate  Pitching is speed dating  You don’t need to overwrite  Allow people to be intrigued  Less is more  Attention span is limited  Pre-masticate message into easy-to- understand pabulum  Don’t include attachments or inline content  Don’t BS, brown nose, lie, or flatter  "Please don’t say you read and love my blog, then pitch me on something that I never cover here" -- Mack Collier 13 @chrisabraham #outreachmarketing

14. . Outreach: The Catch Is the More Important Part  The informational microsite  Internally, I call it an SMNR  Social Media News Release  The kitchen sink theory  Don’t limit the SMNR to just the pitch  Bloggers are libertarian contrarians  Give a lot to look through – give them options  Steal me, steal me!  Optimize content to be copied-and-pasted  Pre-embed embed codes  Pre-link and optimize for SEO, etc. 14 www.mizunorunningnews.com @chrisabraham #outreachmarketing

15. . Outreach: The Magic Happens in the Inbox 15 @chrisabraham #outreachmarketing

16. . Analyze: It All Comes Down to the Bottom Line  Track using site analytics tools  Google Analytics tracking code in the SMNR  Server-side analytics tools: AWstats, Webalizer  Track both SMNR & target site  Track using media mention tools  I presently use SDL SM2 (Alterian SM2)  Primary, secondary, tertiary, etc., mentions  Lots of free and fee-based tools  Google Analytics is becoming more SM-savvy  Track using specialized landing pages  Using affiliate tricks-of-the-trade 16 @chrisabraham #outreachmarketing

17. . Analyze: The Proof Is in the Pudding 17 133 earned media blog posts, 1,350 Tweets, 40 other @chrisabraham #outreachmarketing

18. . Analyze: The Proof Is in the Pudding 18 @chrisabraham #outreachmarketing

19. . Analyze: The Proof Is in the Pudding 19 @chrisabraham #outreachmarketing

20. . Analyze: The Proof Is in the Pudding 20 @chrisabraham #outreachmarketing

21. . Final Words 21 “Hugs not horns” – Chris Abraham “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle” – Philo of Alexandria (or Plato or Ian MacLaren or John Watson) @chrisabraham #outreachmarketing

22. . 22 Email: chris@gerr.is Mobile: +1 202-352-5051 Twitter: @chrisabraham Google+: google.com/+ChrisAbraham Facebook: facebook.com/chrisabraham LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/chrisabraham TSMM: thesocialmediamonthly.com/author/cabraham GroupHigh: grouphigh.com/author/chris-abraham Socialmedia.biz: socialmedia.biz/author/chrisabraham Biznology.com: biznology.com/author/chrisabraham Huffington Post: huffingtonpost.com/chris-abraham Contact Me Any Time @chrisabraham #outreachmarketing