Blogger Relations: Beyond 101

Blogger Relations: Beyond 101

Panel • Susan Getgood, Moderator, sgetgood@getgood.com • Julie Crabill, SHIFT Communications, jcrabill@shiftcomm.com • Laura Tomasetti, 360 Public Relations, ltomasetti@360publicrelations.com • Paull Young, Converseon, pyoung@converseon.com

2008 Honorees: Blogger Relations Category • Winner: Molson • Commendations of Excellence • Zarafina with 360 Public Relations • Graco with Converseon • Kona Blue with Edelman • ElectraTherm with Pilmer PR • MobileSphere with SHIFT • Gazelle.com with SHIFT

Case Studies • Read the blogger relations case studies at:http://www.newcommreview.com/?p=1355

REDEFINE CONSUMPTION Launch of Gazelle.com

Do Unto Others… • Read – get familiar • Participate – join in • Transparency – be real • Conversation – customize • Time – build in advance, respect schedules • Tools – SMNR, demo, stats

Open the Door, Keep it Open, Listen, Give Back Results: • Met everyone on their own turf – 68 hits online, in print, broadcast • Drove 8,000 visitors in less than 48-hours • Showed Gazelle’s clear value – a “no-brainer” • Keeping it Going: • Coined reCommerce: economic model to reward consumers for efficient consumption • $6M Series B closed in “uber-tough” economy (Nov. 2008) • Charity fundraising rollout • March ’09 Forbes spread

Building Relationships When Graco decided that we wanted to meet some of the real people (funny, smart, interesting, people) behind some of the best reading material for parents on the web, my hand shot up like an excited school girl. I said, “so you want to get together with these women, throw parties, chat about being moms, eat great food in some very cool cities (and talk about Graco, of course) and someone needs to take on that job?” Hmmm… let me think it over… pick me, pick me, pick me! Well I guess I was loud enough (I’ve been told that) because I have had the opportunity to help host the Graco Get-Togethers . Graco is excited about the opportunity to meet with moms in the blogosphere. It is really a great way to understand what is important to them, what engages them, what makes them tick and to best of all, hear all about their experiences being a mom.

Silicon Valley Moms Get-Together

Flickr Page and Photo Pool http://mashable.com/2009/02/06/social-media-smartest-brands/

Mysweetpeace.com Blog Posts Video Photos

Links MySweetpeace.com Microsite, 48% Product Review Post 13% Graco Blog, 13% Product Page, 25% Flickr Group, 13%

Sweetpeace™ Mentions Positive, 74% No Mention, 19% Neutral, 4% Mixed, 4%

Joining the Community

Ongoing Relationships She ISGraco, that Lindsay. And Master Recon Specialist. The girl misses nothing. -- Mommy Needs a Cocktail Another company getting it right-Graco. I’ve chatting with Lindsay on Twitter, watched as they crafted a MOMblog that actually is written by Moms about things Moms write about. It’s not just product discussion. I’m thrilled to say the Graco blog, it’s bloggers, and the other people involved in the effort are part of our community. That’s right, they did it-we gave them the secret handshake and everything. Why? They’ve engaged bloggers in conversations, events, and they kept it REAL. -- Queen of Spain

Tapping into a Pervasive Online Community

Would you buy a $200 teapot? • Reach the most passionate (tea) consumers • Get them to buzz about a new way to make tea • Educate • Endorse • Drive to brand site for "where to buy" – overcome retail distribution challenge 17|

Results Reach: 24 of 30 targeted blogs posted, 10MM readers Sentiment: 100% reviews positive (despite high price tag) Engagement: Spurred comments, traffic to brand site Search: Blog activity elevated Zarafina in key word searches 18|

What worked? What’s next? Matching content to community Education vs. “pitch” Inviting feedback, questions (survey) First-to-know strategy Plus: Relationship vs. transactional approach 2-way dialogue: How can we work together? Going off-line to breakthrough online Flexibility, a menu of ways to engage 19|

Blogger Relations: Beyond 101