360DigitalInfluence

As promised, we’re back with Round 2 of our Blogger Outreach Code of Ethics. I don’t want to get all mushy on you all, but I’ve been really impressed with the volume and content of the comments we received on our first post, as well as with the amount of attention that the Code has received on other blogs that cover issues related to PR and social media. Thank you to everyone who shared his or her point of view.

In the past week, I have personally gone through all the comments on our first post, as well as posts and resulting comments on every blog linking back here. What follows are top line trends about blogger outreach I have culled from your reactions:

Give me honesty, or give me death
One of the most noteworthy points of the Code seemed to be the “We won’t pretend to have read your blog if we haven’t” point. Many of you bloggers voiced your annoyance in being pitched by PR agency employees who “are reading two lines of our last post and pretending to have had us on their RSS for years.” PR/social media folks out there also picked up on this as one of the most overlooked tenets of blogger outreach.
Take Away: Blogger outreach is about creating a relationship – so start by being honest about why you are contacting a blogger, and how you came across their blog. “Why get it all started with a lie, when the truth works very well?”

What are ya, stupid?
A handful of people felt that while the Code laid out a great foundation for blogger outreach, it was really just PR 101 touching on the basics that should already be adhered to. We agree. However, there are enough people out there doing outreach badly – and breaking these “obvious” ground rules – that we felt a conversation involving all sides needed to happen around what could be done better.
Take Away: Hold yourself accountable to the basic rules of engagement in PR! We didn’t throw the general ethical principals of communication out the door when we moved online.

The Pitch = The Cornerstone of Our Relationship
“Will someone please turn off the spigot gushing out naïve, formulaic emails in the name of ‘Blogger Outreach’”. In response to our post many of you responded with guidelines about how you would like to be pitched, noting that you are “approached half a dozen time a week by some marketing AGENCY I know nothing of, marketing a CLIENT’S product that will REVOLUTIONIZE my life.” You all offered some great tips on how to approach bloggers and make an email “worth my time” that we have incorporated into the new iteration of the Code.
Take Away: “Form relationships, people!”

Time Blogging is Money – or is it?
One of the big back and forths we had in the comments of the Take 1 post was about the ethics of compensating bloggers for posting. At the root of this debate was the notion that if you are going to consider bloggers influencers and seek what amounts to product placement on their vehicle, being paid for such services is within the realm of possibility. At the end of the day Ogilvy PR does not condone paying a blogger to talk about a product or issue, much as we don’t pay journalists to whom we pitch stories. We use blogger outreach as a tactic to encourage honest and credible opinions from influencers, both of which we feel could be called into question if money changed hands.
Take Away: Check out our newly added Compensation and Product Access section in the Code.

Value The Blogger
Several of you offered opinions on how bloggers should be profiled. Journalists? Not journalists? Influencers? Entertainers? One thing everyone seemed to agree on is that the value of a blogger is something that needs to be kept top of mind when doing outreach. As Toby of Diva Marketing Blog said, the current feeling is that, “while the ‘buzz’ may have value, the blogger does not.”
Take Away: Since blogger outreach is mainstream tactic, bloggers should be treated as mainstream influencers. Treat bloggers the same way you would a business contact in any other realm.

Thanks again for everyone who participated in this conversation. Check out the previous post for an updated version of the Code with additional items that we’ve added based on your feedback.