November 2011

Welcome to our new Polkadot PR website and welcome to our first blog post about….Bloggers. They’re the new publishers and ‘voice of the people’. If we look back at how the media landscape has changed in the last five years it’s phenomenal to see the opportunities it has brought PR professionals to communicate their messages. Twitter, Facebook, Forums and Blogs have become communication channels and suitable vehicles for promoting brands, and in some cases, they’ve competed for space (and often advertising) when up against the well established publishing houses.

A client recently asked us, “who reads blogs and how can you tell if a blog is good or not?” This comes from a client who is regularly contacted by bloggers for free products to review. Naturally one would think that it’s an effective way for the blogger to grow their makeup, shoe, clothing or even homewear collection, but what’s in it for them, and what’s in it for the client?

As a PR Agency, we are responsible for procuring new vehicles to promote our clients. We’re always on the lookout for new TV shows, new magazines, newspaper supplements, and now, blogs. For some, blogging is a hobby, for others it’s their source of income, but how do we as PR decide which blogs are worthy of an invitation to an exclusive event, a goodie bag and the privilege of the client’s time. Here’s a quick checklist on how to vet the cream from the crop.

• The blog needs to be easy to navigate. If we can’t work out how to search for a product, a story, advice or information, it’s unlikely a consumer who is time-poor will be able to do so
• Multiple communication channels. If the blogger has a Facebook page and a Twitter account then it is likely more consumers will funnel back to their blog and essentially the number of ‘eyes on screen’ increase
• Quality of the coverage. Ensure the blog is well-written and updated regularly. A blog is a living vehicle that, like a flowering plant, needs attention and love in order to grow. Ensure the content is snappy, interesting, and will draw the reader back for more. Check how frequently does the blogger interact with their followers and how often are followers leaving comments
• Unique visitors, page impressions and database. Just like magazines have circulation and readership figures, high page impressions, unique visitors and a growing database means people are coming back for more, and a growing blog is easily determined by increases in these three domains
• Advertising. If a blog attracts advertising and brands are using their precious above-the-line marketing spend then you know the blog is likely to tick all the boxes of the above mentioned checks.

And as we’ve suggested in our tips; keep it short and snappy. So that’s it for our first blog. Keep checking in as we update you on exciting campaigns, client and industry news and the day-to-day shenanigans of a PR Agency.

Love,
The Dots