Blogs have become an integral part of ePR. Increasingly, they often have greater reach and impact than typical electronic media, which is why it is worth keeping in mind a few simple rules regarding cooperation with bloggers.There are no perfect guidelines on blogs, but remembering a few issues we discuss below will certainly prove helpful in the future for every PR specialist (and not only). Regardless of whether we are focused on substantive, commercial, or barter cooperation, and whether the contact with the blogger is initiated by us or vice versa, it is important to obtain the following information:Blog addressIs the blog hosted on its own domain or on a free platform, e.g., blogspot.com? Although this does not automatically determine the quality of the blog content, in terms of image, publishing on a blog with a unique domain looks better, while typical blog addresses can appear less professional or simply amateur (of lower quality).Blog trafficA key issue is the scale of traffic on a given blog, which should be the primary indicator of the blog’s level and a way to verify the pricing suggested by the blogger. It is worth looking primarily at the ‘unique users,’ since the number of ‘sessions’ and ‘page views’ is not equivalent to the number of the blog’s audience. Additionally, it is worth asking about the site’s ‘bounce rate’ — the lower, the better, as it indicates the percentage of users who leave the blog immediately after entering it (e.g., considering they arrived by accident or its content is irrelevant to what they are looking for).Sources of blog visitsContinuing the statistical topic, an important issue is also the sources of the statistics presented by the blogger. Do they come from search engines, social media, or external sites? In detail, it may turn out that a significant portion of visits to the site is generated artificially.Blog contentA fundamental matter is the theme and content of the blog posts. I would abstract from traffic here, as we can also have a blog that is just starting out but perfectly matches the profile of our services or products. From this angle, it is worth finding out:Are the blog contents unique?
Is the blog content valuable? For example, how much effort does the blogger put into reviewing a product; is it preceded by thorough research, such as analyzing the product’s composition, etc. — such materials have the best potential, even if they are not 100% enthusiastic.Does the blog pose any reputational risks?A superficial blog analysis should be enough to assess whether, for example, it is not used for mass showcasing of products just to get something for free. And what if our product appears in a comparison with something unfortunate? Do we want to appear alongside hundreds of other random items?
This topic can be expanded on for a long time. Ultimately, there is still the issue of influence over the publication by the blogger, especially when reviewing products (non-commercially). A reasonable approach is to professionally prepare your position, i.e., answers to potential questions about the product and dispelling the tester’s doubts in a substantive way, avoiding awkward attempts to influence based on: you receive something from us, so you have to write positively.
Author of the text: Kornel
