Blogs changing the face of PR?
January 14, 2012 Leave a Comment
After the success of Coca Cola’s music for RAIN campaign, in which the brand initially targeted high profile bloggers as opposed to ‘conventional’ journalists to stimulate conversation, it got me thinking; how is the PR industry supposed to treat this influx of increasingly influential voices?
Is there a way to gauge their influence and can they be treated as seriously as journalists, or are they just spouting off random musings in their spare time? If just about anyone can be a blogger, then how do we try and influence this vast volume, or do we just ignore the majority and focus on the minority?
Although it’s tricky to implement a clear distinction between journalists and bloggers, there is an obvious difference: freedom. Journalists, for the most part, have to be impartial and abide by editorial guidelines – unless their title’s initials spell out NOTW – yet bloggers have an unchallenged freedom of expression. This is where their effectiveness comes in for things such as product launches or events, good or bad – you’ll be sure to get their honest opinion. They don’t have to engage in the hidden ‘sentimental’ relationship politics that big name brands and newspapers sometimes may do, which ultimately has an effect on the overall tone of the coverage. If, as research dictates, that up to 75% of news comes from press releases, perhaps news desks would be foolish to overtly slate the companies in which these releases are coming from.
This leads on to the point that as we see an increase in alternative media outlets that have more freedom to voice opinions, then the big name brands should increase the attention they pay them accordingly.
The challenge comes in being able to seek out and cement working relationships with the regular, well-followed bloggers who can really influence opinion. Even if a blogger doesn’t like something a company is doing, at least a two-way conversation can be had and fed back into the company to make for good internal PR. Going a step further, this internal work can be publicised externally to demonstrate how the company is actively listening to feedback and striving to improve.
