Blogging is no longer just an online pastime, simply for teens and adolescents. It has evolved into a major medium for individuals to express themselves on a variety of topics and opinions. The anonymity of the Internet gives each individual a powerful voice and the ability to speak to a fairly large audience.
Given this power, PR agents would do well to tread lightly around the toes of bloggers. However, there’s no reason why public relations professionals cannot use blogging for their own benefit. There are a variety of ways in which PR managers and representatives can utilize blogging. The following are different ways in which PR agents can take advantage of blogging:
Relationship Management:
Any PR manager worth his or her salt understands that relationship management is a key component of good public relations. When a bad event or unfavorable event gets out of hand, the bad press may get out of hand, spreading all over the Internet. While there are a variety of strategies to handle such a situation, one of the most common strategies is relationship management. Blogging is essential, as bloggers play a major role in the proliferation of news.
Contact bloggers within your business’ industry or niche and ask if they can write an article on your business. However, this can quickly turn into a tricky conversation, as bloggers are extremely wary of placing promotion-based articles on their site. However, a mutual agreement may prove to be more fruitful for both bloggers and businesses. Another useful strategy is to utilize relationship management through search engine optimization. By making your site rank highly for certain keywords, you can play an active role in reducing the chances that bad news appears in results when individuals search your businesses’ name.
Viral Marketing:
Every business hopes that their advertisement for a new product or service will go viral, spreading rapidly throughout the internet. Blogging plays a major role in the propensity of news to go viral, as it spreads from blogger to blogger. With luck, a hoard of bloggers will be talking about your business, drumming up interest and excitement among readers and various individuals. With a mixture of creative marketing and PR, businesses can garner a fair amount of attention for their product through blogging.
Direct PR:
Another way to manage PR is to maintain a blog of your own. By keeping your blog consistent with news and fresh content, you can play an active role in promoting good PR. Not only you be able to control your news, but will be able to speak in front of a potentially large audience. In addition, blogging allows you to keep your site updated with content, maintaining a constant flow of information. However, in the process of writing for a blog, it is vital to make sure that your blog stays away from shameless promotion. Too much self-promotion will turn away visitors, leaving them with a poor impression of your business.
Rachel Hyun Kim writes for Beachhead Marketing, a marketing firm that helps clients get the most out of their marketing automation systems. She has written on a variety of topics, including how B2B companies can create a content syndication strategy.