What Is Content Outreach?
Whilst some blogs are written just for personal satisfaction and entertainment, others have garnered keen followers from all over the world, on a huge variety of subjects.
Popular bloggers often find themselves in the heady situation of being able to influence buyers’ decisions. For example – www.carolinehirons.com – a beauty blogger who is so influential now, even editors of top beauty magazines rush out to buy her recommendations!
If you have something to promote, then it’s vital to team up with a partner in order to get your message out to the public. Choose your outreach partner well, and you can piggyback off their credibility and profile, in order to improve yours.
Finding The Right Fit
Both established and new brands often make the mistake of linking up with a partner who isn’t a good fit. This may be through over-eagerness, lack of funds or desperation, but waiting for the right fit is key.
For most smaller companies without huge budgets, this means research and hard graft to seek out the right people with whom to build a mutually-respectful partnership that will benefit you both.
Know Your Own Product
It’s vital first of all to know what you are. The strengths of the company (or what they will be). You must be confident in what you’re offering, otherwise it’s doomed to fail. And then you can identify your target audience.
For example – if you’re a niche food product, perhaps seek out a food blogger who would become a good ally.
But not just any blogger – one who likes the sort of food you’re promoting, or is passionate about sustainability, or home produce – or whatever it is that you do, that they would love. That’s the detailed research, rather than just trying to form a liaison with any old blogger that doesn’t ‘get’ what you do.
Where to find these people
This is where the research kicks in. Read their stuff, look at what they like and dislike. Follow on Twitter and Google, see what they’re up to, what events they’re going to, who they’re commenting on now, what makes them happy and what makes their blood boil. And stop the search when it doesn’t seem to fit… move on to someone or something else. At this stage, the research is about breadth not depth.
Making Contact
When you’ve found the right target, and know all there is to know, it’s time to get in touch. Remember the old adage, ‘people do business with people they like’. At this stage, you’re the one who needs the favour. You’re asking someone to help you out, and put their credibility on the line. Synergy is key…
So there’s social media which is a great ‘soft’ way in. And then how about other ways to get to know your blogger? Networking events are fantastic, as are workshops and meetings. Business clubs are another great way to meet people.
And of course, don’t be afraid of building a genuine friendship during the process. Engage in some chat, build the relationship up. After all – if you do have the same audience, then chances are you’ll share professional interests. Ask them their advice. Show them you respect them. Things will grow organically from there.
If you happen to be a business that makes something, then send the product over and let them try it out. If you’re a company that has ‘experiences’, then invite the blogger (and journalists/PR people) along to enjoy the experience. From a spa day to a day riding 4 x 4s through a forest, it’s all a way to garner some content, from the ‘right’ people.
Success Story
Char-Broil ‘The Outdoor Cook’s Favourite’
Char-Broil are outdoor cooking units. They did it right from the word go in that they partnered with several bloggers through slow research. They initially looked at metrics, but realised this didn’t tell them enough about their potential partners and their personalities, likes/dislikes etc. So they went back to grass roots, read the blogs, got to know the people and made their approaches.
And now, the partners get great products to review (and keep), and in return, they even provide blog posts for the Char-Broil community site. Char-Broil do pay some of the bloggers, but the process of identifying the best fit really is the key take-away message from this example.
It’s a long road, but worth it in the end. But we finish once more by hammering home about how important it is to do the groundwork. Here’s the checklist to help identify if you’re intending to partner with the right person:
Will the blogger’s content be of interest to readers?
Is the blogger a good writer?
Does the blog have good quality and interesting photography?
Is the content well-written and accurate?
How often do the bloggers post? (They must be regular and active)
And if the answers are yes – then go for it!! Good luck.
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