New Media – Blogs are the new Trade Magazines for Vertical Markets
Traditional media is suffering. Even Google recently discontinued their efforts to help newspapers sell ads. Blogs are exploding both horizontally (the number) and vertically (their respective readership). Public Relations companies and strategies had better accommodate this shift and fast.
Blogs, like those in www.AllBusiness.com , tend to pull a particular profile of readership in accordance with their topic area or writer. Blogs, at least some of them, have reached prominence, or at least respectable readership, if not financial success.
Obviously tech and gadget based blogs took off first due to the nature of the internet. For example, www.Engadget.com and www.Gizmodo.com , both gadget blogs have significant traffic and Alexa rankings. Engadget and Gizmodo have 1.3 million and 4.4 million estimated monthly visitors respectively per www.Quantcast.com a web site which analyzes web sites, and have www.Alexa.com ratings of 1,232 and 1,875 respectively. Wow, that’s a lot of Influence, traffic, and loyal readership.
As I have said before, my marketing and sales strategies have always started with “Influencing the Influencers,” and media relations is a core component. We recently embarked on a number of PR projects for a client who sells Consumer Electronic hardware and software through retail, e-tail, catalog and multi-channel retailers. In October we focused on Holiday gift guides for electronics, moms and dads. Yes, you need to consider vertical’s even in PR efforts. Our focus expanded to “mommy” sites, “daddy” sites, and others were appropriate using Alexa as a guide for our solicitations. We’ll be doubling back again for Fathers day for a second bite at the apple.
Through a combination of reviews, and select sponsored “give-aways”, we maintained a consistent stream of product and company coverage in targeted consumer groups. I was even shocked at the number of times our product reviews and give-aways were “re-syndicated” or covered by other blogs, referencing blogs we were working with. The blogs delivered hundreds of thousands of eyeballs we would likely have never had access to through traditional media outlets.
One of the most unique new media venues was www.Elfster.com, a “Secret Santa” for group generated gift exchanges. A gift guide and wish list registry all in one, a product marketers dream!
The loyalty of the readership of these blogs are amazing; the engagement of the readership in this interactive medium is both viral as well as archival. Give-Away and promotional programs were the most widely re-syndicated by the “viral” aspect of the medium, and both the reviews and give-aways are archived in the blogs proving a Search Engine Marketing benefit in Blog searches and in some cases across the standard search engines.
While I truly believe we have great products to pitch, with a compelling story to the targeted media, it’s still a lot of work. There is no guide, I have found, like www.Cision.com which was formerly “Bacon’s Media” and tracks traditional media for blogs and online resources. Research, searching skills, knowledge, diligence and personal interaction are still critical to media programs.
And from my Oscar soapbox: “A quick thank you everyone including but not limited to the following blogs. I apologize for any omissions, send me a note and I’ll get you in a future column.” Thanks to: Engadget, GizmosforGeeks, GadgetsinFocus, TheDirtyShirt, UberParents, GoodiesforMom, MomsMostTraveled, MomCentral, MommyGoggles, SheScribes, LASplash and Elfster.
Follow me on Twitter: mromanies(at)att.net
