Bloggers are being considered the emerging new journalists, with a formidable power in organizing the opinion of the populace and the media discourse. As a PR team, this change implies adjusting their outreach practices to reach bloggers in a manner that would use their credibility, reach, and audience trust. The current media environment where bloggers are the main content creators and storytellers requires an understanding of the changing environment to achieve effective PR.
The Changing Media Landscape
Traditional journalism used to enjoy almost a monopoly in the distribution of news and the debate. The bloggers have broken that monopoly today by providing various independent voices that can reach the audience on a personal level. Contrary to the conventional journalists, bloggers are usually free to issue opinions, reveal raw facts, and write about niche issues in an ardent manner. This democratization of content production implies that bloggers can compete with mainstream media in power and in real time, even cracking stories or offering information ignored by media houses. The PR practitioners should thus treat bloggers as serious media partners and not just amateur communicators.
Authenticity and Trust in Blogging
The perceived authenticity of bloggers is one of the greatest strengths that they have. Bloggers are more likely to be trusted by the audience due to their personal narration of the story and openness to it, which creates a feeling of community and relatability. The openness to genuine interaction helps bloggers to gain loyal following and hence their recommendation is very valuable to the brands. By providing bloggers with original content that is relevant, and in a way that resonates with their audiences, PR teams that comprehend this dynamic are able to build meaningful partnerships. These types of partnerships increase brand credibility through influencer credibility, as opposed to refined corporate copy in the traditional press release.
How PR Teams Should Adapt
The PR teams must change the mindset of a gatekeeper to the relationship-building mentality to effectively work with bloggers. This entails research and finding bloggers who share the brand values and audience and then providing win-win relationships, such as guest posts or exclusive information. Timing and individual communication are essential, as bloggers usually have a lot of projects they have to work on, and they are fond of press releases or pitches that do not infringe on their niche and voice. PR also needs to adopt the conversational and less formal writing style that bloggers prefer instead of writing overly formal or scripted material.
Expanding Reach and Impact
The use of bloggers assists PR teams in reaching into niche groups and demographics that cannot be effectively reached by the mainstream media. Bloggers act as amplifiers and disseminate brand messages in small groups and in most cases command lots of engagement through comments and social share. The ease with which they are accessible to followers and their direct interaction with the followers allow them to obtain a more immediate feedback, which is priceless to PR in modifying strategies and reputations management. The inclusion of bloggers in PR campaigns can also result in a snowball effect, which causes the growth of visibility, credibility and subsequent growth of business.
Challenges and Considerations
Irrespective of their advantages, bloggers are not equal to traditional journalists in editorial standards, which may be a problem to PR teams that seek accuracy and reliability. The issue of ethics occurs when influencers cross the boundaries between authentic opinion and sponsored promotion. Transparency and open disclosure practices will be necessary to safeguard the brand reputation. Moreover, the ever-changing environment of blogging requires PR teams to keep up with the trends, platforms, and the notion of influencers to maintain a successful relationship and influence in the long-term.
By treating the bloggers as professional associates and partners in their strategy, PR teams can utilize the potential of these new-aged journalists to develop more authentic, engaging, and far-reaching communication campaigns. This development is not only a challenge but it is a huge opportunity to the success of PR in a digitalized and socially connected world.
