Comments on: PRs on blogs – some rules of engagement

By: Jeremy Head

Jeremy Head — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 12:54:23 +0000

Hilarious. Nice one Discover Lugano! (see previous comment.) Read all my recommendations and then chuck a piece of spam on the bottom of the blog! AWESOMELY DUMB!

By: Jeremy Head

Jeremy Head — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:49:30 +0000

Hi Gemma
Thanks for your comments. Really great to have someone from a PR agency commenting! My background is marketing too and I am all for developing deeper, more genuine relationships with customers (and readers!). At iCrossing where I work we are trying really hard to get our clients to invest some proper money in understanding the networks that surround them on-line. (commissioning us to do proper research and using some of our analytical tools to dig deeper into the inter-relationships between blogs, websites etc.) It's part of the same problem. If you want to get to know someone, that takes time and investment. I'd suggest though that it yields far better results. I think the challenge is to make clients appreciate this too.
Is this PR in the more traditional sense of the term? Possibly not. Maybe in the future there will be a new discipline something along the lines of Social Media Comms Marketer or something?
Interesting stuff.
Jeremy

By: Sandwagon

Sandwagon — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:01:45 +0000

Hi Jeremy

I wanted to say how positive Gemma's comment makes me feel. Having worked in travel, moons ago as a travel sales consultant and later as a Copywriter and later still as a guidebook Managing Editor, I'd concur that the need is always for the quick win. Copy that sells, a converted sale, back cover blurbs that make you head to the checkout. Sure, these rapid transactions hit the right buttons with the finance team in the short term, but long term customer loyalty achieved via the wonders of the web is a fantastic aim.

I admit, there'll always be some consumers who'll want to pick holes in what some companies do. But surely engaging with consumers shouldn't present too many problems for travel related companies with a product that they can be proud of and a PR/blogger/voice who can take the rough with the smooth feedback in an open, honest fashion.

By: Gemma

Gemma — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:40:03 +0000

This is useful direction Jeremy. I'm a PR person for Auto Europe. We've got a blog and we're increasingly aware of how useful they can be as a way of developing relationships with customers. The problem for PR people is that we're always under pressure to get quick results. We need to demonstrate to our clients that we aren't wasting time, and that our work is giving them a visible return on investment. To avoid this kind of PR spamming in the future will take a wider general understanding that building blog relationships takes time, and can't involve direct plugging. The benefits won't be seen quickly, but they'll ultimately be worth waiting for.

By: Jeremy Head

Jeremy Head — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:40:29 +0000

Hi Fiona

Thanks for your comments... That header was just what I wrote funnily enough... not thinking 'SEO' at all! But am increasingly thinking about it these days it has to be said...
Twitter for me is a whole newer ballgame. I'm on there, but have yet to really 'get' it. I've just set Friendfeed up to ping a note to Twitter whenever I post on my blog... Probably awfully bad practice. I have been amazed at how many people are following me on there though. Remarkable.
LastMinute.com were there at the Blogcamp and I know they have experimented with Twitter. Kevin blogged about it on the Travolution Blog and there was some lively debate too. Worth checking it out in detail: http://travolution.blogspot.com/2008/07/do-i-want-to-follow-lastminutecom-on.html
Jeremy