In the front row at fashion festivals Graet New around the world, editors, celebrities, designers and buyers are being pushed aside to make way for the latest breed of fashion royalty – the fashion blogger.
These bloggers can now be found front and center alongside the traditional fashion pack (think 13 year old blogging sensation Tavi Gevinson front row at Dior Couture)! With Tavi’s blog Style Rookie reaching millions of followers it is no wonder that bloggers are now part of the elite media class.
The blogging emergence is not restricted to fashion alone though! Bloggers are invading every area imaginable with mummy, travel, food, and tech blogging hubs attracting attention.
So how can you establish relationships with these top bloggers to reach your target audience?
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We’ve come up with the five R’s – research, read, respond, respect and repurpose to help you on your way…
RESEARCH: Like all good PR’s you need to do some homework first because chances are, your target bloggers are active on Twitter and Facebook. Find and follow them on Twitter and like their Facebook Fan pages if they have them. As well as giving you more insight into their work and personalities, whatever you can do to show social media support will go a long way towards getting their attention and building a relationship. Subscribe to their newsletters to show your interest.
READ: If you are going to start pitching to bloggers you will need to know exactly what they write about and who their audience is – so read their past posts. This will also help you to get a feel for their style. Do they do food reviews? Or do they snap images of street style? There is no use establishing a relationship with a mummy blogger, if your product is a two door convertible.
RESPOND: Comment regularly on their blog. A blogger is much more likely to let you guest post or review your products if you are already active. That means commenting often. But keep in mind, commenting doesn’t mean “great post!” Instead, make sure they have substance by referring to something specifically in their post so they know you’ve read it.
RESPECT: Nothing is a bigger turn off to most bloggers than receiving an auto generated email (or one that lacks any personal touches). Blogging is a personal medium so tailor your first point of contact to the blogger you’re writing to. Use their name, mention their blog, show that you’re not sending out an email to thousands of people but are talking to them. Make sure their name is spelt correctly. Also remember that it’s a two way street. Don’t send pitch after pitch. Let them know what you can do for them – maybe a guest blog on your company’s blog or a giveaway for their readers. After all you can’t expect them to give you maximum exposure with minimal gain.
REPURPOSE: Share their content! If you run your own blog then periodically create your own posts that refer to theirs. You can include a link back to their post as the blogger can see that you’re sharing their content, or share their posts on Twitter and Facebook. By doing this on a semi-regular basis, the blogger will notice and feel more inclined to return the favor.
