Our NEW Blogger Outreach Code of Ethics

We just published our new Blogger Outreach Code of Ethics on the 360° Digital Influence Blog. Why do we need another code? We still like WOMMA's code and our own 7 Tips. But we see an alarming trend - clumsy, thoughtless outreach to bloggers by alleged marketing professionals.

Kaitlyn Wilkins put this together and I include it here in it's entirety. I strongly recommend that you check out the original thread as it is gathering some terrific comments. Two in particular:

Toby from Diva Marketing Blog pointed out that "relationship" matters. She knows Qui on our team who had sent her the 'code' and that influenced her willingness to read and consider.

Geoff from LivingstonBuzz emphasized providing value. That is my mantra. If we cannot offer something of value (and I am not talking about 'gifts') - information, an experience, something particularly relevant to the blogger and their reader/community - then we shouldn't do it.

The Problem

Smack-dab in the the middle (okay, it's more towards the top) of the code is the problem - marketers are using blogger relations as the solution for all of their outreach goals all the time. Come on people - get creative. There is so much more to do in social media than pester some blogger about why your beverage is just so yummy good.

The Solution (at least it's a start)

Ogilvy PR’s Blogger Outreach Code of Ethics

• We reach out to bloggers because we respect your influence and feel that we might have something that is “remarkable” which could be of interest to you and/or your audience.

• We will only propose blogger outreach as a tactic if it complements our overall strategy. We will not recommend it as a panacea for every social media campaign.

• We will always be transparent and clearly disclose who we are and who we work for in our outreach email.

• Before we email you, we will check out your blog’s About, Contact and Advertising page in an effort to see if you have blatantly said you would not like to be contacted by PR/Marketing companies. If so, we’ll leave you alone.

• If you tell us there is a specific way you want to be reached, we’ll adhere to those guidelines.

• We won’t pretend to have read your blog if we haven’t.

• In our email we will convey why we think you, in particular, might be interested in our client’s product, issue, event or message.

• We won’t leave you hanging. If your contact at Ogilvy PR is going out of town or will be unreachable, we will provide you with an alternate point of contact.

• We encourage you to disclose our relationship with you to your readers, and will never ask you to do otherwise.

• You are entitled to blog on information or products we give you in any way you see fit. (Yes, you can even say you hate it.)

• If you don’t want to hear from us again, we will place you on our Do Not Contact list – which we will share with the rest of the Ogilvy PR agency.

• If you are initially interested in the campaign, but don’t respond to one of our emails, we will follow up with you no more than once. If you don’t respond to us at all, we’ll leave you alone.

• Our initial outreach email will always include a link to Ogilvy PR’s Blog Outreach Code of Ethics.

Comments

[Toby]

John - Thanks for the shout out.

As Rodney Dangerfield would say, "I don't get no respect." Although (some) PR folks may think that blogger relations is a down and dirty and free way to create buzz (as we've been discussing it's not that simple) bloggers are often considered 2nd class. While the "buzz" may have value the blogger does not.

Not that bloggers are journalists, but I ask, would a PR professional treat a WSJ or a NYT editor or reporter in the same fashion as many do bloggers? Wouldn't that PR pro first take time to understand the reporter's beat,the publication's focus and begin to build a relationship prior to the first pitch? Combine value, relationships and respect and it's a win for all.

[Geoff Livingston]

Thanks for the link, John. I know yur local, so I've added you to my reader.

You guys are on the right track. Creating a round of ethics for bloggers is smart. And it deserves it's unique code. I'd say treating a blogger like a journalist could get you in trouble - a la Nikon D80. Let's just say most journalists understand the pitch game, especially when they run into a savvy PR pro who actually does their job in advance (research, etc.). Bloggers are a unique animal...