Blogging is a Mass of Niches

So another issue is rocking the Philippine blogosphere with a proposal to put together a National Bloggers Association. Creating an organization is well and good. It is best done when there is a good number of people who have the same interests. In the Philippines alone there are hundreds of trade associations and thousands of interest groups which people join based on their profession, interests or hobbies.

I have my reservations about joining a National Bloggers Association. Let me explain why:

1. Blogging for me is just a hobby. I've been writing since I was a kid so I just essentially use blogging as a platform to express my thoughts and share my ideas and as a journal too.

2. My blog is my own world and I do not want it to be subjected to a standardized code of ethics or metrics. I used to be editor in chief of our college literary paper and it was painful for both the editors and professors to give feedback to the writer. Our publication back then was like a volcano because of the different temperaments of writers and artists.  Writing is a very personal act and subjecting bloggers to a standard/code of ethics is like building multiple number of volcanoes across the country.

3. Section 4 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution provides, "No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances." (highlighting added). The law provides for our freedom of speech and expression already, and the press makes sure that this isn't tampered with.

5. Each person has his own set of beliefs and values. In the past 5 years everyone in the blogosphere thinks they are right even when others think they are wrong, but we end up doing anything we want anyway. Following the 10 Commandments is hard enough, maybe we should just all follow it and the rest will fall into place.

I thought I'd write about this issue after reading the failed attempt in Singapore to put together a bloggers association. The Media Bloggers Association in the US also never moved forward in 2009 despite having been tapped by the Associated Press as a partner. Reading about it made me realize why it never worked.

Blogging is a mass of niches.


In short, to each is his own. And this makes it hard for advertisers and companies who would like to tap bloggers for their digital marketing campaigns. What they should realize is there will never be a one shot deal with bloggers. And it's not about getting bloggers to post your press release, but getting them to write about their experience with your product/service. And, of course, you have to do your research on which bloggers to tap.

As my mentor, Dr. Ned, kept telling me a few years ago, "The future isn't about marketing to the masses. It's going to be about you talking directly to consumers who are interested in your product." So don't expect everyone to read a specific blog, because it has its own niche (hundreds/thousands of readers). Yeah it's hard, but at least you have added content online about your products/services.

So this proposal about a National Bloggers Association... I don't know, I think I'll stick to joining or participating in select projects/activities since any attempt in the past (this the the nth attempt) never really flourished. Besides organizations really work with just a handful of people moving (I've observed that with local professional orgs too), so its actually better sometimes to just have interest groups work with different projects to get more traction.

Well, it's a free country and everybody has a choice :)

What do you think?

Choosing Bloggers for Your Marketing Campaign

There is much talk today about the relationship between PR agencies/advertisers and bloggers and as with any relationship there is a disconnect on understanding each others objectives and expectations. Both have one common goal though and that is TO TELL A STORY.

I've often been asked by both PR agencies and advertisers how to choose bloggers when they have events. I always tell them that the best way is to immerse themselves in the blogosphere so they can handpick based on their requirements. Some choose by doing a search on Google using keywords that relate to their product/service and this actually helps especially if you want to limit your list.

Here are some tips on choosing talented bloggers (if you want to do it on your own or you want to make sure that your agency doesn't resort to choosing the usual ones):

1. Define your objectives on why you want to utilize bloggers for your campaign. Is it to increase traffic on your site? Add more content about your product/service online? Make reviews? Try out your product/service?

2. Do a search on Google using keywords related to your product/service. You can also use Google Blog Search for this.

3. Check out the content of the blogs that you found and relate them to your objectives.

4. Also check whether the blog's content parallels your target market. You can do this by checking the blog's content. The more interesting blogs are those that have original content (text and photos and videos even).

5. And (optional) you may also wish to do a check on a blogger's reputation.

Blog traffic is something that most bloggers won't disclose and in my opinion this should only work if you compare based on the niche and not the totality. After all people read blogs depending on the passions and interests that they pursue online.

Some related content you may be interested in:
Instructions by Jayvee Fernandez
The Nightingale, Bloggers, Press & PR by Juned Sonido

The Value of Blog Marketing

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of being invited to speak about blogging to the International PR Association (Philippines). The attendees were the head honchos of long-time PR agencies and they basically wanted to understand what blogging is all about.

Blogging seems to be the craze in the country lately and more and more companies are taking a dip into it. IMMAP has also come up with an online course on blog marketing and we're just finishing it up a bit and it should be available in the coming month. Janette has also introduced her own course through her book "Blogging from Home".

If I was still a marketing manager I would definitely look into blog marketing, moreso because the products I used to handle were online and mobile services. And I would ask the question, "What value does it have for my brand?"

Some say that the internet is a totally different landscape. It's another world that emerged when it became a commodity. And studies have shown that people go online to search and check email. The key word there is SEARCH.

And now you must ask, "If I do an online search for my brand/product what do I see?"

Now you better check to see what's available online about your brand. To check, go here.

. . . (waiting for you to check)

So now that you've seen what content is showing up on search results about your brand then now you know more or less the value of marketing through blogs. Blogs provide content and do help in getting in the message your want to convey to readers. Content is essentially, I believe, the value of blog marketing and that includes brand awareness, testimonials/trial, the layman explanation of your service and feedback.

Don't forget, search and content go hand in hand.

Some Insights about Blog Marketing

I have been involved in the largest parties and events so far in the Philippine blogosphere and these include the following:

Philippine Blog Awards (Year 1, I was a host), 150+ attendees
iBlog3 and iBlog4 (as a speaker), over 300+ attendees
Taste Asia 1 and 2, over 200+ and over 450+ attendees respectively
88db.com Party for Bloggers, over 100+ attendees
Buhay Coke Party for Bloggers, over 300+ attendees
Ponds Event for Bloggers, over 100+ attendees

I've attended and participated in all these events as a blogger, but there is much insight that could be generated from these activities as a marketer. I've been asked countless of times by ad agencies, PR agencies, brand and product managers etc. to share my thoughts about blog marketing and I realized a lot of things as I was doing the IMMAP courses for search engine marketing and blog marketing.

What is blog marketing for?

If you want to try out new media marketing there are two important things: (1) content and (2) search. Consumers go online and do a search to find more information about a company's products/services. This is inherent in the buying process and with prices skyrocketing then people will surely try to find more information and reviews about a product. That's where blog marketing comes in.

But?

When a company tries its hand in blog marketing it should have a sound strategy for it. They could do it on their own by creating their own blog or they could just probably hold events and invite bloggers. One thing that's sincerely lacking though is the follow-up strategy after holding these events. I have yet to see a company who at the very least compiles write-ups about the events they've held and only a few bother to leave thank you's for those who attended.

So before you spend your budget on a blog marketing spree here are some things that you should think about:

1. Holding huge parties/events for bloggers is great, but is your product something that everyone uses (i.e. Coke) or is it best to just invite a specific niche of bloggers?

2. Bloggers also experience what you call "blogger fatigue". Sometimes its best to reach out to a specific niche since the bloggers will be more interested to make a post.

3. Must be our shy-Pinoy culture but a lot of bloggers are still wary to join contests. If you want to do a contest it's not enough to have an announcement through blogs, you have to follow-up, follow-up and follow-up and target key people who can help in spreading the word.

4. If you're going to hold an event for bloggers, it's important to make them experience your product/service. Holding a mall-type show just doesn't work. And get hosts who know what they are talking about.

5. Have someone in your company who understands how the community works or maybe at least somebody who is willing to learn.

And don't forget to plan on what you're going to do about that database you've gathered after the event. That's another post altogether, well maybe soon.

Happy weekend!

Blogging as a Marketing Tool

More and more companies in the Philippines have been paying attention to bloggers. I'd say there are probably at least 3 events every week where bloggers are invited. It could be in the form of an activity with a handful of bloggers to really huge parties attended by hundreds of bloggers. Bloggers have also been receiving samples through mail and requests for reviews.

It's important for companies to be found online especially when people do searches about their products or services. Content is key here. Aside from a company's website, internet users also seek other types of information, especially reviews and testimonials which they find largely through blogs or review sites.

That's the reason why companies have been reaching out to bloggers and inviting them to their events. It's online word-of-mouth at work.

The past few weeks several big brands have been actively pursuing bloggers and these include the following:

1. Coca-cola recently held a "Buhay Coke ng Bloggers" party at the Taste Asia (Mall of Asia) and have announced a video blog contest.

2. Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf sponsored a workshop on writing, making videos and photography last week and have extended the deadline of their contest.

3. Ponds (Unilever) is holding a party for bloggers on July 4, 2008, Friday at the Taste Asia (beside SM Hypermarket) at the Mall of Asia and will also be launching a contest of their own.

The Universal McCann study did say after all that 65.8% of active internet users in the Philippines read blogs.

Blog Marketing

The Universal McCann study on "Social Media Usage" claims that about 65.8% of active internet users in the Philippines read blogs. That's more than the circulation than any of the major broadsheets and magazines. With that in mind a lot of PR practitioners, marketers and advertising agencies have been taking notice (finally!) of the platform.

I've been asked time and time again by former colleagues, college classmates and friends what blogging is all about. They've been asking me because they found my blog somewhere and thought that using new media for their companies is something that they should look into.

Below are some slides that I put together for a workshop I did about blog marketing.



Feel free to ask questions.