According to a recent in-lab study by Nielsen, commissioned by inPowered, expert content, which includes credible, third-party articles, is the most effective type of information to use when building trust and impacting purchase decisions amongst target consumers. As public relations professionals, we have always been keenly aware of the value of our third-party sources – i.e. journalists. We spend endless hours trying to engage the right editor with the right angle at just the right time to produce one invaluable earned piece.

Today, the landscape has changed considerably. Where once there was a sea of journalists to choose from, we now find ourselves more often than not working with “expert influencers,” which include both a hybrid of former journalists turned bloggers as well as self-grown writers with a passion and a following.

Over a decade ago when I started my PR career, I would be hard pressed to find a single blogger on my “call” list. These days I find myself working more often than not on campaigns that are solely focused on blogger outreach. Through these campaigns, I have learned quite a bit about how to return successful results, build great relationships with these new key influencers, and create a stronger connection between a brand and its target consumer. I’ve outlined below four tips on how you can achieve success with a blogger campaign.

1. Visualize success. What do you want a blogger to say about your brand and what do you want their coverage to look like? As you develop your blogger campaign, you should start with a clear vision of what successful results look like to you and, more important, your client. This is likely not unlike any campaign you might embark on, but the difference here is flexibility. Because bloggers have no editor-in-chief or publisher that needs to approve story lines or content, they have a tremendous amount of flexibility to build your story close to how you imagined. Is there a positive product review with images? Have all your brand messages been correctly included? Is there a call to action where the reader can go to learn more about the brand and perhaps purchase the product?
 
The formula I use is two-posts-per-blogger. First, the kickoff post, announcing the campaign, the product, and what the blogger has been asked to do as a participant of the campaign. Second, the giveaway post. Always give the blogger something he can give to his readers. This is just a win-win for everyone. Bloggers get to engage their readers better and you get to extend the reach of your brand. Sometimes the giveaway is announced in the kickoff post and the winner is announced in the second post. Here’s an example of a great post from a recent campaign we did for NatureRaised Farms and another one from a campaign we did for Run Like A Mother with Good Girl Gone Redneck, a local blogger in Raleigh, N.C. Both show how a successful campaign can play out.

2. Consider paid vs. earned. The decision to partner with a blogger network or go at it alone often depends on two factors: 1) Timing of when coverage is needed and 2) Desired reach. Although you can achieve great results from an earned blogger campaign in which bloggers post because they are generally interested in the brand and its story, there are some advantages to a paid blogger program, when you partner with a blogger network that pays something to the bloggers who participate.

Blogger networks are growing strong, and the fact is that some bloggers who have reached a certain level of readers often work solely with blogger networks so that they can retain a source of income. That said, if you want to be connected with these bloggers you need to partner with the network. A great blogger network I’ve worked with recently is MomCentral Consulting. They do a great job in refining the targets based on exactly the type of consumers you want to reach and getting coverage in the timeframe required. They also work closely with you to clearly communicate your brand messages to the blogger. I find paid blogger programs work best when layered with earned programs. This allows you the ability to bring on your own team to target specific bloggers through an earned campaign and get your reach numbers up through paid.

3. Source smartly. When developing your blogger campaign, be sure you are clear on your brand’s target audience. Is it a national campaign or in-market centric? Are you looking for foodies or mommies? Whatever it is, there is likely a blogger out there to fit your need. Just remember as you get into smaller in-market campaigns the reach numbers may not be very high, and in some cases will be nonexistent. Keep this in mind when you are developing your campaign goals and instead focus on quality of content and those bloggers who tend to produce richer stories that integrate the brand into their own life experiences. This will help to better engage the bloggers’ readers with your brand. When going national, quality content is still important, but you will likely need to focus on those bloggers with higher monthly unique visitors. Tools like Cision and Vocus can help you to find these bloggers.

4. Keep lines of communication open. When building your own blogger campaigns, consider those that do jump on board as brand ambassadors for the long run. It will help you with your target numbers for the next campaign and streamline the process a bit. Once the campaign is kicked off, make an effort to connect with them regularly, thank them for the coverage, and provide any updates on message as needed. After the campaign, thank them again for their involvement and let them know you would love to have them involved in future campaigns.

So as you look to develop your next consumer PR campaign, consider how you might leverage this group of credible influencers to increase your engagement with target consumers and build a bevy of brand ambassadors ready to share your message.