Crazy Adventures in Parenting met the criteria for the blogger outreach program for our client, Surf Sweets
Developing a network of bloggers relevant to your company is a critical aspect of marketing in the world of Web 2.0. Selecting the right bloggers is an important first step. When a good blogger reviews your product, it will be thoughtful, well-written and enhance your companies online presence. Select the wrong blogger, and you can be in-store for a bad review that will damage your company’s reputation.
There are a variety of criteria that I use to determine if a blog is a good fit for my client. Here’s a few of the key considerations:
1) Relevance
The most important question to ask is if the blog is relevant to your content. Start by making a list of all the potential audiences that are pertinent to your products. Even the most specific niche has a blog dedicated to the topic. These bloggers can carry a lot of influence and expertise with their audience.
2) Quality of Content
Before you approve a blogger for your network, make sure you actually READ several posts they have written. Don’t rely on the title or the domain name to make your decision. Eliminate bloggers that post questionable, offensive content.
3) Consistency of Posts
Check that the blogger is making posts on a regular basis. The frequency of posts often depends on the subject matter, however breaks of a month or more often indicate that the author is not dedicated to their blog. A blogger that makes consistent posts will generally have a more engaged audience.
4) Design and Functionality
Always review the blog to make sure that it works correctly. A website that is attractive and easy to use will reflect better on your image. I always try and remember that graphic design can be subjective and some of the best blogs are sometimes ugly.
5) Popularity
Receiving a positive, well-written post on a relevant blog is always my top priority, but the real home run comes when the blog is popular. I first check the blogs Google PageRank, which indicates how important the page is to Google. The higher the number, the more the post will help our SEO efforts.
I also pay close attention to the bloggers social media activity. Do they promote their own posts on sites like Twitter and Facebook? If so, are they engaged in conversation with their audience? Bigger doesn’t always mean better when it comes to a bloggers social media presence.
Hopefully you will build an effective list of bloggers that will become evangelists for your brand. After reviewing enough blogs you will certainly improve your eye for which blogs will be most effective. Good luck and let us know what other criteria you think of in the comments below!