9 SUGGESTIONS TO TRAVEL BRANDS AND DMOs ON HOW TO IMPROVE THEIR BLOGGER OUTREACH ACTIVITY

I just attended my 4th TBEX Europe 2 weeks ago, in Costa Brava. I approached the conference with a slightly different perspective from previous occasions. While running the BudgetTraveller still remains my key focus, as of this month, I have embraced a new challenge, joining TOPOSOPHY, a 360◦ destination marketing agency, as their new blogger outreach specialist for all their future destination marketing campaigns.

To kick off my new role, I have a question for everyone to consider in the blogging and travel industry. While there has been a gradual evolution in the blogging industry towards becoming professional, has blogger outreach evolved and improved over the last few years?

My personal observation after attending TBEX Costa Brava is that while there has been a definite improvement in blogger outreach, there is still huge room for improvement. A fact echoed by my fellow speakers, is that educating the brands and sponsors remains a key priority. 

The rise of blogger collectives and networks like iAmbassador, Captivate, Navigate, Travelator Media and the PTBA has made the lives of those doing travel blogger outreach a lot more easy. 

However as said, there is plenty of room for improvement. On both sides. Bloggers need to up their game too but that is a topic for another post.

TBEX Costa Brava marks my 6th year of blogging professionally in travel. I’ve had the pleasure of working with some fantastic brands and have worked with some outstanding individuals who have mastered the fine art of blogger outreach.

However I’ve also seen the other side of the coin. I’ve seen some pretty shocking examples of blogger outreach.

I’ve summed up my personal thoughts on this topic. I also welcome your personal thoughts and feedback on this.
  
Let’s have a debate!

1. THERE NEEDS TO BE AN EVOLUTION IN BLOGGER OUTREACH FROM A PR PERSPECTIVE

There needs to be an evolution in PR.  I feel that most  PR agencies are currently not setup to deal with the key influencers. 

I’ve worked with a hatful of PR agencies. While there are some agencies who are investing heavily, attending travel blogging conferences and spending time to get to know the bloggers personally, there is still a feeling that the majority of agencies do not know who the real influencers are for their brand and are unaware of how to maximize their potential. Some of it is really simple. Like actually taking the time to read the blogs. Monitor how they are interacting with readers. I know that PR agencies are stretched resource wise but these are the basics of blogger outreach.

There was a controversial observation made by Alastair McKenzie at the recent Traverse travel blogging conference about whether the PR agency model was in danger of becoming extinct.

Alastair’s observation sounds far-fetched and outrageous to some, but there is an element of truth in his comment.

The limited scope and budget that PR agencies have at their disposal mean that the true reach and potential of bloggers is not being realised. This is directly not the fault of the PR agencies. Modern blogger outreach sits somewhere between PR and marketing.

Something needs to change. PR budgets need to expand to improve the quality of blogger outreach. Or does the blogger bypass the PR agencies and speak directly with the marketing directors? 

The days of earned media are coming to an end so we need to rethink the role of PR in this brave new world of native advertising and branded content.

2. DON'T DEPEND ON AN SEO AGENCY TO DO BLOGGER OUTREACH

This leads me onto the second point. While PR agencies still have a handle over blogger outreach in some form or another, I clearly think the majority of SEO agencies do not have a clue about blogger outreach. Download the MOZ toolbar. Research keywords for your client. Identify bloggers who rank high in those keywords. Craft an email that you can send to all bloggers. Just to make life easy for you.

Here is an example sent to me on behalf of a hotel chain in Ireland.

Hi Charles, ( got my name wrong)

My name is John, I work for X Hotels Ireland (xhotels.ie ) a hotel chain in the country. We are promoting tourism in Ireland and found your website budgettraveller.org would be ideal to share bespoke and unique content about things to do when visiting Ireland.

Are you interested in receiving and sharing unique and relevant travel content for budgettraveller.org?

The content provided is written by our in-house professional writer and the featured piece would be tailored to your website and relevant to your readers and their interests. If you prefer you could suggest a topic for our content writer to create and we can get that unique piece of content to you for you to share. If you would like to see examples, you can find several on our blog at xhotel.ie.  If you have any questions, feel free to contact me back and work something out.

What is it with SEO agencies and the word ‘bespoke and unique content’? The moment I see these dreaded words, the email is in my trash. 

Bloggers are the experts at producing fresh, unique content for their readers.

What would be my advice for SEO agencies?

STICK to SEO. Communication is not your forte. 

Also in case you didn’t know, the practice of buying links and manipulating search engine rankings of a brand are clearly over so don’t approach bloggers with sponsored posts. Bloggers beware of sponsored posts. There are better and more sustainable ways of working with a brand, than posting sponsored content on your blog.

Just as there needs to be evolution in PR, there needs to be an evolution on how brands treat SEO. SEO still has a huge role to play in destination marketing. Focus on the quality, not the quantity of links. Build more on organic links. The only way you can do this is by building long-term relationships with bloggers who are truly passionate about your clients’ brand. Look after your brand advocates. For me it has to be a mixture of financial incentives and also giving bloggers the complete creative freedom to engage with your brand. 

3. HIRING BLOGGERS = INCREASED NUMBER OF TOURISTS TO MY DESTINATION?

I often find DMO’s somewhat obscure when starting their blogger outreach: they are inviting bloggers left right and centre with little forethought of how bloggers and content sits in their marketing strategy. Blogs are not direct sales engines. There are examples of bloggers like Planet D’s Outdoor Ontario and iAmbassador’s Melbourne and Royal Brunei Airlines campaign which have had huge success in helping generating sales for a brand. However, there are many key areas where a blogger can start and influence the conversation around a brand. It is also no point inviting a blogger to write a review about a hotel when the brand in question has not optimized their booking pages or their website is not mobile friendly. 

4. PRESS RELEASES DON'T WORK WITH BLOGGERS

Just as much as travel editors don’t respond to press releases, majority of bloggers will rarely respond to or choose to publish press releases.

Besides the problem of duplicate content that may arise from publishing press releases, I just find alarming the number of brands introducing themselves to bloggers via a press release. Most bloggers are on Twitter or LinkedIn. Connect with us there and send us the link to your press release. I am far more likely to respond to a tweet, than an email.  Plus if you do want to send a press release via email, try and add some value to the press release and have a personalised approach.

Remember that personal stories drive the most engagement on blogs. Think how your client’s story can fit into the story of the blogger you are reaching out to. Find a hook of how the blogger can introduce the brand to their audience. 

5. ADDRESS BLOGGERS BY THEIR NAME

It is amazing how many bloggers get sent generic emails. In 30% of all emails I receive, I find the press releases are addressed to me without using my name and even worse they are getting my name wrong. It damages your agencies professional reputation and that of the brand. Even worse is, that as someone who writes about budget travel…. I get a PR agency sending me a press release about the launch of a luxury hotel. It is also surprising how often bloggers get blanket emails from PR professionals about working with a brand that they already have a relationship with. 

6. GIVE YOUR BLOGGER OUTREACH A HUMAN FACE

Bloggers, the really good ones, tend to be very fussy when it comes to working with brands. The bigger the blog, the more they are likely to be focusing on developing a few but solid partnerships with brands relevant to their niche. Remember we work in an information-rich environment filled with millions of choices. On average I’ll get at least 50 pitches a week from brands wanting to work with my blog so your approach, your pitch, has to really stand out. Take the time to research the person’s blog, understand what their interests are and find out their current blogging projects. Comment on their blogs or Instagram account. Follow them on their social channels. Share their content with your audience if it adds value to your customers. Arrange a time to call them, even if they are on the other side of the world. You can chat with them via Skype. I’m always happy to talk to brands. The fact that you are willing to take the time to explain your brand and learn more about the blogger, takes you straight to the top of the queue. Get creative and invite bloggers to a Twitter chat or Google + hangout, or even a Q&A session with your director / marketing manager. 

7. BRANDS NEED A FULLY INTEGRATED APPROACH TO BLOGGER RELATIONS

Some tourism DMO’s are still stuck with the idea that social media, SEO and public relations are separate marketing strategies. Online, social media, SEO are all part of your online strategy. They have to complement your blogger outreach activity. As a result of not having an integrated strategy when working with bloggers, brands are losing out on opportunities to further build their brands and to create brand advocates by combining the power of the three, working together.

8. THE PRESS TRIP MODEL IS DYING

The world of new media needs new rules of engagement. The ‘One size fits all’ approach of PR’s and treating bloggers the same as journalists can backfire badly.

Press trips. In my first year of blogging I was invited mainly on press trips along with other journalists. I remember my days being packed from 8am in the morning till 12 at night. What a tourist would see and experience in a week, we were being shown in a day. So much for travel being all about the experience. 5 years on, I can only vividly remember my trips to Costa Brava, Poitou Charentes and Rotterdam which is a testament to the quality and care of their blogger outreach.

One of the key things when working with bloggers is how they tell the story of the destination through real-time storytelling. So you have to offer bloggers a mobile wifi device with a decent data allowance. You have to allow time for the bloggers to compose tweets, Facebook updates, Instagram or even do a scope ( Periscope). This is laborious and energy consuming work. Forget about updating your social networks, I found there is little or no time to pause for taking a picture on press trips. I remember on one trip spending the most time being shown around hotels. By the end of the day, I was exhausted. Few bloggers I personally know don’t mind the ‘all action’ nature of press trips but I, personally, prefer when the events of the day are well spaced out. Instead of inviting bloggers to press trips, allow them to create their own trip. 

Travel is an emotional sell. Give the bloggers the freedom and the trust to build a relationship with your destination.

9. HAVE A LONG TERM STRATEGY WHEN WORKING WITH BLOGGERS

Brands have to move away from the short term, tactical nature of mass engaging bloggers and instead focus their efforts on identifying and working with key influencers. There is also room in this model for engaging with emerging influencers and bloggers. By building a long term relationship with a blogger you are likely to have a bigger chance of converting them into brand ambassadors which is where the real value of working with bloggers is.

New media needs new rules of engagement. It requires brands and DMO’s to make some tough choices and go off the well beaten track. Experimentation is needed. There are risks but for those brands and DMO’s willing to change their attitude to blogger outreach, the long-term benefits are huge.

I’ll finish with a quote by Jaume Marin, marketing director at Costa Brava Tourism, which for me was the best quote of the conference and sums up an ideal blogger outreach strategy.

‘When working with travel bloggers we aren’t looking for ROI or AVE. We are seeking bloggers with authority and looking for a long term relationship, not numbers.’