Marketing | The Hartsock Agency

PR, Mommy Bloggers

On July 21, 2009, in Featured, by Nettie Hartsock

I wanted to post this wonderful thread of comments on the whole topic of PR and Mommy bloggers that relates to the original post I did here.

The post that I was responding to is here and was written by Jessica Smith (who works for Fleshman-Hillard). And then Jessica commented on my post and the comments that follow are the back and forth. I also urge you to go and read the comments that Boston Mamas wrote on Jessica’s original post – they are valuable. So is the Mom101 comment.

As evidenced by the posts/comments there is a very diverse view of PR, bloggers and social media marketing.

Jessica Smith 07.18.09 at 10:58 am

Thanks for engaging in the conversation with me. I am not saying you shouldn’t share who the client is or the general idea behind the campaign.

Case in point: When EA SPORTS approached me and asked if I was interested in working with them for their launch of the Wii virtual fitness game EA SPORTS Active, I said yes, thinking that I was going to get an advance copy of the game to review.

It was after this initial engagement and commitment that I then found out I would be attending a blogger trip with the other challengers involved in Santa Barbara with Alison Sweeney and Bob Greene.

My point is…if it had been shared with some bloggers that this major trip was involved from the get-go, do you think some would have just said yes for the trip and the celebrities involved?

Nettie Hartsock 07.18.09 at 6:04 pm

Hi Jessica,
Thanks for your comment. I just have an issue with the post itself and the old way that PR views bloggers. This seems particularly to be the case when it comes to “mommy bloggers.” I count myself as one by the way because I’m a mom and have been on the Web since 1995 and have blogged since 2004. I think too often the “mommy bloggers” term is getting quantified in a disparaging way among PR people. And it seems there is a tone that mommy bloggers are just sheep for brands, when quite the opposite is true. Many of them are blogging because they’ve chosen to stay home after career-mid-career-college-degrees etc. but are highly attuned to what they want in the world and manage to blog about it as well.

There should be complete transparency in engaging any blogger on behalf of any event, or brand collaboration. In your comment it sounds like you are thinking it’s ok to leave out information to bloggers. I don’t think that is respectful of them and don’t think that starts out a good collaboration. And honestly, I think the bigger question is not, “Do you think some would have just said yes for the trip and the celebrities involved?” but rather, “Why it is that PR people seem to think that if you just throw some freebies at bloggers they should be happy to do your bidding however you feel is best.?”

I don’t think this takes into account that bloggers are by all rights driving the brands to their readers, not because the majority of them hope to get to go to some celebrity trip, but rather because they want to feature the best things for their readership. Bloggers will be here long after some of these brands implode and the readership depends on them to be as honest and authentic as possible.

Also, more and more people don’t look to “sponsored bloggers” to find out the real scoop on B2C products, because that blogger might not be as unobjective as another one who is not being sponsored or going on a celeb trip.

Looking at bloggers as simply a “mass of messengers” waiting for PR firms to come and discover them and then help them get more visibility by selling an associated brand or product, I think is a very small-minded way to view them. I also think bloggers if they so choose to help a company get a brand out across the Web should have the ability to get paid, and have the right for anyone engaging them to be upfront and honest about the possibilities.

Again, it should all be done in an honest, forthright manner at the onset.

Boston Mamas 07.19.09 at 2:41 pm

Hi Nettie, I just left a long comment over at the original Jessica Knows post if you’d like to check it out – it links over to a post I wrote following a very troubling thread re: PR and blogger relations and this so called mystery element.

best, Christine

Mom101 07.19.09 at 7:23 pm

“why it is that PR people seem to think that if you just throw some freebies at bloggers they should be happy to do your bidding however you feel is best.”

Lord woman, I want to kiss you right now. I think there’s a challenge right now in that PR isn’t sure how they want to engage with bloggers – are they press? Evangelists? Consultants? The lines are blurred and everyone is confused which is what leads to dashed expectations and probably, “mystery” outreach.

You should edit your post to add your excellent comments.

Nettie Hartsock 07.21.09 at 11:29 am

Hey Mom 101!

That means the world to me. Thank you so much – I’m so glad it was valuable and I love your comments!

Nettie

Tagged with: Marketing • PR • Social Media

Tagged with: Greg Verdino • Marketing • Social Media • Toby Bloomberg

Good Resource for You

On July 12, 2009, in Books, Featured, by Nettie Hartsock

I’ve been at a really interesting conference about book publishing this weekend. The two days were filled with some excellent insight and I’ll be sharing some of the tips out of the conference with you this week, along with links to the folks who put the event on.

While you’re waiting check out Mark Effinger’s company Rich Content and read his company story. We all know I’m a giant fan of folks using PRWeb so there’s an interesting piece on it too at the site.

Check back on Monday!

Tagged with: Books • content • Marketing • publishing

It’s Science – The Psychology of Persuasion by Cialdini

On July 11, 2009, in Featured, by Nettie Hartsock

I’ve posted on this previously but wanted to encourage you to pick up the book by Robert Cialdini, “The Psychology of Persuasion,” - fantastic read!

The book is a phenomenal study in marketing, persuasion and how to evolve as a thought-leader!

See Cialdini’s great vid here. Look for what he says is the first question you can ask, “Who can I help here?” and then apply it to how you write your blog posts and how you engage your readers, customers and potential partners.

Tagged with: Marketing • Robert Cialdini • The Psychology of Persuasion • thought-leadership

What’s the Real Story and is it Good?

On July 7, 2009, in Featured, by Nettie Hartsock

: Image via Wikipedia

One of the things I think all of us struggle with is the challenge of creating a good story. I’ve been pondering quite a bit lately about what it takes to make a good story and how to ensure that any company, author or musician I work with on marketing or PR knows their story and can convey it in the best possible way.

Here are some tips on telling a good story:

1. Find the theme of your story and stick with it. Don’t change your story – be dug in. Be so in love with your story that everyone else wants to hear it and play a part in it too.

2. Build and expand your plot. Raise the stakes for the customer who doesn’t buy your product, or for the journalist who might not yet want to cover your story. (Don’t do this by stalking them.:>) Do it by helping them understand why you’re important to what they want to accomplish. Make them feel as though they can’t live without you.

3. Always be concerned with the listener or reader. If you’re becoming bored of the story what do you think they’re feeling? Be innovative, adventurous, creative and fearless!

4. Tell the truth. Tell the real story. What’s the point in making things up? We’re all so darn connected on the Web – we’re smart enough to ferret out exaggeration or plain old lies.

A real story is timeless and can become legendary. We stitch our lives together with all the threads of story – imagine the wonderful and historical fabric you’ll have at the end if you just keep focused.

Mark Twain:

“I notice that you use plain, simple language, short words and brief sentences. That is the way to write English – it is the modern way and the best way. Stick to it; don’t let fluff and flowers and verbosity creep in. When you catch an adjective, kill it. No, I don’t mean utterly, but kill most of them – then the rest will be valuable. They weaken when they are close together. They give strength when they are wide apart. An adjective habit, or a wordy, diffuse, flowery habit, once fastened upon a person, is as hard to get rid of as any other vice.”

Tagged with: business • Mark Twain • Marketing • Nettie Hartsock • Real Story • Social Media

To Tweet or Not To Tweet – Is that really still a question?

On April 30, 2009, in Featured, Social Media, Twitter, by Nettie Hartsock

If you’re still on the ‘tweeting’ fence about Twitter, you might enjoy this article by Robert Strohmeyer, PCWorld titled, “Twitter Quitters Just Don’t Get It.” The article has some really great points about how Twitter works and why it’s another social media tool that you have to take time to learn and enjoy.(ENJOY! Remember when that word was important in our lives – more important than INSTANT or ROI.)

The interesting thing about having been a technology journalist for Ziff-Davis for ten years is that in reading the PCWorld article, I quickly recognize the eye-grabbing lede that cites “Twitter is hemorrhaging users,” when in reality the Nielsen Online study did not take into account how folks are using tools like TweetDeck to manage their tweets. So the findings are a bit suspect in terms of data as none of the tools outside of logging into the actual Twitter site were counted as part of the stats. Hmm. Not good!

Either way – read Strohmeyer’s article – it’s witty and right on about Twitter and how one can use it for good!

And I have to paraphrase my great friend DirectorTom who I was lucky enough to finally meet in person last week in Connecticut, “It doesn’t matter so much what technology or tool it is or even if it is Twitter in 2 years from now, what matters is that people are focused on communicating with one another in a real and dynamic way. That will never go away.”

So true! I’m in Houston tonight to see my pal David Henderson – “The Media Savvy Leader” give what I know will be a stunning keynote for the IABC annual ball in Houston.

Tagged with: 2.0 • Marketing • PCWorld • Social Media • Twitter

Is it a book, a video, a Vook?

On April 15, 2009, in Featured, Marketing Books, NY Times, by Nettie Hartsock

Check out that ponderous question at the NYTimes article here.

Tagged with: authors • bestselling books • Books • Marketing • web 2.0

Connecting on A Real Level

On March 24, 2009, in Featured, by Nettie Hartsock

I really like Steve Roesler’s post on connecting to folks. It’s a valuable read for anyone interested in persuasion and connecting from an authentic place.