FreshNetworks Blog

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An essential part of social media management is blogger outreach. Here are our social media management team’s top tips to ensure you reach  your target market effectively:

1. Be relevant

It might sound obvious but make sure that the bloggers you contact are actually relevant for your message. Do your research.  If you’re not sure whether something will fit, it’s probably sensible to err on the side of caution and not bother (most bloggers will probably hate emails that start “I know you never write about X, but I’ve got this product…”).

And where do you find relevant bloggers? Google is the best place to start – advanced search features allow you sort to by date, time and location, helping you find the right people who are talking about the things that matter to you.

Also check out blogrolls from the sites you know are relevant – it’s always good to know what the bloggers you’re reaching out to  are reading.

Another big recommendation from the team here at FreshNetworks is PeopleBrowsr, which can help you find bloggers by filtering via location, influence & communities to zero in on who is worth reaching out to.

2. Get to know your bloggers and build relationships

Follow your bloggers on Twitter – whether from your brand’s or company’s account or your own – and talk to them. If you’ve got something interesting to say, they’ll  listen.

Take every opportunity you can to make connections offline – such as industry events and conferences – or even think about hosting a blogger event of your own.

3. Get your message right

Don’t just send a blogger a press release and hope for the best. Tailor your message and demonstrate that you know why you’re writing to them. Which piece(s) of content on their blog were interesting or prompted you to write to them?

Write to the blogger like they’re a human being but don’t be too over-familiar. Use an open and friendly tone of voice and unless you really think it suits, don’t be too formal . Get to the point!

4. Make it easy for the blogger

You want the blogger to write something for you, so don’t make their life difficult. Attach images that they’d otherwise have to take from your website, give them accurate information, include links and make the information you’re presenting straightforward.

5. To pay or not to pay and other incentives

We’d never pay for  blog coverage and we’d never recommend a client to. Firstly, your chances of being re-blogged by others is diminished if they see that a post talking about your brand is sponsored. Secondly, bloggers’ opinions count. Surely it’s better to get coverage because they think your brand or product is cool or your message is interesting rather than having paid for it?

Of course, products for review are a different matter and a nice freebie or two can definitely keep a good blogger relationship thriving!

6. Say thanks/ show you care

Finally, say thank you. And mean it.  A quick email, a re-tweet, a link posted on Twitter – simple things to show your gratitude, show-off the coverage to your audience and (hopefully) reward the blogger with some lovely traffic back!



Marmite, a friend of Park Bench

In general we don’t usually use our blog for self-promotion, but we’re proud to announce that Park Bench, the Facebook pet community we manage on behalf of  veterinary services provider Vets Now, is the UK’s third most engaging Facebook page.

According to a recent report by social media analytics company Social Bakers, Park Bench has an impressive engagement rate of 0.57% and is also the 9th most active page in the UK too.

We’re so proud that in just 6 months, with a member base of zero and an unknown brand name, we’ve taken on and beaten some of the big household names in terms of engagement on Facebook and we now have a continually growing, active  membership base of over 43,000 fans.

So what’s behind our success? Here are some top tips from our social media management team:

Learn which content works and doesn’t work

Trial and test different types of content to assess what your target audience is most likely to engage with. In the case of Park Bench, the most effective content relates to specific dog breeds as dog owners can directly relate to this themselves.

It’s also important to include a a rich content mix. Don’t just keep uploading text, pics or videos links consecutively; mix it up a bit.

Think about tone of voice

Think about the tone of voice you are using to engage with your audience. For Park Bench, we’ve found that colloquial language works best, and has been a definite driver in helping to increase engagement levels.

Use location targeting

Although Park Bench has a nation-wide appeal, we also create content that focuses on our 10 most popular areas of the country. This helps to encourage discussions around topics that are hyper-relevant.

We used Facebook insights to identify the top 10 areas where most of our fans live.

Know your demographic

For Park Bench, we know our audience is mostly made up of women aged between 35-45 years old. You need to work out the demographic of your audience and when they’re most active online.

Offer a unique proposition

Part of Park Bench’s appeal is that we offer weekly “Ask a Vet” sessions. This is a unique proposition and no other Facebook community offers this service. Park Bench community members can ask professional vets a host of questions relating to the health and well-being of their dog. This helps to encourage return visits as well as increasing engagement throughout the week, not just on the “Ask a Vet” day itself, as members can access this content from the Facebook page if and when needed.

Create community advocacy

Identify people who are the most active and spend time getting to know them and personally engaging with them. Park Bench advocates are a lovely bunch, so for us this is really easy to do and it’s a genuine pleasure communicating with them on a regular basis.