Robert Scoble is one of the top blogging gurus so I am posting this blog with a little trepidation.
In an article in the April issue of Fast Companymagazine, Scoble describes how you can get good PR for your self in the blogosphere. Interestingly, the strategy involves identifying influential blogger online and then finding way to meet them in person. When the person-to-person meeting is successful, cross-blogging can dramatically increase the reach of your blog.
I think this is a good strategy and I particularly like the blending of online and offline strategies. Now on to my point of contention.
One of Scoble’s other suggestion is don’t send press releases, rather focus on your relationships with other bloggers. That might be good advice is your marketplace is bloggers. However, if you want to use the richness and reach of the Internet to reach customers, online press releases can be very effective.
Like blogs, online press releases have RSS feeds. In this case, both journalists and customers can set up an RSS feed for keywords. When you use those keywords in an online press release they get notified of your release. From a business standpoint this is very powerful. You reach people who want to know about your topic—directly.
Another reason online press releases are effective stems from the fact that they are pick-up but Google and Yahoo news. If, as a potential customer, I am interested in a particular topic (keyword) but as yet haven’t figure which bloggers are credible and worthwhile, I can set up a Google Alert which will deliver all related documents to me. I get to scan and determine which ones I pursue. Also, I can identify a business I would like to do business with. Once again, online press release can be very effective in reaching customers with a declared interest.
