TBU11 – A call to action
28th March 2011Sophy and I spent last weekend at the Travel Bloggers Unite conference held in Manchester, where we spoke on ‘branding doesn’t engage people; people engage people’. We took the audience (which ranged from new to established travel bloggers) through the importance of personal branding and the strategy needed to create and promote a strong blog brand.
The conference was great – very well organised – and I’m sure both the budding and established travel bloggers got a lot out of it.
One of the most interesting sessions for me was an open floor debate, the last of the conference – when we discussed how travel bloggers and PRs can work better together. It appeared that, at least for the bloggers in the audience, the key hindrance to working with PRs was that they didn’t have the relationships to discuss how the process would work. Some thought PRs would get in the way or impose restrictions during their trip which would damage their editorial credibility; some just didn’t know what a PR could contribute to organising a trip.
When we’re working with bloggers, as with journalists, PRs must :
- Demonstrate to our client that it’s worth the investment
- Show that we’re reaching their key audiences (stats are one way to do this)
- Be able to let tell our clients and the partners who support the blogger’s trip that they will be credited (trips enable bloggers to build content that helps them build followers so it’s only polite to credit the source – and link building is part of what we do!)
The other discussions arising from the session (such as paying for bloggers time) can be addressed on a case by case basis. But these discussions have been going on for a few years now so it is perhaps time to stop talking about them and address them instead.
A call to action
What was abundantly clear from the session (and indeed the whole conference) was that travel bloggers and PR want to work together. But as was raised in the discussion, there are still areas of the relationship that need to be ironed out. These issues have been talked though at length, so it’s time to find a resolution.
Going on the PR numbers at #TBU11, there are at least five PR agencies that are committed to getting in right. But I know myself, that there are many more who want to develop this way of working to explore opportunities for our clients.
The relationships between bloggers and PRs needs to be built – and if that starts with those of us at #TBU11 then great, we can work it out for the benefit of the wider travel community. Because if we can do it right, it sets a precedent for how you work with other travel companies, and allows us to demonstrate the tangible benefits of investing in work with bloggers all to our clients.
Flagship is already committed to working with bloggers in that we:
- Ensure adequate wifi provision for trips
- Only put bloggers on dedicated blogging trips
- Don’t add bloggers to press distribution list
- Keep logs of key online influencers (across journos, bloggers and even just tweeters) and what they’re talking about
- Work around your timetables (not just 9-5!)
But in return, we ask that bloggers:
- Flag up if they are unhappy with an experience before directly blogging about it
- Share their click through rates and page views to help us evaluate success for our clients
- Work collaboratively with us – sometimes we have the best inside scoop
There are many more to add, but this is just the start of a framework – perhaps one which can be added to and built up by members of #TBU11 - that we can take out to the wider community.
But if this is going to work, bloggers and PRs need to get face to face and agree some next steps. Get in touch with me, Sophy and all of the other PRs at the conference to let us know more about you and how we can help you. Let’s get together, sit down and figure out what opportunities there are for us to make this work.
Let’s not have the same discussions at the next TBU. Let’s come next time with case studies of great work that has arisen from the #TBU11 relationships that have been made.
Great to hear both from the conference and this post that PR companies see bloggers postively and are keen to work in building a relationship with us. The future of this ‘new media’ is developing quickly and we are all learning from both good and bad experiences. It is appreciated that you recognise there is a willingness to work with you and that you are prepared to be pro-active in developing a positive, coherent and ultimately rewarding relationship for both parties, remaining good lines of communication is definitely the first steps. The conference and posts such as this one will go a long way to establishing those. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and I will be happy to speak to anybody regarding how we can move forward.
@Iain – thanks for the feedback, look forward to working with you in the future
Lewis, you’re asking bloggers to relinquish editorial control to you/your clients by requesting that they flag up any negative issues with you before blogging about them. to me that’s not acceptable, it’s undermining a blogger’s credibility with their readers and it’s missing the whole point of social media. Why not just ask bloggers to rehash your press releases to avoid any possibility of negativity?
@Karen – flagging up issues is not relinquishing control. What I’m saying is that when you work with a PR, it’s not just to set up flights and a hotel. We’re here to provide information and help you have an experience that you can write about. Although blogging is a lot more personal than other forms of travel writing, I think you still have a responsibility to paint an accurate portrait of your experience. If you have an issue, we could explain why or how that issue has occurred. So sure, blog about it, but when a PR has arranged a trip for you I think it’s only fair that you would consult with them to find out what the issue is so you can tell both sides of the story. To me, that would demonstrate more credibility and allows us to build long term relationships between bloggers and clients.
Lewis you are in business to work for the benefit of your clients and that’s your focus.
However to me having a clause in your expectations from bloggers that they can’t blog about negative experiences without first consulting with you, is not in keeping with spirit of social media, as I’m assuming bloggers can immediately publish positive experiences?
@Karen – It does depend on the situation. However, if a company facilitates a trip for a blogger surely it would be good for the relationship between blogger/pr/company if a negative situation does arise, for the blogger to fact check before writing a negative review. Or, at the least, follow up a negative review with an explanation as to what went wrong once all the facts have been established.
Lewis
In my opinion how a brand faces up to and deals with negativity tells me a lot more about them than when everything is going their way. Surely brands who enter the social media arena should be advised/educated by their PR agencies that positivity can’t be guaranteed and is not even necessarily a good thing.
I agree. The negatives on social media are incredibly valuable and should be to feed directly into customer relations and marketing strategy. We often tell companies that whether they monitor them or not, conversations about their brand are taking place on social channels – so best to be involved.
But coming back to your original point, if a brand is working with a blogger to facilitate their trip it is only fair that if something negative happens they have the opportunity to defend themselves. If the brand didn’t facilitate your trip then there are no issues – but relationships need to have dialogue and trust if they are going to be sustained.
I completely see your perspective, as your being paid to manage your clients’ reputations. But I’m thinking of my relationship with my readers and if they think I am into fluffy reviews which focus more on positives, conveniently glossing over negatives, they won’t trust what I write.
I agree, and I think we’re on the same page. The relationship bloggers have with their readers is why we work with them. I’m not asking negatives are glossed over – rather, a company should be given the opportunity to represent themselves if a negative experience is going to affect a blog they have invested in facilitating.
I think a call to action is exactly what is needed. I really enjoyed the presentations and discussions, but now we need to get on with it. I’ll be contacting you shortly.
A question I should’ve asked the panel: What sources are PR companies using to find bloggers (other than Twitter)?
Hi Victoria, there are a number of tools that can be used including Google, Technorati, Social Media Library and general networking.
Hi Lewis, good to chat at TBU (even if the Poken Gods conspired against us on the day!)
This was the best session of the conf for me and clearly some of the debates are bound to rage on! As a’jogger’ I can see it from various angles myself but the clearly the will is there to work together productively, as you say.
I’d certainly welcome an opp to sit down with you and colleagues the next time I’m down in London.
Cheers
Jools
Hi Jools, great to see you over the weekend and look forward to catching up with you when you’re next in town. Feel free to add me on skype – lewis.shields
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What I’ve taken from this exchange between Lewis and Karen is that if a PR is hosting you, you *owe* it to them to consult with them about anything negative before you post it. Doing so will keep you off the “naughty” list. This is exactly the problem with PRs and press trips, IMO. When you invite a writer, you take the risk of receiving negative press. A “free” trip doesn’t mean obligation to “discuss” anything with a PR. What do you do when someone writes negatively and you haven’t hosted them? You take it on the chin and move on, or you respond on their blog, whatever. Don’t encourage double standards. It’s insulting.
Chanize – thank you for your contribution. Yes, when someone visits off their own back and writes about a negative experience on their blog/TripAdvisor/a forum, we (either the PR or customer services depending on the client) contact them to resolve the situation.
When a PR organises a trip (let’s forget the client’s financial investment for a second) they are the key contact for that blogger/journalist. In the same way that a holiday maker would contact their travel agent to straighten out a negative experience on their holiday and try to resolve them before immediately broadcasting how awful it is, it’s only natural that as the trip organisers we would expect the same courtesy.
We don’t expect any writer to create a positive piece (although we hope they will!), we expect them to create a balanced piece.
First of all… a very nice article, which started another very interesting discussion.
Getting directly to the comments… I understand both sites. The PR’s pressure of the client, who pays for a good & positive coverage, but also the view of the bloggers who shares their point of view. It’s a very similar topic how accommodations have to deal with negative comments on review sites.
I think that the clients (companies) have to find a new way of dealing with these things. This is tough, but also very positive, if they do it right & if they take complaints serious!
I personally always try to see both sides of the story, as there are always 2 (or more). This is also always something I’ll try to get in my articles. If I don’t like something, I say so! But also that it’s only my view and that others will think different. If I just stand my point, then there went something really wrong and it’s just as fine. But that haven’t happened often yet… luckily!
What I liked most of your article: “Call for action” I agree! Let’s go for it!
It was a very interesting weekend & I see many ways how bloggers & PR can help each other!
Thanks for your feedback Melvin – I appreciate it!
As a “Jogger” I just wanted to say that it’s obligatory in traditional journalism to check both sides of a story AND to be objective. I like that I can be subjective as a Blogger but still think it’s important to be fair (but still honest). Not because you get something for free just because it’s the way you can inform you readers in the best way. Every story has two sides. Why should you just tell one? And in the end: as a Blogger you’re the only one who clicks the “publish” button. As a Journalist there always will be an editor…
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Hi Lewis,
Nice roundup of the conference and I am glad to see the call to action. I did enjoy your input during the workshop about how to balance between my “jogger” identity and my blog’s brand, since I am trying to keep the two somewhat separate. I would welcome any more advice you’d have on the subject!
As to the discussion at hand and the open floor debate at TBU11, I feel I may be in the minority of bloggers. I really welcome the chance to work with PRs, but I feel they are not as receptive to working with me unless I’m representing myself solely as a travel journalist working on a piece for a major print publication. I can’t even imagine a world where I’d be offered a press trip as a blogger, so I welcome PRs jumping more on board with this, and of course I’d hope that the PRs and the clients they represent would take into account not only the blogger’s pull/celeb status on Twitter, but also the quality of their writing and blog.
I’m not sure why so many bloggers at the conference were so hostile to PRs. Personally, I have found a lot of use out of getting press releases myself, and I welcome being sent releases. It helps me spark ideas on slimmer days, and I frequently log into sites like travel4press.com to find news and releases.
I also see no problem with communicating your problems from a press trip with the PR company beforehand, just so long as you still write an honest and open review. It would be like going to a restaurant, having terrible food, telling the waiter it was “fine” and then going home and bashing the place on your blog. Why not at least give the restaurant a heads up on your bad experience so they can fix it? It’s what I’d do, whether I was a blogger or not.
So, PRs take heart! There are some of us bloggers out here dying to work with you guys!
Megan, you took the words right out of my mouth on so many points. I too was baffled by some of the comments from other bloggers at the conference.
Lewis, please know that not all travel bloggers are of the same mindset, even if some of us are more vocal than others. That we are such an un-homogenous group makes your job harder, but I think you’ve taken a big step in the right direction with this call to action. Don’t worry about pleasing all the bloggers; worry about building meaningful working relationships with those whose goals match up well with those of you and your clients.
I’m enjoying the conversation.
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Great article, Lewis! Sorry I’m just now getting to it. I have a lifelong career in magazine journalism in the US, so it’s very interesting to me to read about how bloggers react to working with PRs. That spirit of independence… Me, I’m so busy that anything I can delegate to my PR team (events, organizing TV appearances, guiding me on certain interviews) is a blessing. Yes, I said it, guiding me on interviews. At my magazine, the brand itself is hugely important to me, and every single interview I do is discussed with my PR team first — and then I do what I feel is right. I feel the same way about blogging. Not only should PRs have the right to discussion before being confronted with a bad blog post, but it’s their area of expertise to help the blogger’s brand as well. If a blogger misunderstands something, or is so angry he/she writes something ridiculous… I mean, a true PR professional would be able to aid in helping the blogger not write something that would alienate contacts in the industry, readers, etc. A true professional, whether it’s a journalist, blogger or .. plumber, would believe in education. I hate to use the tired analogy, but it’s important to act like a sponge. If I had a PR professional willing to talk something out with me before I posted it, I would gladly take it. At the end of the day, it is your post. Just educate yourself first. Then have all of the control your heart desires.
Thank you very much for your feedback Abby
This is a long running discussion and will continue to be so. Of course any site editor needs to retain their editorial integrity. ‘Reviewing’ a destination or service provider requires to be honest or the loyalty of the readership will be lost.
This ultimately will damage credibility of the site and future clients, as if the readers will not trust the opinion of the editor they are unlikely to accept that future posts are entirely honest.
That said it is the responsibility of the writer to ensure all the facts have been obtained and the article produced is accurate. Therefore it is imperative they seek an explanation if something has gone badly wrong.
However the client should be confident that their ‘product’ is of high quality before inviting any blogger to write about their it. They would be crazy to do so if this is not the case, PR companies also have responsibility for ensuring this is the case, after all they are there to promote and also protect the interests of their client.
I am not sure that an actual clause which requires any freelance writer to agree to speaking with the agency is entirely in the spirit of freedom of speech or editorial integrity. I stress again PR agencies and their clients should ensure that there is unlikely to be any serious cause for complaint. I am pretty sure that no travel journalist would sign such a clause and would not be asked to do so.
Expecting an article to be without any negativity because the trip has been provided by the client is not actually in the best interest of the client. There are possibly some, hopefully few that are prepared to hand over the editorial rights of their sites for the price of a free trip, but they will probably lose the loyalty of their readership and this will not benefit anybody in the long term.
Ensuring that the facts are portrayed fairly and accurately is the bottom line here, therefore the editor of a site should not have any problem with discussing any potential difficulties with both the client and their representatives.
Forging a good rapport between editor and PR companies requires both parties to be pro-active. Trust needs to be built and will only happen over a period of time and not because of written clauses. These may actually prove detrimental.
I personally am cautiously optimistic about the future relationships between bloggers, PR companies and their clients.
I hope we can work together in future and welcome further discussion on this topic.
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