Participating in the Conversation
A marketer's guide to promoting your company to content creators.
A marketer's guide to promoting your company to content creators.
Last time, I wrote about podcast sponsorship. Judging by the feedback I received, it’s a hot topic. It was great to hear from so many passionate people who are working to move the platform forward.
Which got me thinking about that very subject: feedback. I frequently receive comments on my columns. For the most part, they’re positive. In some cases, I hear from a person who agrees with my point of view and is glad to see the topic discussed in the media. In others, it’s someone who works for a company related to a topic I’ve recently covered. In that case, the person typically wants me to know about his company, in the case I cover the topic again. The other reason a person might contact me is because he wants to do business with us or one of our clients.
This process can be beneficial to everyone. I learn about companies I may not have heard about otherwise. Sometimes, I’m able to write an informative follow-up about the company. And when I do, that company gets some attention in the category and perhaps a business relationship with one of my clients, someone in my audience, or me.
As these thoughts were going through my head, I realized it might benefit someone wanting to promote his company if there were a guide, of sorts, to contacting authors or to participating in the online conversation our articles and columns can help generate.
So I looked for a guide of my own. I work with a great public relations practitioner, Anya Mailandt, at the Richards/Gravelle PR firm. I asked Mailandt what she might suggest to companies wishing to promote themselves to, or engage in conversations with, authors of magazines, Web sites, and blogs.
Here are some of her suggestions:
The Internet has enabled a unique dialogue between content creators and content consumers, one that typically results in a more informed, genuine conversation. If you create content, be open to feedback and respond to your audience. If you’re a member of that audience, engage in the conversation — for instance, by letting me know how you feel about this topic. I look forward to continuing the conversation.
Pete is off this week. Today’s column ran earlier on ClickZ.