Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

Every day I get nonsensical pitches asking me to become a brand advocate and write about a brand, watch a demo for a brand, or accept a guest post (about auto glass tinting, tanning beds, accounting software?). I guess it’s predictable … like anything in business, when people find a good thing, everybody piles on.

But what dismays me is that even many great companies are doing this all wrong. Like any consumer, I form relationships with my favorite products almost as if they were my friends. This notion seems to be lost on most people tapping into influence marketing.

So sitting in the seat of a company marketing executive trying to get my attention, here is what I would do. This is a personal post. I am only speaking for myself. But I think these general themes probably also apply to many other “Citizen Influencers” who have a powerful online voice.

Here is your game plan for getting your product mentioned on my blog (and speeches and classes and podcasts)....

Forrester Research predicted that 2015 will be the year that online brand communities make a comeback, and there are many reasons to celebrate the occasion.

Brands have increasingly found that investments in social media communities aren’t paying off. After spending significant time and resources building out Facebook pages, the platform has continually tweaked its Newsfeed algorithm to the detriment of brands, dropping the organic reach of their content to a mere two percent of their fans.

Rather than submit to these closed ecosystems, and the whims of ever-changing platform features, brands can regain control of their online communities by hosting them on-site. Below we’ve highlighted some of the ways these communities can drive real ROI for brands....