4 Tips for Engaging with Bloggers When Promoting Your Event
Jenni Izzo, Senior Account Supervisor at Linda Costa Communications Group

Technorati’s latest Digital Influence Report showed that “consumers are turning to blogs when looking to make a purchase.” In fact, 31 percent of consumers say the personal blogs they read influence their purchasing decisions – ranking higher than social media outlets. In the blog world, influenced purchases are typically electronics, personal care and clothing – but this statistic also applies to event attendance and ticket sales. For many blog readers, reading a positive review of an event is like hearing it first-hand from a trusted friend. Here are four tips to keep in mind when engaging with bloggers to drive event awareness and attendance.

 1.      Think local. When deciding what bloggers to engage, consider location first. To drive event and festival attendance, you’ll need to think locally. You can use the same geographic parameters as you would with traditional media. Blogs, by nature, often have national readership – so look for bloggers who have a local focus. Some of my favorites include Central Florida Top 5 (Orlando) and My Other City By the Bay (Tampa).

 2.      Research. There are more than 152 million blogs on the Internet. That’s a lot of options! One of the most important steps for meaningful blogger engagement is to identify those who fit your event and brand. If you’re hosting a family festival, focus on family and parenting bloggers. If it’s a fitness-based event, you’ll want to target health bloggers. However, be aware that there’s a lot of cross-over, and the best way to gauge whether a blogger would be interested is to …

 3.      Read multiple posts. Just as you can’t judge a book by its cover, you can’t judge a blog by its header. Read the “About Me” page, as well as the most recent posts. Is there anything that resonates with your event or festival? Look for comments about planning a summer trip, being excited for the fall, looking for something new to do. Would your event fit in amid the current topics?

 4.      Clearly define the offer and expectations. Once you’ve selected the blogger(s) you’d like to work with, clearly define what you’re offering and what you expect in return. Is there an exclusive preview the blogger can attend? If you’re providing complimentary tickets, state how many. If your end goal is a great post about their experience, provide a clear timeline. For example, if the goal is to drive ticket sales, you’ll want to be sure the post happens in the proper timeframe.

Working with bloggers can be an excellent way to increase event awareness and help generate buzz for ticket sales and attendance. When handled correctly, blogger engagement can be the first step in developing a strong relationship with a valuable brand advocate and influencer.

Jenni Izzo is a Senior Account Supervisor at Linda Costa Communications Group, a PR agency based in Central Florida with a national presence. Her specialty is connecting influential bloggers with organizations and brands nationwide.