Blogging has gone mainstream, with certain bloggers becoming well-known, highly sought-after personalities. They have earned a right of influence and recognition that rivals some of the journalists from top-tier traditional news outlets. Many of these individuals are referred to as the A-list. Their right of influence and clout has inspired new rules for breaking news. The right approach to breaking news has always been a hot topic for PR professionals. When done right, an appropriate release can result in tremendous impact and serve as the groundswell for future coverage in the blogosphere and in traditional media.

Robert Scoble is one of the most recognized names in the blogosphere. He frequently discusses the subject of blogger relations; embargoes; and news, product, and company launches in tech PR (and the tech landscape in general). PR professionals from myriad industries reach out to Scoble because he is an influencer. Therefore, Scoble has seen his fair share of both great and horrible pitches (and he openly discusses what he likes and dislikes about PR people, and how they approach him). Because of the sheer number of pitches he receives, and his desire to analyze what does and doesn’t work, Scoble is quickly becoming an expert in the inner workings and best practices of PR, especially the more effective approach for breaking news.

The art of influence is changing. Although Scoble comes from a tech and photography background, his opinions influence multiple industries. Scoble takes the time to observe trends in PR and then openly discusses them in the blogosphere. This practice represents an important shift in news distribution. He and many other influential A-list bloggers, across every vertical and mainstream market, actively comment and share their opinions when it comes to PR.

We wish that we could report that these influencers’ comments and information give PR professionals the stellar reputation they deserve. Unfortunately, most of the discussion about PR people, pitching, and their approach is negative. Collectively, the influencers’ opinions border on resentment. (We shared many of these less-than-favorable opinions in earlier chapters of this book.)

It’s a scary proposition that someone as influential as Scoble can go on the record and suggest that companies can survive without a PR firm or representative: “Believe me, we all will hear about your product if it really does rock. There’s no reason to go crazy with a PR firm if you build something that people want.” Scoble’s quote is certainly not one that we want spreading like wildfire through the blogosphere. After all, we believe that our industry has the potential to help companies build effective, long-term and valuable relationships because we understand the nuances, needs, expectations, and predispositions of both parties in order to seamlessly connect them.

As mentioned in Chapter 6, “The Language of New PR,” Gina Trapani, editor of Lifehacker, a popular blog dedicated to sharing productivity-centric “lifehacks,” created a blacklist. She created her list in the spirit of Chris Anderson’s infamous posting that banned PR people. Trapani and Anderson both shared the same sentiment that PR people were nothing more than spammers: “The only way bloggers can stop constant press releases is to simply filter messages based on a company’s domain name.”

Another well-known and respected thought leader in New PR, Micropersuasion blogger Steve Rubel, wonders whether bloggers even need PR assistance. He implied that they’re more than capable of finding the best products on their own. He also had this to say:

Too many influencers are asking questions and making statements that are damaging to the PR industry and the reputations of its practitioners. Another influencer, Marshall Kirkpatrick, who is one of the tech sector’s most thorough and insightful bloggers and thinkers, constantly asks, “Does good tech need PR?” Marshall could have asked, “Does any good product or company need PR?” He might not have come out and said that, but you can relate his comment to any company or product. His thorough discussion concluded that yes, good products still require good PR. Although these examples involve technology and Web industries, the reactions are global and scalable. Is this merely a preview of what’s to come, regardless of the industry? Let’s work toward a different outcome. As PR professionals, we must rethink our approach. It’s time the influencers support, discuss, and reinforce in their conversations the very value that we provide to so many different markets. To do so, however, we must prove our worth and value through actions, not words.

We believe one of the key components to rising above the negative commentary and opinions is to evaluate the business of news distribution to improve the dissemination and connection of poignant and relevant information to the right people. From a “smart” PR perspective, the distribution of news is evolving out of necessity. Savvy practitioners are dictating new processes for distribution that accommodate how influencers want to receive information. However, we believe you must uncover and expose the mechanics of the New Media machine to reach this goal, which will ultimately lead to improving the entire PR industry.

Blogger influence continues to grow exponentially, with many bloggers receiving millions of page views per month. For example, the Huffington Post claims to reach nearly two million unique monthly visitors. Famed entertainment-gossip blogger Perez Hilton has reported 1.3 million readers on a monthly basis.

Other top blogs include the following:

To put that in perspective, the country’s largest newspaper, USAToday, boasts just more than 2.2 million subscribers. The Wall Street Journal reports close to 2.1 million subscribers. The New York Times has almost 1.1 million paid subscribers.

PR people want to know how to best engage bloggers, launch products, and broadcast news. Many communications professionals are in a frenzy over the amount of influence bloggers have today and how blogging has changed what was previously a more constant process of launching products and distributing news. Those who are still questioning whether blogs matter to a company’s strategic communication program run the risk of obsolescence. Ignoring the inevitable will only lead to an aggressive and extensive crisis-response program when company executives finally realize that they’re losing customer attention and loyalty to their more perceptive and proactive competitors.

The race for public attention is underway, with the volume and intensity varying across markets and demographics. Consumers and peers on the left side of the bell curve (innovators and early adopters) are already advanced in their daily routine of finding and sharing information in Web communities. The majority of their activity is occurring online. In mainstream industries, where the brand and sales volume are synonymous with mass movement and the associated tools and practices that stimulate the process, the business of news might seem trivial and inconsequential.

However, a well-focused and exceptionally orchestrated news program that combines traditional and New Media influencers can and will cast a spotlight that illuminates your entire industry. And although New Media has altered who you target and how you bridge information to your contacts, the fundamental principles of Public Relations remain intact. You still need to do your homework: Understand what you represent, why it matters, to whom you’re speaking, and what voices will carry your story to others. We still need to tailor the news and story for the specific people we’re trying to reach, and package it based on their preferences. We still need to build direct and mutually beneficial relationships with media and vocal customers.

The new, more socially aware processes that we develop will inspire action and build communities across the entire bell curve, over time, and will affect every industry. We’re defining and refining new processes and strategies, and bringing them from the edge back to the center. So when bloggers emerged as a necessary ingredient of the mix, we found ourselves rethinking (scrambling, in some cases) how to incorporate bloggers into this process without upsetting traditional relationships and established internal methodologies.

Scoble observed the activity of a few tech-savvy PR practitioners who realized the value of condensing the long cycle of prebriefings into a few days of focused, embargoed blogger relations for their news releases:

Look closely at what Scoble states in his quote. We believe he is only partly correct. A process definitely exists, and we know it’s rooted in respect, admiration, and cultivating relationships (at least, for the more effective communicators). However, even if you’re not in tech PR, the names Scoble provided could be swapped out for any top blogger in his or her respective industry.

We can simplify the process this way:

1. Identify targets.

2. Determine traditional and new voices that influence those groups.

3. Rank those individuals based on their willingness to be part of an embargoed news launch and their news-related authority (A-, B-, or C-list, for example). Less is more here, so focus on a tighter set of those who popularize your A group. Don’t forget to include your A-list of traditional newsmakers, as well.

4. Draft the release and news summary, and organize (or create) supporting artwork, video, and examples.

5. Determine the embargo date and time.

6. Reach out in advance to new and traditional contacts to begin discussions about embargoed news. Request their participation, and gauge their interest. Do not send embargoed materials without consent.

7. Follow up with all supporting materials.

8. Coordinate the release of news at the specific day and time.

9. Issue search engine–optimized (SEO) releases over the wire.

10. Reach out to other relevant contacts to share the news with them, based on their preferences for contact (from the left to the right of the bell curve).

11. Listen, observe, participate (with appropriate reactions), and answer questions across the Social Web.

12. Build a bigger story to take to more prominent business reporters; leverage the Google “juice” that’s now bolstering your story courtesy of the barrage of simultaneous online coverage.

13. Identify midtier bloggers who write about your industry, competitors, and products. Find a way to keep them involved in a more dedicated relationship program driven by news and one-off stories.

By providing bloggers with early access to news and information, we’re effectively making bloggers a new “wire” service. Suddenly your relationships with bloggers enable your news to bubble up to a point where it gains credibility and momentum. Finally, it attracts attention from traditional journalists and analysts who monitor trends. The conversations in the blogosphere feed the media, which helps them to report their stories.

Although we’re making a bold statement that bloggers are the new wire service, that doesn’t mean that traditional wire services don’t have tremendous value. Wire services are important for sharing financial information and meeting disclosure requirements. They also have integrated capabilities with search engines, to enable news releases to reach people directly when they search for related items online.

The beta test is a new and important step that’s been added at the beginning of the news process in the tech world. Tech and Web companies initiate private or public “beta” launches because they want feedback directly from those inclined to “jump in” early and provide honest feedback. We’re seeing the equivalent of “beta” in many industries outside of tech. The ability to package and share news on products, services, events, models, and so on before they’re fully baked or ready for public consumption is highly effective in creating a new stage of news distribution and thus a strategic groundswell. These beta testers will share their experiences with their friends and associates long before the product or service is released to the general public. Traditional media was slow to recognize the importance of this beta phase. However, many journalists now realize that they are competing with bloggers, so they are covering beta releases. In fact, many news reporters at mainstream magazines, newspapers, and broadcast stations are now required to blog (in addition to their usual reporting method), to compete directly against bloggers.

As discussed throughout this book, we believe that it’s vital to listen and read before you create any marketing strategy. Working with bloggers not only adds a new step to the communications process, but it also affects product marketing. It requires the team to factor in time and energy for a private or public focus group to build awareness and garner feedback. However, the time and resources it takes to listen prelaunch is well worth the investment. As we mentioned, other industries besides tech can now release a beta version of a product or information. Doing so adds a public component to the beginning of a modified process. Through this new methodology, you can spark conversations, elicit feedback, and generate significant awareness. Then when you are ready to announce the official availability of a new product or service, you have a captive group of people prepared to react.

Through blogger and media relations, the business of news has advanced to the point of this public component, adding a new layer into the equation. Of course, a thriving news business still exists within traditional media. However, early information, prototypes, previews, dress rehearsals, leaks, and R&D all give bloggers their edge these days. And if executed properly, they escalate the brand and the anticipation for new things among traditional press and, ultimately, customers.

But going to bloggers and top journalists isn’t as easy as you might think. You can’t play favorites and expect to make all your new influencers happy. Favoring one over the other can cost you credibility and relationships. For example, if you reach out to more than ten bloggers, you run an increased risk of someone breaking the news early. Borrowing a page from the traditional PR and journalism playbook, bloggers have embraced embargoes to maintain the privilege of receiving early information.

We can tell you from personal experience that bloggers do occasionally break embargoes. These breaks can prove costly if you don’t have backup plans in place. When one blogger runs with a story, most other bloggers will probably pass on the opportunity to write about your “story” (as in the traditional world of PR). We have also witnessed the wrath that can result if one blogger goes before everyone else.

In case a blogger does break an embargo, you should create a contingency plan so that all your hard work isn’t lost because of one post. It’s important to set up a Google Alert for the product or company so that you can track any mention online as it happens. If someone breaks the embargo, you should receive the alert almost instantaneously. It doesn’t hurt to manually check each blog before the embargo time, as well. Regardless of the level of relationships you maintain with your blogger and media contacts, an immediate round of outbound responses is necessary to preserve your reputation with other bloggers and to make the case for why they should still run the story. Honesty is your only policy here.

In our experience, we’ve learned that, by telling the truth, we’re usually able to salvage a majority of coverage. It all starts with an e-mail or a call to all your embargoed contacts to notify them that someone broke the embargo and that you’re alerting them before they run at their scheduled time. Your contacts will appreciate the honesty. Usually they will ask who ran early. It’s up to you whether you disclose that information, and your decision will usually vary depending on personal circumstances. By offering bloggers and reporters a new angle, a direct interview, or fresh content, such as a video demo, you can help minimize the loss of coverage you were otherwise expecting. Also, it’s important that you immediately start reaching out to your additional top- and second-tier bloggers and reporters to introduce them to your breaking news. This coverage augments and expands your story’s visibility and reach.

Relationships mean everything in these situations. When you have valuable news to share, you want to work with a select group of people who can really help build the community; in many cases, that means adapting to the way these influencers work.

Exclusives still have their role to play, but they’re becoming rarer. Offering a story to just one writer usually limits the ultimate total visibility of that story. The more bloggers are involved, the further your reach (perhaps even a global reach). And as mentioned previously, after one blogger runs with a story, the news value of that story deflates. Most other bloggers will opt out because they don’t want to appear as a “me, too” writer—they want to be part of the elite group that breaks the story simultaneously.

Remember this: Campaigns aren’t viral. People make them viral. If Social Media has taught us anything, it’s that we can empower people to help carry the word to others. However, most executives are much too impatient to sit and wait for an organic campaign to gain traction. These executives will have to learn that when people choose to make a campaign viral, it’s worth the wait. Finding the right influencers takes time. The peer-to-peer influence sells products and services quicker than many other forms of marketing. This is why it’s critical to extend the news push from the A-list to the Magic Middle to help the conversations permeate the Social Web.

We mentioned earlier that you can introduce another step into the process as a way of gaining traction sooner. Even before beta, there’s alpha (or private beta). Private beta is usually an experiment in organic marketing, driven by a sense of scarcity and exclusivity. You can easily create a password-protected community to showcase and share information with your A-list before information is officially released.

Companies have found this to be an excellent way to stimulate conversations and interest. Jason Kinzler, founder of PitchEngine (www.pitchengine.com), launched his site in alpha to test a new product that helps PR professionals create and distribute free Social Media releases. Kinzler found much success when he invited bloggers, PR practitioners, communications professionals, and other media workers to enter the password-protected site. He invited his guests to log in with a special code to access and test the site and the product’s functionality. Kinzler also set up a blog to capture comments and enable people to ask questions. Through the blog comments, many people gave favorable endorsements and praised Kinzler for developing a social networking site that provided solutions for PR people and the media. His alpha site was an excellent way for his influencers to experiment, gain firsthand knowledge, and report back on functionality and site relevance.

New companies and services are often previewed in private through invitations, opt-in reviews, or password-protected links. Bloggers, media, and enthusiasts are all included in this round of testing, and they are empowered to share information with other peers to build excitement. For example, some microblogging services became an “overnight” success after being introduced privately to a select group of influential users (in this case, highly connected geeks and bloggers). These influential users bragged about their access to the site (via invitation codes) and created a hyperactive market for invitation exchanges (with some actually going on eBay and selling them).

Imagine breaking news organically. Wouldn’t it be great if you didn’t have to worry about embargoes, but instead you could use social tools and people through all channels of Social Media to share information before an official launch? Yes, you can. Some companies and communications professionals are doing it now, and are also learning how to streamline the process.

As mentioned throughout this book, Social Media is forcing an evolution in how companies share information with customers and those who act as information intermediaries to the people who depend on them for guidance. “Making news” is truly an art—one that requires talent and creativity, but also practice and experience. You must also understand the landscape in which you compete (your market, your competitors, and so forth). The most successful ways of sharing news will depend on your ability to listen and to build and cultivate relationships with those who can help break news under the “new” rules of the launch.

Many avenues are available for working with bloggers, enthusiasts, and traditional journalists, including opportunities to do things the wrong way. And if you do it wrong once, you will lose the faith and the attention of many important influencers. So you must pay attention, think, and be creative. You must have a plan and build trust to ensure that your story is clear and your intentions are honest.

The new rules of breaking news are intended to open your mind and unlock creativity when introducing new products and services. According to the new rules, one “audience” doesn’t exist for a story or campaign, nor is it still necessary for you to share news only when something is newly available. Whether it’s a derivative of the public or private beta strategies we discussed earlier, you have new opportunities beyond the usual routine of booking press tours, drafting press releases, and blasting news to reporters and bloggers.

Brian recently experienced a couple examples that made him rethink the embargo processes he employs. In two back-to-back instances, stories broke ahead of their intended time. The bloggers who broke the stories early were highly trustworthy, but they decided that they favored the scoop over the relationship. To the other lead bloggers whom Brian had brokered these launches, it appeared as if he had misled them (sending the news to others, even though he had assured them that he was giving them first rights). In both cases, Brian took brief credibility hits and had to do an exhaustive amount of repair work to ensure that these and other relationships weren’t damaged because of the mistake, spite, or questionable activity of other ambitious bloggers. Brian took steps to set the record straight, and he convinced the offending bloggers to add a note or update to their posts. Ultimately, the “mistakes” were corrected, but trust is not as easily regained. Based on these experiences, Brian now practices a less-is-more philosophy. He trusts only the highest referring traffic targets with proven relationships for special private or public news initiatives.

The business of news is not only competitive—it can get downright ugly. Grumblings about foul play abound: manipulating “time stamps,” copying and pasting from other blogs and sites without attribution, not disclosing any personal or professional interests, and running controversial or early stories without checking the facts first. Unfortunately, many PR professionals and the companies they represent end up the losers in what should be a mutually beneficial news process.

However, this isn’t unlike the business of traditional news media, which has always been notorious for scoops. Underground rivalry will always exist among top and up-and-coming writers for authority, links, views, and the ad dollars that contribute to their bottom line. When Deirdre’s firm launched RCN Metro’s fiber-optic network in Philadelphia in 2008, the Philadelphia Business Journal learned that the Philadelphia Inquirer had run a brief story (as a result of an embargoed release), and the Business Journal wanted nothing more to do with the story. That’s the way it goes with most influencers, whether traditional or new.

This is the business of news, and it’s a business that is never clean. However, these enlightenments force us to rethink the process of PR launches and news distribution. Ultimately, our relationships will determine our success or failure in getting news out. Our message to you is simple: Be careful and do your homework. You walk a tightrope between client and company expectations and the relationships you maintain with writers and bloggers.

Your clients want to see coverage, and they want to see it everywhere, as measured by the weight of an old-school clip book. However, relationships are the foundation for all good PR, whether we’re talking about traditional journalists, New Media influencers, or bloggers, and risking or compromising them should never factor into the news equation.

Many bloggers are trying to run legitimate businesses, and the privilege of receiving news early is earned based on the mutual benefits between the blogger or writer and the company. Maximizing coverage is a risky business. Unfortunately, things can quickly go south in many ways:

The reality is that some of you will learn these lessons the hard way. And many times, these lessons come at a steep price, with reputation, trust, and relationships as the currency. The most important thing you can do is keep an open dialogue with your best contacts. Talk with peers and share your experiences. You can learn plenty from others to minimize the mistakes and the steep costs associated with them.

In an attempt to earn the respect and trust of bloggers, many PR professionals are subscribing to a “blogger relations” code of ethics, which we mentioned in Chapter 4, “Traditional vs. New Journalism.” It’s a start in the right direction. Word of Mouth Marketing Association, known as WOMMA (www.womma.org), also lists on its Web site ten principles for ethical contact by marketers:

1. I will always be truthful and will never knowingly relay false information. I will never ask someone else to deceive bloggers for me.

2. I will fully disclose who I am and who I work for (my identity and affiliations) from the very first encounter when communicating with bloggers or commenting on blogs.

3. I will never take action contrary to the boundaries set by bloggers. I will respect all community guidelines regarding posting messages and comments.

4. I will never ask bloggers to lie for me.

5. I will use extreme care when communicating with minors or blogs intended to be read by minors.

6. I will not manipulate advertising or affiliate programs to impact blogger income.

7. I will not use automated systems for posting comments or distributing information.

8. I understand that compensating bloggers may give the appearance of a conflict of interest, and I will therefore fully disclose any and all compensation or incentives.

9. I understand that if I send bloggers products for review, they are not obligated to comment on them. Bloggers can return products at their own discretion.

10. If bloggers write about products I send them, I will proactively ask them to disclose the products’ source.

Perhaps many bloggers need to think about subscribing to a blogger code of ethics. Breaking embargoes, changing time stamps, editing or barring comments, pilfering content, and so on will come back to haunt you in the long term. And the unfortunate effects of these practices will continue to destroy reputations and relationships in the process.

Tim O’Reilly, who coined the term Web 2.0, has an excellent series on drafting a blogger’s code of ethics. Charlene Li, a former Forrester analyst previously mentioned in Chapter 4, got the conversation going almost three years ago with a call for blogging policies.

Breaking news with a few trustworthy bloggers and reporters might be more than enough to effectively align PR with business and communication objectives. After the first stories break, follow up with outreach to other primary influencers, but also find something unique for them to help them recognize a distinct angle for coverage. Some will push back for not being included in the earlier rounds, and it will be up to you to consider including them in the future—but you should do so based only on the discussions and trust.