Make it Easy for Brands to Find You

Are you a blogger with a story to tell? Do you think you might want to hear from brands who align with those stories? Then make it easy for us to find you.

You might think you’re “visible” because you have a Facebook page, Twitter channel and a Pinterest and Instagram account. But is that where you want to do business? Most brands want to reach out (at least in the beginning) in a more business-like fashion.

There are a few simple things that bloggers can do to be more discoverable to brands, to public relations people and to other bloggers.

My good friend and colleague Jennifer Hatton paused from a recent research project to post a “public service announcement,” which you can see below. She was reaching out in a bloggers group to which we both belong. There are more than 300 in the group – representing everything from diaper discussions and tourist destinations to marketing principles, home schooling and photography. We are bonded by the fact that we live in the same city. Some of us in the group are also communications pros who often connect with bloggers on behalf of a cause or brand. Jennifer is one of those “connectors.” And you can see by her post that she’s full of great ideas.

This really got the group talking about best practices. So here is a combined list from Jennifer Hatton, Colleen Pence and Stacy Teet, of the best ways for bloggers to be discovered.

How to Help Brands Find Bloggers

1. Have your actual real name on your blog.
2. Better yet, have an “About” page with your real name and your preferred method of contact.
3. Update your social channels to include links back to your blog or website
4. Claim your Facebook page so your URL looks professional when copied.
5. Provide a strong comment option on your blog; allow readers to leave name and URL as part of the commenting platform.
6. When uploading photos to your media library, make sure to put titles and alt tags on all your photos, so when people share them on Pinterest, they are catalogued and linked to you.
7. If you are researching bloggers in an area you don’t know, ask the bloggers you DO know, as you never know where their networks might reach.

The best tip from the group is worth a whole paragraph. And it came from Stacy.

Find Your Colleen

In San Antonio, we have an awesome resource in a very generous and giving blogger, Colleen McGinley Pence.  She runs the San Antonio Mom Blogs which aggregates blogs from moms all over our region. At last count, she was indexing between 150 and 200 blogs and bloggers. She’s one of those people who thoughtfully and instinctively knows how to connect people online and in real life.

I have mined her site frequently to research and identify bloggers for outreach on behalf of several of my clients. If you’re really trying to discover and be discoverable, find that person in your industry, city or circle who will connect you to where you need to go.

Take a Moment and Make an Update

Take it from the bloggers who participated in our discussion yesterday—being discoverable is important for brands AND for bloggers.

Do you have a tip to help make great relationships with brands and bloggers?