This transcript is from a PodTech.net podcast at:
http://www.podtech.net/home/marketing-voices/1350/how-to-best-reach-bloggers-with-your-corporate-message

Guest: Steve Broback - Parnassus Ventures
Host: Jennifer Jones - Marketing Voices

Male Announcer 1
Most bloggers are very open to being contacted and approached and they like it and some surveys have indicated that that's their preferred method of contact, commenting on the blog is a great way to get in contact with them but a direct email, many bloggers do post their email address. I think if you were to email a blogger while you are referring to a post or series of posts they have done there, they are very open and interested in receiving that input.

Male Announcer 2
This is Podtech.net welcome to Marketing Voices featuring the fresh perspectives of innovative marketing leaders and examining how social media is changing marketing through out the world, here is your host Jennifer Jones.

Jennifer Jones - Marketing Voices
Hi this is Jennifer Jones and welcome to Marketing Voices, today my guest is Steve Broback, who is President of Parnassus Ventures and he is also host of the Blog Business Summit, which is occurring in Seattle on October 25-27, it looks like a great conference and one of the reasons I wanted to have Steve on Marketing Voices is because of the opportunity that it provides all the people that are listening to actually attend the conference in Seattle and really learn a lot about best practices of blogging; specifically corporate blogging. Here on this show, we've really have been talking a lot about how corporate blogging is best done and so Steve is going to be sharing those tips with us today. So welcome Steve to Marketing Voices.

Steve Broback - Parnassus Ventures
Thanks Jennifer it's great to be here.

Jennifer Jones - Marketing Voices
Great well, I'll just sort of start out by asking you specifically sort of the best tips for everyone to think about as it relates to engaging with bloggers, can you give us a sense of what those would be?

Steve Broback - Parnassus Ventures
One is, I think the key thing that businesses really need to start doing is to make sure that they are monitoring the Blogosphere listening to what bloggers are saying about them, about their products, maybe about their competitors and there are a variety of tools and services like Technorati and Google blog search that can help people do that but one key thing is to -- when someone does say something about product that you think is relevant or you think it needs a comment on, to go to that blog and make a comment. It's great to show that you are paying attention, that you are listening, that are you are reading what people are writing and that you are interacting. So, commenting is a great thing to do monitoring comment -- monitoring and commenting are both sort of essential things and then for those companies that are interested in doing outreach to bloggers, many of them make the mistake of treating bloggers as identically to how they treat press and I think you need to take a little more individualized approach and that is a really good sound tip, if you are going to approach a blogger, read what they are writing about and be prepared to talk about those things.

Jennifer Jones - Marketing Voices
So, did you actually correspond with a blogger via email or what's sort of the best way to get to know a blogger from a relationship standpoint? You comment on their blog, you talk to them on their blog and all of that, but what about actually trying to meet with them personally?

Steve Broback - Parnassus Ventures
Well I think more bloggers are very open to being contacted and approached and they like it and some surveys have indicated that that's their preferred method of contact. Commenting on the blog is a great way to get in contact with them, but a direct email, many bloggers do post their email address. I think if you were to email a blogger where you are referring to a post or series of posts they have done, they are very open and interested in receiving that input, where a lot of companies step into this dangerous territory is when they just do sort of blank and undifferentiate email blasts to bloggers and that's generally not very well received.

Jennifer Jones - Marketing Voices
So, you really encourage the people at the conference obviously, but then also you've got a consulting business where you actually work with corporations to obviously talk to these bloggers and ensure they go to have one on one meetings with them and really get to know them.

Steve Broback - Parnassus Ventures
Yeah I think that's key is, those companies that have identified the Blogosphere as a place that they need to be to have a presence. It's far better to have a strong relationship with a couple bloggers in your relevant field than it is to have sort of this undifferentiated relationship with hundreds or more. Again, that's the diversity instead of the old days where you are -- well let's email a thousand members of the press and let them know about our new product, versus cultivating a few key players.

Jennifer Jones - Marketing Voices
So, what about asking the bloggers about listening to a podcast, so lets you are seek technology and you want to ensure that a blogger that you know is interested potentially in this topic would know about this podcast, is this couture to say, "Hey here's a podcast that you should know about and direct them there?

Steve Broback - Parnassus Ventures
Well absolutely yes. I think that's not a problem, what can be a problem is, if it's a podcast that doesn't contain information, that is going to be relevant and important to that blogger if its, for example, a podcast that's promotional in nature, it's a commercial probably isn't going to be very well received, but an example will be lets say, if you have read a post where a blogger has commented on some new technology that they find intriguing, some new compression, audio compression that is and you have on a product that generates audio using that compression method, you might say hey, I just read your post, I have done a podcast that describes how the algorithm works, why we decided to incorporate it in our products, its located here. That would be very, very different than sending, hey we have just did a podcast announcing our new product line; that's a key distinction, as you really -- what bloggers want is, they want something interesting that they can post about and they are not looking for brochures.

Jennifer Jones - Marketing Voices
Right okay. So lets switch to actually creating your own podcasts and videocasts, I know you have done that a lot and I know that's a topic that's actually going to be at the conference as well, that where its going to be discussed. So what are sort of some key tips about videocasts and how you look at video versus just podcasting?

Steve Broback - Parnassus Ventures
Well, I think one of the lessons we have learned from, for example Robert Scoble, who is a member of your team, Robert and I used to work together back in the dark ages, before he went to Microsoft and I think he really learned from his experience there, that again its about the content and its not so much about the production quality. The key thing is, get interesting people on camera, saying interesting new things and get it up there quickly and don't worry about a fancy studio, or lighting, or all of that other stuff, because although its nice, its not the priority, in terms of videocasting. And in fact, I get some stage of indicator, I've got it -- I am doing more data gathering on this front as some studies seem to be indicating that the more formal a video is, the less trusted it is. So, and then one overall theme that I am getting out of what's happening is that informality can really be a plus.

Jennifer Jones - Marketing Voices
You know I have to say my backgrounds in TV news and journalism back in sort of the old days, so to speak and the one thing that I have problems with though to this point, is that it looks like some of the stuff I see on the net, it looks like stuff we did in college, where we were just learning how to use a camera, I mean the camera is jumping all around and it really distracts you from the content because you can't watch and then be distracted because your eyes are popping all around and you start to -- you try to steady the camera with your own eyes and so you get totally off like what they are really talking about. So, we have a lot of this kind of discussion here at PodTech about just that point. So my question is, where do you come out in that, because I think that informality is good, but it really reaches I think, it's stretched a lot on the net today with a lot of the stuff that I see.

Steve Broback - Parnassus Ventures
Yeah, I agree with you, I am to some degree an old school guy and I do find it a little odd. I am not particularly enamored by the whole 'Wayne's World approach' to a lot of the videos that are out there, but I think a lot of people are willing to start to put that aside if the content is great. And I think everyone agrees distracting bad camera moves are best edited out if possible. So, I think there is a sweet spot there in the middle where you are not -- you don't need to rent a studio and get a lighting crew and a make up crew, but on the other hand you don't need to be, having shaky camera angles and shaky camera moves and bad audio either, I think there is a bit of a sweet spot there in the middle.

Jennifer Jones - Marketing Voices
So, where do you come out on the whole corporation -- are many corporations are actually doing this podcasting, videocasting, do you really say, "Hey its like press releases." You start to do it, you get better at it and you should just go, do it.

Steve Broback - Parnassus Ventures
Well, that's a good question, I think on the one hand it's the same with blogging and its really -- its very sort of -- we give out conflicting goals to a lot of companies, both about blogging and podcasting and the way you say look, just do it. But on the other hand, a lot of corporations, especially public ones need to be very careful about what messaging they are sending out. They're held with some not only just internal restrictions, but governmental restrictions, so there is again a sort of a sweet spot. One is, yes get started immediately but do it on a very small scale. For example, both in the case of blogging and podcasting, do it internally first, that's a great way for you to test the waters to create some properties, to get the ball rolling, get some feedback and yet you are not out there in the public eye yet with it, it gives you a chance to fine tune and perfect it. So, yes that -- it sort of -- we are giving two messages, 1) do it now, but be careful and do your homework before you are putting it out there to the public.

Jennifer Jones - Marketing Voices
Yeah, no, I would have to agree with that here at PodTech, that's advice we give as well. Well I have been talking to Steve Broback who is President of Parnassus Ventures and he is host of the Blog Business Summit, which is happening on October 25th through 27th in Seattle and Steve is also a writer. He has published a book called, Publish and Prosper Blogging For Your Business, that's out at this point on the Amazon I assume and where else Steve?

Steve Broback - Parnassus Ventures
Oh! Its at all kinds of book stores, its published by Peachpit Press so they have done a great job of getting it out there into the channel.

Jennifer Jones - Marketing Voices
So, you have definitely -- people should know about it, because it's actually a very, very good book. So, Steve thank you so much for being on Marketing Voices and good luck at your conference in a couple days.

Steve Broback - Parnassus Ventures
Well, thanks, much appreciate getting a chance to talk with you.

Jennifer Jones - Marketing Voices
Great. And this has been Jennifer Jones and so for all my listeners out there, may all the voices that you hear be Marketing Voices.


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