How To Tame A Wild Blogger
May 4th, 2006
According to this AdAge article, here’s how to deal with a blogger who is giving you bad press:
1. “The first step is to contact the blogger and discuss the issue in a non-threatening way. See if you can reach an agreement.”
2. “Second, you might have to accept what you cannot change. It’s the bloggers’ rights to communicate their opinions as long as the information was obtained through legal channels.”
3. “Try to find a third party to broker a discussion between you and the blogger.”
4. “Blog back, but only if you already have a blog.”
Seems like they left out step five: Think about what the blogger is saying, and whether it has any validity. If it does, address it. If not, ignore it. If it’s genuinely libelous, you know what to do.
Takeaway for marketers: Bloggers are not some rare species of wild animal that require special rules in order to be dealt with. They’re people, just like you. So just talk to them … honestly.
May 5th, 2006 at 1:17 am
You forgot about the following:
1) Blitzkrieg the blogger’s keywords. If he’s well-known for “politics,” make sure you use the word “politics” in every sentence of your blog.
2) Blitzkrieg his name. Refer to him in blogs all the time, and call him a putz. Eventually, all the search engines will point to you, and point to his being a putz.
3) Kneecap the bastard. Run a “whois” lookup, find out where he lives, and kneecap him. Then, while standing over him, peeing on him, tell him how things will be now that there’s a new sheriff in town.