The Wall Street Journal’s coverage of how television studios are conducting blogger outreach was really interesting.
So was Jeff Jarvis’ response:
Bloggers are, truly, just viewers and fans: real people. So who’s going to pass up a chance to hobnob with a star and take home some TV schwag?
Personally, I think CBS did it 95% right. They reached out to people who are influential among their niche, gave them a cool experience and didn’t tell them to lie or offer them anything in exchange for positive coverage. It was a smart initiative and I don’t think they committed any major ethical violations.
If I had been advising them, I would have recommended that they track down bloggers who are already fans of the show. That would eliminate any question of whether the bloggers in question were saying nice things because they were given access because they were already fans long before the offer was made.
Reaching out to bloggers who can influence your niche is smart. Reaching out to bloggers who already like your product and have some reach within your niche is smarter. And reaching out to bloggers who have said negative things about you and trying to improve their experience with your company is the the cleverest move of all.
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