We have already created a Bloggers Aisle at our next fashion show event, and the response from bloggers who want to come along has been overwhelming. Some bloggers have even passed comment that we have clearly read and understood their blogs, and they have been impressed by the style of our approach to them.

In my opinion, SML know all too well the abuses that a contacts system can be put to, and it’s in their interests to help PROs to create real relationships with bloggers and Tweeters, as the success this leads to is the primary purpose of their very well researched system.

Social Media Library gives you the contacts, but that doesn’t mean it encourages to misuse them. Nobody accuses media directories to favour spam practices or scattergun approeaches. Bad PR’s do that.

By focusing on extensive Social Media research, Social Media Library finds itself in a great position to advice clients in how to do effective blogger relations.

Xavier Izaguirre

As i mentioned in my email, we are in complete agreement with you and Lawrence (in his above post) with regards to your concerns regarding social media engagement strategies and outreach etiquette – spamming bloggers or social media users is not only lazy but it quite simply doesn’t work.

Prior to launching Social Media Library/ Affairs my business partner and I, Graham Lee, founded and sold the online PR agency, onlinefire, to the Eulogy! Group. onlinefire looks after the online PR and social media engagement for companies such as Panasonic, Virgin Mobile, Post Office, BBC Radio 5 Live and MTV, so it is an area we know well.

We go to great lengths to advise all of our clients not to spam bloggers, advising them to focus upon engaging rather than talking at people. As a matter of course all Social Media Library directory subscribers receive free best practise guidelines and we also offer subsided training for our clients, to help them better understand how to engage social media effectively on behalf of their clients, or their own brand.

Social Media Library is a system which we’ve created to enable marketers to save time and engage social media more effectively, by taking all the donkey work out of the initial discovery process it means our clients can spend more time coming up with innovative and intriguing ways to engage.

Cheers,

James Fitzgerald
Director and Co-Founder Firebrand Digital (Social Media Library)

I’m about to publish a post on this myself on our site, but, as I’ll mention on Monday, I think a more intelligent approach is for PR companies to spend real time examining the composition of their stakeholder groups and build engagement programmes around these communities.

Intelligent social media strategies like this have already been taken up by companies such as Unilever and Intercontinental Hotels Group and they have seen tangible ROI on their efforts.