Most PR agencies are struggling to understand how best to engage with bloggers and other influential online communities. In the meantime many other agencies are treating bloggers like yet another @name to be added to an e-mail 'blast' list. Bloggers are reacting negatively to what they consider 'spam'. The latest to raise it as an issue is Stowe Boyd.

Check out Todd Defrens blog post on his agency being blocked by a blogger and all the comments. Todd has a great 'Must Read' guide for his team on how to best engage with bloggers. At the heart of the issue between Todd and the blogger was her request not to be contacted by personal e-mail and when Todd's agency did just that. As a result she blocked his agency and added them to a publicised 'blocked list'.

The challenge is time, attention to detail and expected behaviour. When preparing to release a press release the mentality in the client and agency is usually one of numbers. We live in 'Numbersland'. PR agencies and clients understand the culture of this country. PR teams can use an online listing resource to check if there are publications likely to be 'interested' in the press release. In ‘Numbersland’ the objective is to create the biggest list by looking at everyone that could possibly be interested in the news. 'Sweet spot' publications will the core of this list but better also add lots of others just in case and it will impress the client as it will be a big list. The release is not being hand delivered but e-mailed so who cares if some of the outer targets are wrong? What is the worst that will happen? They publications will not open the e-mail. They will not write a negative article about you. In ‘Numbersland’ try showing a list to a client with a handful of publications on. They expect a big list!

Clients understand numbers. We need hundreds of sales leads - not just a few. With mass marketing we need thousands of targets as the response rates of x% will mean from thousands targeted only a few hundred will show interest. We will simply keep contacting the non-responders until they do get the message and respond. It is not that they are not interested but simply that they are not interested enough yet. Keep at it.

Bloggers are different. They do not live in ‘Numbersland’. They want to be treated as individuals. Clients have to be educated too. It is not easy for PR to break long time behaviours but if they do not want to be blocked as ‘spammers’ they will have to.

On the same theme here is a post by Brian Solis on TechCruch about the evolution of the press release into the social media release.