Don’t quote me on this statistic, but I think I can assume that roughly 90% of brands or companies out there work with bloggers in some capacity. Whether it’s working closely with them on announcements or campaigns, sending them product, inviting them to headquarter events or creating fun videos to showcase specific initiatives. Just as mainstream media has changed over the past 5-10 years, so has the blogosphere. Just by looking at basic statistics like site traffic and social media following, one can see that more and more consumers are also getting news and information about specific brands from their favorite bloggers.

I’ve been working with bloggers and influencers for the past three years, and for my client’s benefit, I always try to stay on top of how bloggers are working with other brands. Not only does it allow us to see what cool things brands are doing with bloggers, but it helps us make better recommendations to our clients on what will or will not work.

Here are some tips for working with bloggers:

• For some, this is their full time job: You want to make sure you are respecting the blogger’s time as well as delivering results for your clients.
• Keep a look out for top lists: Every year sites like Cision, Mom.me, Babble, etc. post lists of top bloggers per category. For example, usually there is a “Top Mom Bloggers” list, a “Top Beauty Bloggers” list, “Top Fitness and Health Bloggers” – you get the idea! By vetting those lists and sharing them with your client, it shows that you are working with the right bloggers for your industry (if you are already working with those on the list), and that you are aware of the top influencers in your client’s industry.
• Broadcast influencers: In addition to writing for their blog, a lot of bloggers also appear regularly on their local broadcast stations. This is a great way to reach a new audience and mutually benefits both you and the blogger.
• Lead time for pitching: Similar to how magazines have editorial calendars and lead-times, so do bloggers and influencers. If you know ahead of time that your client is announcing something or if you want to work with a blogger on a seasonal topic, it’s better to reach out with enough lead time for them to fit it into their blog schedule. Even for bloggers that you have good relationships with, dropping them a quick “Are you working on anything for Father’s Day” note will give them enough time to plan for a post.
• Treat them with same urgency as reporter: If a blogger reaches out and needs an image or asks a question, I make sure that I either: A. get back to them to let them know I’m looking in to it, or B. answer them as soon as I can. Of course, if it’s not an urgent request, don’t feel like you have to respond at 9:00pm at night, but I also wouldn’t wait one week to get back to them. As I mentioned above, they too are working on an editorial schedule, so just as you would get back to a reporter sooner rather than later, it’s important to do that with bloggers and influencers as well.

Do you have a favorite tip for working with bloggers and influencers? Share it below!

‘Best Use of Celebrity Personality’ for Client Sea Cuisine; Honorable Mention for LoDown with Lojack Video Series

[Newburyport, MA] – May 19, 2015 – Matter Communications, an award-winning PR and social media firm with in-house creative services and search marketing groups, announced today that Ragan’s PR Daily has honored Studio-C by Matter with the Best Video Award for “Best Use of a Celebrity or Personality” for Sea Cuisine’s Taco Bar Campaign and an Honorable Mention for Best Video Series for Lojack’s LoDown with Lojack series. The PR Daily Video Awards recognize videos that maximize production values, craft compelling, dramatic stories, and take full advantage of the powerfully humanizing and personalizing video format.

According to the team at PR Daily “Matter Communications wins PR Daily’s 2014 Video Award for Best Use of a Celebrity or Personality for its creative use of well-known chefs to tap their local markets.” The Matter PR team worked in conjunction with Studio-C and Sea Cuisine on a celebrity video campaign aimed at getting consumers excited about seafood to start preparing it more often at home. The team secured, vetted, trained, and staffed the reputable and celebrity chef partnerships, including Hosea Rosenberg, season five winner of “Top Chef,” and Jamie Malone, Food & Wine’s Best New Chef of 2013. The campaign drove year-over-year growth with a 92 percent increase in consumer traffic to the website, a spike in sales for all key regions, and a 29 percent increase in media impressions.

“Visual storytelling is an important piece of the public relations and content marketing mix,” said Matter Founder and CEO, Scott Signore. “In fact, 70 percent of marketers plan to increase their use of original visual assets in 2015 and 2016, according to recent studies. Matter is well-positioned to capitalize on this uptick with award-winning video capabilities.”

About Matter Communications

Headquartered north of Boston in Newburyport, Massachusetts, with offices in Providence, Rhode Island, Portland, Oregon, Boulder, CO and Boston, Matter Communications executes creative, results-driven public relations and social media programs on behalf of clients across the U.S. and Europe. Matter maintains a broad portfolio of clients in high-technology, consumer-technology and consumer markets – including, among many others, Akamai, FootJoy, Harris Corporation, Lexar Media and Verizon Wireless. Founded in 2003, Matter’s PR services include company and product launches, product reviews, analyst and media relations, social media, crisis communications and thought leadership programs. The company offers an in-house creative services group, as well as a search marketing team. For more information, please go to https://www.matternow.com or visit the PR Whiteboard blog.

Media Contact

Parry Headrick
VP of Marketing and Communications
[email protected]
978-518-4547

Joins Forces with Thriving Tech Campus Galvanize For Boulder Startup Week; Appoints Veteran PR Pro Maria Brown to Lead Office

(Newburyport, MA) – May 6, 2015 – Matter Communications, an award-winning PR and social media firm with in-house creative services and search marketing groups, today launched a dedicated office in Boulder, CO, its fourth U.S. office and the first in the burgeoning Rocky Mountain region.

Leading the Boulder office will be Vice President Maria Brown, who has worked on several CO-based companies and who will relocate from the company’s headquarters in New England to spearhead the initiative.

Boulder is home to an aggressively growing tech and consumer startup scene with the largest number of startups per capita than any other U.S. region, including Boston, San Francisco and New York, according to a study published by the Wall Street Journal. Nearby tech hotbeds in both Fort Collins (second in the U.S. only to Boulder) and Denver (sixth in the nation for startups per capita) provide a rich tapestry of opportunity for the PR firm in the region, from startups to established consumer and B2B companies, according to Matter Founder and CEO Scott Signore.

“Boulder is unlike any other tech hub in the country, and that’s what we love about it and its entrepreneurial people,” Signore said. “In working with Boulder-based clients over the years, we’ve long admired the deep sense of community, and the way the region’s brightest minds challenge one another to evolve and improve together. We’re excited to be a partner in that evolution.”

To that end, Matter’s office launch kicks off with a sponsorship with modern tech campus Galvanize to spread knowledge and foster opportunity during Boulder Startup Week, a free, five-day celebration of the Boulder community that builds momentum around entrepreneurship. During the week, the Firm will participate in the following initiatives:

• Fireside Chat with Scott Signore – Monday, May 11^th at 1pm, eTown(1535 Spruce Street Boulder, CO 80302); Scott will discuss the launch of Matter’s Boulder office and what it takes to grow a company in today’s competitive market.
• Interested in working at Matter’s Boulder office? Please contact Christine Keller at [email protected], or visit our booth during the Job Fair on Tuesday May 12, 2015 2:00pm – 4:00pm Basecamp at Lyfe Kitchen (1600 Pearl St Boulder, CO 80302)

Matter Communications is one of the fastest-growing public relations and social media firms in the country that has won five ‘Agency of the Year’ accolades in the past two years. This news also comes on the heels of Matter’s announcement late last year that it was honored as one of Massachusetts’ best employers in The Boston Globe’s annual Top Places to Work magazine.

About Matter Communications

Headquartered north of Boston in Newburyport, Massachusetts, with offices in Providence, Rhode Island, Portland, Oregon, Boulder, Colorado and Boston, Matter Communications executes creative, results-driven public relations and social media programs on behalf of clients across the U.S. and Europe. Matter maintains a broad portfolio of clients in high-technology, consumer-technology and consumer markets – including, among many others, Akamai, FootJoy, Harris Corporation, Lexar Media and Verizon Wireless. Founded in 2003, Matter’s PR services include company and product launches, product reviews, analyst and media relations, social media, crisis communications and thought leadership programs. The company offers an in-house creative services group, as well as a search marketing team. For more information, please go to https://www.matternow.com or visit the PR Whiteboard blog.

Media Contact

Parry Headrick
VP of Marketing and Communications
[email protected]
978-518-4547