With more and more companies reaching out to the LGBT community with new offerings, such as wedding-friendly consumer products and travel destinations, many are likely conducting online outreach to bloggers and others in the digital world. The LGBT community may have found its cohesive bonds in bar outings, but the rise of the internet has created online communities for the ever-diverse LGBT family. Corporations and not-for-profits are recognizing this growing trend and meeting their audiences at every click. For example, the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce recently announced the launch of Biz, their online publication covering the LGBT business world. The internet is a resource and a powerful catalyst to foundational LGBT relationships. So how do companies become a part of this digital dialogue?
Online communities are unique in the fact that the majority are not trained, traditional journalists, rather these are people who have an interest or expertise in a topic or set of topics, in this case, gay and lesbian trends, interests, and issues.
How to Reach the LGBT Blogger:
• Do your homework – When reaching out to bloggers, be sure to read recent entries and place a link to similar topics for additional reference materials. This helps provide a third-party reference and establish you as a credible source for content.
• Be Open, Honest, and Transparent – Always tell the blogger who you are and your affiliation. This helps establish an introduction and open doors to a lasting relationship based on trust and honesty.
• Invest the Time to Build the Relationship – Building a relationship with bloggers is critical as it helps establish trust and create relevancy to online readers. Like any relationship, take the time and try to get to know who is on the other side of the computer screen. Read his/her blogs and reply when appropriate by sending an e-mail, leaving a comment, or sending an instant message. Remember to be respectful of his/her time.
Conducting outreach in the digital sphere helps increase your online presence, reach specifically targeted populations, and build lasting relationships for future successes. Remember, online editorial outreach is more than just reaching out to bloggers. It generates word-of-mouth communications and partnership value through outreach to digital publishers and influencers, including Web site editors, bloggers, online community leaders, and traditional journalists who also publish online. This is an area that will continue to grow and evolve, so if you have questions and comments, please feel free to post them below.
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As you might know our Digital Practice just recently presented its “Digital Influence Index” study in German, France and the UK and got fantastic coverage in the media. That’s I was excited to read the headline of the post, as I hoped to find some info that would kinda merge the LGBT and Digital Practice here in Frankfurt. Unfortunately, the recommodations in this entry are not really specifically aimed at the LGBT community but can be applied to the general blogger. Therefore, I was wondering if you could elborate a bit more on differences or similarities between the LGBT bloggers and the non-LGBT bloggers. I would really appreciate to get some feedback on this!
Best,
Guido
To Guido’s comment: I’m sure Ben can answer on behalf of his group at FH. I’ll offer a few of my own observations, though:
For the most part, I do think many of the same recommendations apply for both LGBT bloggers and non-LGBT ones. We’re not all that different, really. If I had to nail down a few differences, however, I’d say:
1. The LGBT community as a whole is more wired than most. (Witeck-Combs had a report on this at some point, but I don’t have the reference at the moment.) This makes LGBT bloggers an even more important channel for reaching the LGBT community as a whole.
2. Even those of us who are not active in the LGBT-rights movement are (with some exceptions, I’m sure), more aware than most of the social policies and practices of companies with which we do business. Companies should make sure they walk the walk first.
3. The LGBT community is as diverse as any other. At a minimum, companies should be aware of the differences among L, G, B, and T. Pitching a lesbian blog about a product with a line like “It’s fabulous, dahhling,” just won’t work; and telling gay men that Melissa Etheridge endorses your product might not make much impact, either.
Finally, going back to general recommendations for a moment: Don’t assume bloggers will write about your product out of the goodness of our hearts, without even the offer of a review copy.
As someone who has one foot in the LGBT-blogger world and one in the parenting-blogger world, I am innundated with pitches for many, many new kiddie products, a surprising number of whom don’t follow this basic guideline. Getting back to #2 above, I’m also always reluctant to pitch about a product when I don’t know the company’s LGBT friendliness. Many of the businesses who pitch to me are very small operations–sometimes just a mom with an idea. Can’t look them up on HRC’s CEI. (And whether the CEI is enough is a topic for another post.) If businesses had done their homework, as Ben wrote, they’d say something to indicate their allied status.
Dana,
thanks a lot for your feedback! I really have to say that it helped me to get a better idea of what to keep in mind when addressing the LGBT comunity. I guess that is what this blog is for, right?!
If yo should come across the Witeck-Combs report, I would be happy if you could provide me with it!
Dana – Thank you so much for your response! It truly is helpful to hear directly from bloggers what information is needed and best approaches for outreach!
Guido -
In response to your question, Dana is absolutely right! Audience-specific outreach is key. I think the importance, as with any OEO research, is to research the audience you are trying to reach, research the specific online influencer (blogger), and finally, carefully craft a message that is tailored. The differences and similarities in LGBT online influencers, in my experience, is the population itself. As stated by Dana, knowing the difference in the L, G, B, and T is the first step. When reaching out to the LGBT community, our success is utilizing our Out Front members’ expertise and skills in such outreach. We have team members who regularly conduct OEO and have existing relationships with bloggers. Knowing your audience, knowing your blogger or online influencer, and developing that specific message that is directly related and personable is critical to OEO.
Hope this helps! And as always, don’t hesitate to contact us for more information.
Hi,
I’m writing from Calling for Equality, a California initiative to help overturn Proposition 8. This initiative is headquartered and focused on the key battleground county of San Diego but is active statewide. We are working to gain visible opposition to Proposition 8 across all levels of government, news media, and minority communities.
We would like to ask for either a link exchange or even for a blog post about us! A sample blog post is provided on CallingForEquality.com/article.htm for convenience.
The California Supreme Court will rule in the Spring, so we are pushing as hard as we can in the next four months. Posting an article or a link will make a meaningful difference as we gather more support for our efforts!
Harold Canono
Calling For Equality
CallingForEquality.com