Public Relations (PR) is composed of many tactics and strategies. One that gained prominence during the rise of the digital days is bloggers. These influencers should be as much a part of your PR outreach plans as traditional media outlets. Bloggers and social media influencers can help position your brand in front of new customers and skyrocket your business to success. Here are three ways that bloggers help you reach more customers:

1. Establish consumer trust

Consumers follow bloggers because they feel connected to the blogger and enjoy the content they produce. This means they trust the blogger’s suggestions. Research shows 92% of online users trust recommendations from peers and connections over advertisements. If you can leverage the support of a blogger by getting a favorable review for your product or service, you can reach their audience and be perceived as a trustworthy brand, opening your product up to an entire new customer group.

2. SEO benefits

The better your search engine optimization strategy, the higher your company website ranks in search results. Bloggers can improve your SEO ranking through mentions of your company on their platforms and sharing links back to your page. Relevant links and the right keywords can propel your brand forward. When you share content with bloggers in hopes of gaining coverage through their sites, include key messaging with your brand’s SEO keywords.

3. Social media reach

The role of social media in marketing and PR strategies is always evolving as platforms and algorithms change. Facebook’s updates have made it increasingly difficult to organically reach new customers. Simply posting content to your business’s Facebook page will not generate many views, much less any interactions from new audiences. Bloggers can be helpful in increasing your social media reach because they can position your brand in front of more potential customers. Shares and reposts are critical for raising awareness over social media for your company. And, as we mentioned earlier, bloggers have already established trust with their followers, so if they share your content, your brand will be perceived in a favorable light by their readers.

Looking for more suggestions? Check out this piece from us, “Tips for Incorporating Social Media into PR for an Event.”

–          Hannah