I’ve been blogging about white sneakers for quite some time now. As the blog grew in popularity, so too did the inbound emails from leading lifestyle brands. Interestingly enough, they found my niche-based site very influential as it reached a particular group of trendsetters in a very sought after market. What I learned from AllWhiteKicks.com is that the communication process between big organizations and accredited influencers is often broken. From an influencer’s perspective, I found myself at the beck and call of these massive corporations. Simply put, ninety-five percent of the time it’s a one way communication channel.

Balance of power

Anyone who has ever started a blog knows the hardest part is building a loyal following. Bloggers generally build awareness by creating their own content, reporting news, or a mixture of both. For the purpose of this post we are going to focus on bloggers who report on fashion oriented consumer news.

Being a political science major in college, I am going to explain the blogosphere by applying a well-coined theory called, “the balance of power.” A balance of power exists when there is parity or stability between competing forces.  If one were to apply this theory to the blogosphere we would surely witness an uneven scale. What contributes to this unevenness? It’s simple; corporations that produce the content control its distribution. Again, we are talking about consumer oriented blogs here. Let’s explore the world of sneaker blogs. At the end of the day the traffic goes to the blog that produces the best content. The best content heavily depends on who’s posting the freshest news on sneakers. Sure blogs can be successful posting already reported news and adding their commentary, however, in order to become a top-notch blog you need to find a way to gather exclusive information. Thus, bloggers work there tail end off to not only build their following but to also improve their content by establishing relations with organizations and brands (in this case sneaker companies) that produce the content – i.e. they want the exclusive stuff. So where does the power eventually end up? Duh! It ends up with the organizations.

Unarguably the producers of the content are the ones who have the power to make or break a blog’s success. Every once and awhile a blog will break through the barrier and find their way to exclusive content. Maybe, it’s the nature of the beast and the way things are meant to be. It’s what separates the big blogs from the small ones.

Brands who are smart notice

Smart brands value the big blogs no differently than they value the small ones. What the heck am I talking about? Well let’s explore.  AllWhiteKicks.com can’t compare in traffic to some of the larger sneaker blogs because it’s so niche. However, if a brand is looking to tap into the white sneaker market all of a sudden my blog might be more influential than the big ones. It’s niche and has already established a loyal following. More importantly, I would argue that when you give a small blog a piece of exclusive content that blog is more likely to push the content because it helps build their brand equity (aka look what I got!).

I want to be straight-forward with everyone as I am not complaining that my blog does not get exclusive content. I am happy with the relationships I have built over the last two years and have enough content coming my way. I’d like to think I broke through the barrier and established my brand as a go-to for white sneaker news. I basically worked overtime with a team of friends to build the brand’s popularity and make the connections I needed to get the content I wanted. But should it be that hard to do?

What big brands need to realize

Relationships with bloggers are not just about sending exclusive content. It’s about sending the right type of content that will match up with the blog’s audience. I can’t tell you how frustrating it is when a brand sends me information on sneakers that are not white. It’s like I am just another blogger part of a big email list and no one has taken the time to actually look at my site – or even the URL name for that matter. To be honest, I am less likely to open emails from anyone who just mass-messages me. I think any blogger (as do main stream media reporters) would likely feel the same way.

True blogger outreach does not involve creating massive email lists and blasting out information. Real blogger outreach is identifying blogs by influence, creating real interpersonal relationships, and sending information that helps not only the blog but the brand and message you’re trying to spread.

Big companies need to make themselves more accessible to bloggers. The communication process needs to go both ways. The days of sending out content and thinking bloggers will post anything are over. There’s just too much junk out there – bloggers, you know what I mean. Real relationships need to be established between brands and influencers.  It’s all about being human and believing in the fact that people like to do business with good people. It beckons back to the notion revolving around, “help me out, so I can help you out.”

Final thoughts

I want to emphasize again that I am not writing this post out of anger. I am happy with the relationships I have built with the brands I work with. What I think needs much approving is the process in which I had to take to get to where my blog is at today. It’s simple; brands who think relationships can be built behind a desk will hire public relation professionals to do blogger outreach. Brands who really care about getting genuine coverage and establishing long lasting relationships will invest in building influencer/brand relations.

It cant be, “Hey we sent you this content now post it.” It has to be more along the lines of, “How are you today? We wanted to check in to see what content you are looking for or interview you are looking to secure.” Doing the little things right will go a long way. Trust me!

- Jeffrey Cutler