Search Engine Journal

Being a search marketer and avid link builder, yesterday I ran across a blog which was perfect for contributing a quality post to on behalf of client, so I looked around the blog to find their contact information to build a relationship with the blogger.

Building a trusted relationship with a blogger; exchanging emails, discussing the world of blogging, giving a little SEO advice and asking to contribute a post, is a wonderful way to provide the blogger with branded yet original content, while also developing a connection which can last for years.

When looking for the blogger’s contact information, I was surprised to find no contact form or email address, but I did find a way to contact them in a manner much more personal and intimate than sending an email to an inbox which is probably already cluttered. Instead, the blogger listed his Facebook and Twitter accounts as ways to be contacted.

Contact Me :
- Facebook
- LinkedIn
- Twitter

Bloggers using their social profiles, or contacting a blogger via a social profile, is a smart and streamlined way to build a personal connection which could take days to accomplish via email. Here’s why :

1. Sending emails back and forth can really result in a lot of time getting to know someone, Facebook profiles already give you a sense of what the person looks like, their interests, the sites they read and the bands they listen to. It’s easy for you to get to know them and for them to get to know you, in a manner of seconds.
2. When connecting with a blogger or publisher, you can see which friends you have in common, if that writer is connected to others in the search marketing or professional blogging industry, chances are they may be a bit more receptive to your pitch.
3. When you connect with someone via Facebook, you are already their Friend. Being labeled as a Friend really gives a sense of friendship and a personal or emotional connection.
4. Chances are that the blogger has various Friends in social networks which blog or publish material in the same niche vertical as the blogger. You can connect with them yourself or perhaps your new Friend can make an introduction. A warm introduction is better than a cold call or cold email any day of the week.
5. Facebook & Twitter offer instant communication interfaces via direct message and instant messaging which make it easy to discuss blogging, needs and contribution.
6. Given the choice between LinkedIn and Facebook, one can be chosen for more of a business approach and the other can be chosen for more of a friendship approach. I prefer Facebook for a couple of reasons. One, because I feel that you can really get to know the person and for another reason, you can see how active they are within their vertical or friends.
7. For the blogger, especially if it’s a company blog, linking to the Facebook and Twitter profiles (along with other power social profiles) can result in those profiles getting hire ranking in Google, which helps with that person’s or company’s reputation management.

All in all, I’ve found that connecting with publishers via social networking is an excellent way to get to know people and fortify a trusted connection which can result in organic linking from their site to your’s or your client. And as many of you know, in many cases one blogger can own many sites and blogs, or have many blogging friends in their same niche vertical, so the benefits pay off for the long haul.