Comments on: Why Blogger Outreach Can Fail

By: andrew wee

andrew wee — Tue, 05 May 2009 06:22:14 +0000

@Josh

Just curious. If you're part of the digital team and you're aiming to start conversations, introduce yourself to the community, etc, I'd think that creating legitimacy by including your first name and last name is a step forward in the right direction, vs posting as a Josh or a Mike on blog or forum posts where your primary keyword pops up.

Authenticity, legitimacy and engagement are efforts that require time and effort, and laying a credible foundation underpins these efforts.

By: Virginia Nussey

Virginia Nussey — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:01:11 +0000

It’s excellent to hear about how PepsiCo is following and participating in the conversation! From what you’ve said, it looks like Pepsi is taking it to the next level and really focusing on the community that cares.

By: Josh

Josh — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 18:52:20 +0000

I’m on the digital team at PepsiCo and we have all been following the various debates/conversations around this program closely; hype v. buzz and influencers v. evangelists. I want to reinforce that we’ve been connecting with evangelists through e-mail, Facebook, Youtube, Myspace and a huge number of programs through our brands. Our goal with this program was to target new audiences and give the company an ‘embassy’ online for users to connect with and engage with us directly. We were not necessarily expecting that everyone we reached out to initially would write about this campaign; we were looking to introduce ourselves to a new audience and lay a foundation for future relationships-which is an important component of social media. That said, all of the feedback we are receiving is valid and we are thrilled to be sparking such conversation. One thing I want to stress (and I know my colleagues from PepsiCo are expressing this across the web) is that we are following the conversation and learning every day. We are just getting started…and we’re thrilled that you are joining us for the ride.