PR Corner: "PR friendly bloggers? Any advice for me??"

On LinkedIn, New York-based Travel Agent/Cruise and Vacation Specialist Tanya Lindin asks:

I sort of don’t know where to start. I actually blog (not to often these days) however I am trying to grow my business. I am a home based Travel Agent specializing in Cruises. So far all my Clients have been word of mouth or referrals from friends. Its been great and it seems the fact I am a Mom has been the key factor. I have realized that with my own vast personal Travels and my “Mommy” status it seems to be what I should specialize in. So I have decided to capitalize on this and try and target families. I totally understand the challenges hence why my Clients have been so happy with my service. I would appreciate any advice as to where to start with this?

My advice

You should, as a regular feature, blog about “Traveling with Children” column on your blog where you (perhaps 1x a week, 1x a month ??? you determine frequency) share tips, other resources or even your own mom-personal experiences as content. This will really help you further enhance your market positioning of “mommy” and “travel agent” status and additionally provide you the opportunity to create really targeted, relevant content for families who, as you indicate, are your target market. High-value, helpful content (originated or curated) is wonderful for SEO and for cementing yourself as a knowledgeable subject-matter expert in your field.

Good luck, Tanya!

Mayra Ruiz Mcpherson

Brand Journalist and Digital Strategist Mayra Ruiz-McPherson is founder of Ruiz McPherson Communications (RMC), a marketing ingenuity practice based in Herndon, Virginia. Mayra — who also founded and launched the online career community SocialMediaJobsDC.com — often presents various digital and social media-focused topics tailored to business owners and senior-level marketing managers. She also instructs a number of courses, workshops and training sessions as well as provides private, on-site training on social media tools and strategies.

In between professional engagements, Mayra guest blogs and contributes content regularly to a number of publications both in and outside the Washington DC metro area. Mayra is also the editor of The Better Social Business Blog, "Pet Tech" columnist for the Virginia Maryland Dog Magazine, contributes an “e-Trends” column to the Loudoun Business Journal and is founder of the Loudoun Fairfax Local Bloggers Meetup group which mentors and helps local bloggers network, learn and exchange ideas.