Photo Courtesy of Child’s Play Communications/Click to enlarge
Last month, I participated in the 2010 Toy Fair Social Media Panel: Marketers + Mom Bloggers. I mentioned before that it was different because it was the first time that I spoke on a social media panel that was a mixture of toy company marketers and bloggers on the same panel discussing how we can best work together. I did not know what to expect in advance, but thought that the panel went really well. It was a standing room audience and I received a lot of good feedback after. There were many great points made from both the marketers and the bloggers. You can read some of the main points on these two posts over at Child’s Play Communications. I just want to take the time to share four points in response to the main marketing question: “How do companies persuade moms to talk about their brands in social media?”
1. Have a “worthy” product. Jo-Lynne (dcrmom) one of my blogging friends responded to my question with the following tweet: Have a brand that people WANT to talk about. That is so true. It is not that difficult to have someone talk about a product that you gift them (that’s a later point). However, it is hard to get someone to convey enthusiasm for a product if they would not normally recommend it. If a company has a quality product that is unique and relevant to a blogger’s core audience, it does not matter if the price is $20 to $20,000+. It will be picked up for coverage. For instance, Xbox has been reaching out to me for over a year to cover their product. I respectfully declined each pitch – it’s a great gaming system, but we are a Wii family. However, when they had something that I found to be unique (Project Natal), they did not have to twist my arm. I felt privileged to be able to share it with my readers. Cream rises to the top.
2. Find social media moms who are already talking about your product. Alli Worthington (alliworthington), another blogger whom I truly admire, responded by tweeting: You have to find ppl who LOVE the brand naturally. You can’t push love. 
This was one of the most simple, yet profound statements. I don’t understand why more established companies don’t approach blogger outreach this way. Instead of randomly picking mom bloggers to review/be spokespeople/etc. for their companies, it makes more sense/rings more honest if they approach those who are already loving/talking about their brand anyway first. For the company to then compensate (either in product and/or with monetary compensation depending on the relationship) the blogger makes sense.
Granted, this applies a little differently to new and smaller companies. They can use the same principle by seeing who loves competing brands in the same category and approaching them. It could actually work out quite well for them – if their product is superior to what is already on the market.
3. Be selective regarding which moms you persuade to talk about your brand. Christine Koh (bostonmamas), a lovely, smart blogger tweeted: I think it would also be worth telling them to beware of bloggers who are too easily persuaded, if that makes sense. I immediately understood what she meant – and it is not elitist. Basically blogger-marketer relationships are a two way street. Just like bloggers should be selective regarding what brands they partner with, marketers should have their own guidelines for which bloggers they will work with. If a blogger is willing to blog about anything as long as they get a free sample, then what makes your product “special”? It takes a little bit more work, but it’s worth it to see if the blog is a fit for a company’s brand. Companies should not just consider a blogger’s “stats” when figuring out the best fits for their campaigns though. Remember that today’s small blogger can be tomorrow’s “influencer”. (i.e. One year I wasn’t invited to an “exclusive” blogger group event. The next year, I was on a panel speaking to that very same group. You just never know.) It’s more about how much the blogger cares about her community of readers. Anyone will enter a giveaway if they want the prize, but normally women buy based on the recommendations of people that they know, like and trust. Those are the types of bloggers that companies should focus on aligning themselves with for campaign purposes.
And lastly,
4. Listen first. That was my main piece of advice. If you want to know who is talking about your brand and what they are saying, listen. (At the very least, set up google and yahoo alerts. Also, check summize.com for twitter mentions daily.) If you want to know how to interact with moms in social media, listen to them. We are pretty much saying the same thing regarding what we want and what we don’t want. I know that there are a gazillion and one mom blogs. That is why I personally tend to keep a finger on the pulse of what’s going on by following large blogging group leaders as well as marketers and consultants who are very active and effective in the social media moms space. Some of the people on my personal twitter “must follow” list are: Jennifer James, MomTalkRadio, Alli Worthington, Katja Presnal, Kim Moldofsky, Stefania P. Butler, Lolita Carrico, Kelby Carr, Barbara Jones, Janice & Susan, Jessica Smith, Cooper Munroe, and Emily McKhann. This list is not comprehensive by any means. They are just the women that I personally look to in order to stay up to date on the latest trends in the social media moms space. I don’t follow all of the trends – there are not enough hours in my day. However, I think that it is essential to know what’s going on at any given time. Smart brands will follow suit.
Since the last point is listening, I’ll leave you with a few (of many) great recent posts from some wonderful mom bloggers that have written about relationships between social media moms and marketers…
- My PR Pet Peeves + I Want to Hear From You (Jennifer James)
- Advocates, Enthusiasts and Advertising: Bloggers on the Brandwagon (Ciaran Blumenfeld)
And
- Marketing to Mom Bloggers: Still needs work. (Liz/Mom-101)
If you are a mom who blogs or a marketer, I would love to hear your thoughts in the “Comments” section below. I’m listening…
