360PR Blog

As the saying goes, sometimes the best conversations take place around the dinner table. This was certainly true at the M2Moms conference . Colleague Caroline Pierce and I crossed paths with incredible mom marketers at the conference and enjoyed amazing ideation conversations over dinner with eleven amazing women. Didn’t hurt that dinner was at Table Fifty-Two on Elm Street. Beyond the food (some of us are still talking about the Three Cheese Mac and Art’s Hummingbird Cake), and the chance to meet Chef Art, there was terrific connection and conversation. Our dinner guests shared their top 11 takeaways from M2Moms. Here’s what they had to say:

1. One key influencer is more important to your brand than numbers.
2. A social media campaign is greater than sum of its CPM parts. With brand ambassadors – loyalty is priceless.
3. It’s the Me + You era and marketing is about fostering sustainable relationships.
4. There are 6 Universal Tugs that influence 75% of moms’ decision marking – savings, health, environment, feel good, convenience and family. Brands need to highlight how their product solves for them in their marketing. They also need to be aware of “drag” tugs that may pull them down and compensate for them. So, if your product is not good for the environment, it better be really convenient, and save you money.
5. I liked learning what brands and agencies need to know (the gaps they are currently facing) to tap into the mom demographic and their attempts to fill that gap.
6. Mobile is quickly becoming Mom’s “first screen” (used to be TV and then laptop but now moms are turning to their phones more and more frequently to accomplish their online tasks). When creating a mobile app for mom- don’t try to create the Taj Mahal. Create an app that does one thing really, really well and then push updates based on the real time feedback you’ll get. (Oh, and free apps are downloaded more frequently, stay on phones longer, and get used 6X more than paid apps).
7. Mom’s primary goal now is spending quality time with her kids and family. She’s looking for products and services that help her do that.
8. Moms are optimistic! They’ve had a tough year (with lost jobs, reduced hours, and often extra family members moving into the household) yet remain confident that things will get better. (They have plans to make major purchases, believe the job situation will improve, and think things will be more positive next year).
9. Moms are proud of what they’re doing as family caregivers and have a big desire to share and broadcast their lives as moms online.
10. Moms in nontraditional families, minority moms (including those with disabilities), and stay at home/ highly involved dads increasingly expect marketers to recognize (and celebrate) them. Marketers who continue to focus only on white Mom+Dad+2.5 kid families will alienate a lot of spending power!
11. I have spent my life under applying mascara. Thanks to the Dior team I now know I need to really lather it on!!! (you had to be there to get this one)

Thank you to: Jyl Johnson Pattee, Kat Eden, Erica Mallett, Caroline Knorr, Ashley O’Brien, Shelley Delfino, Carolin Pierce, Donna Mirus Bates, Jennifer Burkitt, Rachael Herrscher, Jill Rourke. Lady Gaga might have been there in spirit. She sat at our same table one month prior.

Filed under: 360 Public Relations, Blogger Relations, Consumer Marketing, Events and Conferences, Social Media by Admin - 1 Comment →

360 recently hosted members of the new Boston Parent Bloggers Network for a discussion on what’s next for bloggers and brands and what’s working now.  The meeting was spurred by a rigorous schedule of blogger events we have underway this fall for an array of brands.

We’ve had great turnout at our first few events.  But if you’re a blogger, how many events for how many brands can you get to in a given week, especially if blogging is a part-time gig as it is for many?  And how can agencies and brands take it the next level?

All of the bloggers we met with are active on Twitter – some to promote their blogs and give-aways and others for purely social reasons.  The group agreed that on the whole Twitter is a platform for influencers, not the average consumer.  Facebook is also part of bloggers’ daily routines and bloggers “like” brands that fit their lifestyle.  If you’re not interacting with bloggers on Facebook, consider how you can.

Bloggers stressed that once they have become invested in a brand by participating in events, writing posts, etc., they expect to be kept in contact with.  The best programs, like relationships, are ongoing.  For example, a food council sent a different “recipe in a box” to bloggers every month for a year.

Bloggers said they’ll continue to take the time to go to events, but certain times work better than others – for mom bloggers it’s Monday-Thursday mid-morning, after school, or after 7PM.

Virtual events are catching on with busy bloggers.  Some factors for success include special access to a celebrity or other high-profile speaker, a charitable tie-in, and limiting the event to no more than one hour.

We talked about the value of tapping into existing events instead of, or to supplement, your own.  Conferences like Type A Mom, Blissdom and Blogalicious are drawing hundreds of bloggers and offer a captive audience for quality interactions.  But you have to have a strategy to stand out.

Bloggers are also interested in ambassadorships, which might entail producing content for a brand – a video series, for example.

When asked how they measure their influence and success, bloggers cited their loyal readers and the quality of their writing as most important.  It’s that personal relationship with their readers that continues to differentiate blogs from traditional media.  Brands that are succeeding in the blogosphere have a similar respect for bloggers, and an ongoing, integrated approach.

Many thanks to Christy Matte, Jodi Grundig, Erin Furey, Melanie Feehan and Kate Hayes for contributing their time and insights for this post.

Filed under: 360 Public Relations, Blogger Relations, Boston, Digital PR, Marketing to Moms, Social Media by LauraTomasetti - No Comments →

A few of us from 360PR attended the BlogHer 2010 session entitled, “The FTC Guidelines: After A Year, Has Anything Changed?” The panel included BlogHer’s co-founder and CEO, Lisa Stone, marketer Susan Getgood, blogger Kimberly Coleman and Stacey Ferguson from the FTC who discussed whether the Guidelines have had any significant impact on how marketers and bloggers do business.
 
The FTC endorsement guidelines became final in December 2009, and Stacey Ferguson said, “The point of the guidelines is to ensure that there is no deception in advertising, and to provide transparency to consumers.” The FTC Guidelines are just that – they are guidelines, not laws. There are no fines for violating the FTC guidelines, but transparency is always best practice. The guidelines are intended to help consumers, endorsers and brands.
 
The main takeaway from the session for bloggers was to be absolutely sure they are always being transparent – their readers should understand their connection to the brand.

The panel encouraged bloggers to think about it more as valuing their relationship with their readers.  If a blogger is endorsing a brand, the endorsement should be natural, clear and organic.

The FTC guidelines intentionally don’t tell bloggers how to make their disclosure because they want it to be in the blogger’s voice. Some suggestions:

• The best disclosure is always within context of the post or Tweet rather than at the end of a post or using a hashtag on Twitter that might not be clear, for example #sp (I didn’t know what that stood for and most consumers probably don’t either! #sp = sponsored post).
• There are three rules of thumb: make the endorsement clear, make it prominent and make it unavoidable.

The main takeaway for the brands was that at the end of the day it’s the brand’s responsibility to be sure endorsers are properly disclosing. Brands need to make it clear what they expect from their endorsers, but the disclosure should be in the blogger’s voice so it feels natural.
 
There seems to be some confusion regarding guidelines for traditional media versus bloggers, however, traditional media has always had to follow the same guidelines! The difference is that it’s about audience understanding. It is generally understood by the audience that traditional media is receiving products to review for free.

There was also discussion about celebrities and folks from the audience were wondering if celebrities get a free pass. Kim Kardashian has tweeted that she is craving a Carl’s Jr. salad. Even though she does receive a hefty $10,000 per sponsored tweet, the FTC called Kim Kardashian after she tweeted about the Carl’s Jr. salad to ask if she was contracted to do those tweets. The answer was no. Celebrities are not getting a free pass.

Do you think anything has changed after one year?

Filed under: 360 Public Relations, Blogger Relations, Events and Conferences, Social Media by Admin - 1 Comment →

Bloggers felt the embrace of brands who planned out involving and playful interactions for them at BlogHer10. There was every manner of entertainment at the show, from happy mascots and hi-energy dance floors, to coloring stations and full-on hair salons!

At this year’s event in particular, I was struck by how many bloggers were turned into brand “spokespeople” right in front of my very eyes through highly creative and video-worthy stunts and campaigns.

In a nutshell, putting bloggers on camera talking passionately about a particular topic led to a whole lot of third-party endorsements for brands. On the flip side, bloggers didn’t seem to mind their starring role in the brand videos; in fact they seemed to welcome the opportunity to be on camera, bringing to mind the possibility of a future BlogHer Reality TV series?

Please read my short letters to the brands to learn why they were the video stand-outs, extending their brand through video in the most distinctive ways.

Dear Walmart,

You are very bright.

I applaud your focus on selling products that sustain people and the environment, and I admire that you knew it would be the perfect theme for BlogHer. I like how you took a page from the Grammy’s playbook by inviting bloggers who are passionate about the quality of life on our planet to tweet their “bright” ideas for creating a sustainable future, and then feeding their tweets in real time on the giant video screen at your booth for everyone to see.

You were also genius to offer a professional video booth for bloggers to record their ideas and share them on your YouTube page and sustainability site. Having dozens of female bloggers raving about sustainability on your website is an endorsement that means way more than any paid advertising. But you already knew that. It also didn’t hurt that you had super knowledgeable folks staffing your exhibit – they were all brilliant.

Sincerely,

Cindy

Hello Jimmy Dean,

You brought a lot of sunshine to BlogHer.

Apart from the fact that I love sausage breakfast sandwiches, who wouldn’t love meeting the “hot” celebrity from your famous Jimmy Dean commercials? As if that weren’t enough, having the chance to star in a video with the “Sun” was a marketing move that really made me melt.

In the other part of your booth galaxy, I enjoyed talking to the friendly Hillshire Farms Chef who happily took the time to make me a custom, savory sandwich. She also gave me the 411 on the “Fresh Taste Challenge Sandwich Showdown” hosted by Padma Lakshmi that had 16 bloggers competing Top Chef-style to become the champion. The really great twist in my opinion was inviting three elementary school kids to judge the goods and decide the winners (they loved the sandwich ka-bob!). Talk about great content for the Hillshire Farms YouTube site, not to mention that the 16 bloggers have most likely already streamed the video on their own blogs.

All the best,

Cindy

Dearest Yahoo! Shine,

You inspire me.

It’s really good news that you are dedicated to offering online advice and information to women, and you were very clever to extend your “You. Reinvented” brand campaign to BlogHer10. After all, what’s more inspiring than stories of women who are reinventing their lives?

I was spell-bound by your fashion news-room set-up where you invited bloggers to share their “reinvention” stories on camera. I was so enamored with the idea, that I decided that I must reinvent myself in time to participate in your video show at BlogHer11.

Good for you for not only curating the blogger videos on Yahoo!, you also smartly gave embeddable videos to each of the participating bloggers so they could easily share on their blogs too. The idea that one woman’s voice on one lone blog may not change the world–but together, they wield quite a bit of power with other women is very classy.

As ever,

Cindy

P.S. I would be remiss to not offer a shout-out to the Tempur-Pedic folks for being cheeky and dressing up in pajamas, and also for jumping on the video content bandwagon with their “Ask Me” professional photography booth.

That’s a wrap.

Filed under: 360 Public Relations, Blogger Relations, Consumer Marketing, Digital PR, Events and Conferences, Green Marketing, Internet, Marketing to Moms, Social Marketing, Social Media, YouTube by Admin - 2 Comments →

360PR is out in full force at BlogHer this weekend (#360PR  , #BlogHer10) , as are dozens of brands showing off their wares and services to attendees.  Are you at BlogHer? If so, we want to know which brand/s you think are doing the best job of breaking through. Visit our Facebook page throughout the weekend to cast your vote in our poll!

Filed under: 360 Public Relations, Blogger Relations, Events and Conferences, FaceBook, Social Media by EliciaBasoli - No Comments →

If you think about it, many of the foods you eat and items you purchase are influenced by what your mom used in the home when you were a child (even though you might not want to admit it)! Nowadays, moms are taking that influence online-in the form of blogs- and influencing more than just their kids about what they should be eating and buying.

McDonald’s, which recently named Rick Wion as its first Social Media Chief, has expressed three main goals for McDonald’s – to use “social media to build the business, manage customer problems, and beef up (pun intended I presume) outreach to target groups such as mommy bloggers.”

This topic – building the connection between brands and mom bloggers was the focus of a Blog with Integrity & Council of PR Firms webinar that our 360 team participated in last week titled “Bridging Brands & Bloggers.” Panelists Susan Getgood, Beth Blecherman, Michelle Madhok, and Tim Hurst shared the three “R”s of blogger relations: research, respect & relationships.

Research: Any brand or PR firm that wants to get in-front of the momosphere needs to find the right moms first – picking at random won’t cut it with the mamas.

Respect: Well, who wouldn’t respect a mom to begin with? But as a rule, treat bloggers with as much respect as journalists.

Relationships: Possibly the biggest theme of the session – building relationships with bloggers is key. Without any sort of relationship, the blogger has no reason to listen to your pitch or even your brand.

For brands large and small who would like to connect with not just moms, but bloggers in general, you might just want to keep these nuggets of wisdom to mind.

Filed under: 360 Public Relations, Blogger Relations, Marketing to Moms, Pitch tips, Social Media by Admin - 3 Comments →

Blogland will be buzzing tomorrow as the new FTC Guides take effect, clarifying rules for disclosure of material relationships between bloggers and brands.  We talked to blogger members of our MomSquad to get their reaction to the guidelines – what the rules mean for their blogs and what advice bloggers have for brands.

“I couldn’t be happier about the new guidelines,” says Jill Notkin of Work at Home Mom.  “Over the last year, everybody with a computer has jumped on the ‘blogwagon’ and the saturation is making it difficult for serious bloggers to maintain a reputable face.  Maybe this will bring more respect back to blogging.”

“I am now including a disclosure statement at the end of each post – I either add my own verbiage or use verbiage the brand supplies,” explains Mom’s Favorite Stuff’s Jodi Grundig. “Brands should be up front with how they’d like bloggers to handle disclosure on products they supply.  If the brand and blogger isn’t in agreement with how disclosure should be handled, it’s probably not a good fit.  I do think some companies have been going a bit overboard with disclosure, however.  I’ve been asked to write, ‘this recipe was supplied to me for free from xx.’  I really don’t want to see blogs become all disclosure/no valuable content.”

“In order to give an honest review, you must try products and put them to the test.  It’s no secret companies offer products for this purpose and your audience will not think less of your opinions when this is disclosed,” comments Julie Gerber of The Gerber Babies Blog (not that ‘Gerber’).
“I think brands should look at the sites first and find the blogs that are a good fit for them,” advises Anisa Raoff of Kidoinfo. “Do they want to send their product out to whoever will review it or does it matter who the blogger is?  Do they want to align with certain blogs because of the content on their site?”  Great questions.

“Brands need to cover their own ‘behinds’ – there are plenty of review bloggers who take [the FTC Guides] seriously and work professionally and there are others who do not,” adds Posh Parent Clarissa Nassar, also a Glambassador for Glamour magazine.

“I just wish the rest of the media world was held to similar accountability, especially celebrities,” says Mommy Niri Nirasha Jaganath.

And on that note, the FTC guides do go beyond bloggers, extending the same rules of transparency and disclosure to third-party experts utilized as spokespersons and celebrity endorsements – and that’s a good thing.  We’ll have much more on this topic in the December issue of the 360PR MomSquad Trendletter. Meantime, some good resources are Blog with Integrity and the Council of PR Firms’ Code of Ethics. Love to hear your comments!

Filed under: Blogger Relations, Digital PR, Marketing to Moms, Social Media by LauraTomasetti - 4 Comments →

I had the pleasure of moderating an informative panel of leading brands and bloggers in the parenting space at last month’s Marketing 2 Moms conference.  We’ve edited the two-hour session down to a 13-minute podcast, packed with tips and insights – worth a listen as you’re building your 2010 campaigns and considering how to initiate or extend your work with bloggers.

eMarketer reports that there are 34 million moms online and that may very well be a conservative estimate – we’ve seen numbers as high as 40+ million moms online.  And as parenting books such as Child, Wondertime and Cookie have ceased publication, hundreds more mom bloggers have begun posting.  There’s no denying it, blogs are a legitimate part of the mom media mix today – especially if you want to reach the connected, influencer-moms who have the power to word-of-mouth your brand.  But with more bloggers and brands jumping in, the environment is cluttered, and communications needs to be on point to break through and resonate with bloggers and their readers.

Moreover, with the FTC Guides taking effect 12/1, brands need to be diligent with their monitoring – making sure what is played back is accurate and any material relationships are clearly disclosed. We all have lots at stake – brands, bloggers and, most of all, readers.  Here’s what the experts at M2Moms had to say:

“Blogger relations should be about “quality over quantity…what [bloggers] say is more important than the numbers.” – Lesley Hettinger, General Motors Corp

“The intimate conversations are so much more valuable…it’s not about building an army, but an influential group of advisors and advocates…you really have to look at the long tail.” – Jeannine Harvey, PBS

“To me, it’s always about the added value…brands need to be able to provide added value” when working with bloggers and their audiences. – Kristin Brandt, Manic Mommies

“Blogs are such a personal experience for the reader…it’s really important that everything on that page be reflective of who we are.” – Liz Gumbinner, Cool Mom Picks & Blog with Integrity

“We want to get to know moms on a 1:1 basis.  We’re always reading blogs and looking at what bloggers are talking about on Twitter.”  – Marcia Hansen, Allstate Insurance Company

“I feel better about a brand if they have a presence on Twitter.  But the most important thing is to have someone monitoring…you have to have someone interacting with your customers.” – Beth Blecherman, Silicon Valley Moms Group

For more, listen to the M2Moms Brands & Blogs podcast below. A BIG thanks to Kristin Brandt for recording the session and to Susan Getgood for her masterful editing!

Filed under: Blogger Relations, Consumer Marketing, Digital PR, Events and Conferences, Marketing to Moms, Parenting, Pitch tips by LauraTomasetti - No Comments →

For the past 48 years, The Hatch Awards, hosted by the Ad Club, have been New England’s premier creative awards show.  Over 1200 entries are reviewed by a dozen judges – high-ranking creative executives from outside the New England area.  Awards are presented across 32 categories including every kind of media possible.

As part of the Ad Club’s PR Committee, 360PR attended the show on Tuesday night…and was blown away (props to Boston University’s drum corps)!

Hatch Awards 2009

I serve on the Ad Club PR Committee and one of the things we try to do is to cast a light on the young, diverse creative ad biz in Boston – the industry has moved well beyond the bygone “Mad Men” era.  This year, we invited some special guests to attend — some leading bloggers from the Boston area.  As we all know, mom bloggers are the movers and shakers of the world — they can topple brands or create success stories in the blink of an eye.  In fact, U.S. moms say 80% of ads miss the mark (via M2Moms).  But experts say that we can improve those results by using social media to create online communities and brand advocates. 

We also set up a hash tag for bloggers and members of the Hatch audience to follow.  Over the course of the evening, there were over 70 Twitter status updates using #AdClub.  The following local bloggers in attendance driving the conversation were:

• Christy Matte, More than Mommy (http://morethanmommy.com/) 
• Nirasha Jaganath, Mommy Niri (http://www.mommyniri.com/) 
• Susan Getgood, Marketing Roadmaps (http://getgood.com/roadmaps/) 
• Jennifer Leal, Savor the Thyme (http://savorthethyme.blogspot.com/) 

Some of the gold bowl recipients were Arnold’s picturesque FootJoy print ads (something any golf fanatic would love) in the Consumer Magazine Spread category, Mullen’s hilarious Boston Bruins national TV spots (my personal favs), and Hill Holliday’s sobering Liberty Mutual TV spots.

Filed under: 360 Public Relations, Blogger Relations, Boston, Consumer Marketing, Events and Conferences, Marketing to Moms, Social Media by Admin - No Comments →

It’s been awhile since the Beatles instructed the world to “come together,” but their message of peace still resonates today. Whether it’s joining Facebook with your blog, the FTC setting guidelines between bloggers and marketers, or the ongoing battle of the sexes, elements of social media rarely stand alone. This week, we’re taking a deeper look at online relationships, whether they’re between two social media services, or a government agency and a nation of product-reviewing bloggers. We’re left wondering: can’t everyone just get along?

Mashable “HOW TO: Integrate Facebook With Your Blog” – As the article’s author points out, integrating your blog’s copy with your personal Facebook page (or fan page) is a great means of exposure for your content. And really, who isn’t looking for more bang for their buck? There are several ways to cross-promote your posts, so if you’re looking to publicize your work, this piece is for you.

The Forrester Blog for Interactive Marketing Professionals “The End of Marketer-Blogger Relationships?” – There’s been a lot of buzz in the past few months surrounding product reviews, pay-for-play, and the issue of bloggers being bombarded by companies looking to get in front of niche audiences, sometimes through questionable and unethical means. On Monday, the Federal Trade Commission announced that relationships between marketers and bloggers must be fully disclosed, in other words, if a blogger receives a free product, or is paid to write a review, they have to say so. What are the implications of the changing guidelines? We’ll have to wait and see.

Brian Solis “In the World of Social Media, Women Rule” – Sorry, boys. It’s a girls’ social media world, and you’re just livin’ in it. According to a recent study published by social media guru Brian Solis, women are more active than men on Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, Twitter, Yelp and other similar sites. ‘Women Rule’ was even a recent Trending Topic on Twitter. No disrespect to our male colleagues, but here at 360PR, we’re all about girl power!

Filed under: Blogger Relations, Internet, Social Media by SkyeMcIntyre - No Comments →

With all of the digital news articles online and print, and with social media itself (Facebook, blogs and Twitter) spreading facts and rumors like wildfire, it sure is difficult to keep a secret these days. This week, we’re joining in the online version of ‘telephone’ to bring you the social media scoop. Below, learn the ins and outs of Facebook and how to avoid a blogging blunder. Oh, and Twitter’s set to receive $100 million dollars from seven separate sources. From who, you ask? It’s a secret!
AllFacebook.com “10 Less Known Facebook Features” – Sure, you’ve been poking people since back in ’04 and throwing sheep at them since ’07. But did you know that you can group your cartoon animal-receiving friends into groups to easily send invitations and messages?
Mashable – “Top 5 Business Blogging Mistakes and How To Avoid Them” – Blogs are a dime a dozen, but there is a way to break through the clutter and stand out among the crowd. This piece tells you how to get people talking about your site – in a good way.
AdAge – “What Should Twitter Do with $100 Million?” – If past 360PR blog posts haven’t convinced you of Twitter’s tenacity, this article may be the clincher. As the old saying goes, money talks. And the Tweeple have spoken. Expect improvements in the service over the coming months, as the green is expected to be used for the benefit of Twitter users. A business deal where everybody wins is a sweet way to start your weekend.

Filed under: Blogger Relations, Internet, Social Media by SkyeMcIntyre - No Comments →

The Summer issue of our MomSquad Trendletter is out and I keep meaning to post the link here in case you’re not a Trendletter subscriber.  It’s a particularly good issue if I may say so, with a great line up of content and contributors, including:

• What’s happening with Dad Blogs, a piece contributed by Christy Matte of About.com’s Family Computing blog and her own blog, More Than Mommy;
• Boston Mamas’ Christine Koh’s report from BlogHer with tips for brands interacting with bloggers;
• Going beyond blogs to forums such as the Mom Bloggers Club to reach powerful networks of influencers, by Clarissa Nassar, a.k.a. The Posh Parent; and
• A look at what’s on the mind of PTA moms as back-to-school time approaches, written by PTA Mom Anisa Raoof, editor at Rhode Island-based Kidoinfo.

We’d love your feedback if you get a chance to link over and read the current issue!

Filed under: Blogger Relations, Consumer Marketing, Digital PR, Marketing to Moms, Parenting by LauraTomasetti - 1 Comment →

We’ve returned safe and soundly from Chicago and BlogHer 2009 was a big success.  Its biggest turnout to date, the five-year-old conference morphed into a true tradeshow format with major brands turning out to grab the attention of bloggers across the country.

Elaborate booths, impressive swag and even celebrity sightings (Tim Gunn, Paula Deen and Carson Kressley), are a testament to the fact that brands know how important bloggers are to their success; and are willing to put the resources and funds behind social media initiatives to get in the bloggers’ good graces.

Social media is a force to be reckoned with; and is certainly gaining lots of attention in the industry.  Issues with the FTC (see Laura’s recent post), Blog with Integrity and the recent announcement of the PR Blackout Challenge all point to an obvious truth: new media is calling and is here to stay. By the looks of BlogHer 2009, brands have taken notice.

From national brands like Pepsi Co and Walmart to non-profits such as Safe Kids to the unexpected presence of Pork (touting themselves as the Real Pork Bloggers of Chicago), the brands at this year’s conference ran the gamut.  Also, our Safety 1^st client was in attendance to introduce its new Complete Air car seat with Air Protect Side Impact Technology.  Stay tuned to view our Flickr page with all of our booth visitors in front of the Chicago skyline!

See you all next year in NYC for BlogHer 2010!

Filed under: 360 Public Relations, Blogger Relations, Digital PR, Events and Conferences, Social Media by Admin - 3 Comments →

Guess what the first and last topic was on the first day of Blogher? Right. That FTC stuff. Disclosure was the main message from the Blogher founders.  Blogher requires its network of 2,500 bloggers to aggregate product reviews to a separate review blog and note that reviews are sponsored.

But is disclosure enough?  Do we need or, let me rephrase, want “compensated reviews”?  If a product or service is truly break-through and relevant to the audience, and the outreach is well timed and appropriately targeted (if I can put in just a small plug for PR), reviews get written and for the right reasons.

There was a lot of discussion throughout Blogher Business about how bloggers “add value for marketers.”  But most blogs weren’t started as a marketing platform, and even as they’ve collectively evolved to be a viable channel for advertisers online, the audience needs to come first.  If it doesn’t, we all lose.

A group of bloggers we have a heck of a lot of respect for launched an initiative this week called Blog with Integrity, inviting bloggers to take a pledge of a code of conduct – totally voluntary and completely about raising the bar back up in the blogosphere for mom bloggers and all bloggers.

So what about us PR peeps?  Almost a decade ago, The Council of PR Firms set forth a code of ethics by which members firms (including 360PR) agree to conduct business – to help ensure PR with Integrity.  ”In communicating with the public and media, member firms will maintain total truthfulness and accuracy… the sources of communications and sponsors of activities will not be concealed,” reads an excerpt.

Social media, and PR’s prime-time role in social media, have raised the stakes.  We need to strive to be authentic, accurate and transparent in every interaction with bloggers, journalists and analysts every day.  What would our moms say?  Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should.

What are your thoughts?

Filed under: Blogger Relations, Digital PR, Events and Conferences, Industry Organizations, Internet, Marketing to Moms, PR Industry, Social Media by LauraTomasetti - 6 Comments →

Call it a stunt.  Call it desperation.  MomDot issued a challenge to its community of bloggers last week calling for a PR Blackout for one week in August.  (Just so happens that’s the week everyone’s on vacation anyway, haha.)  The ironic thing is the announcement was the most successful PR move ever for MomDot, accidental or not.  The Wall Street Journal was the latest to cover the news, in today’s edition.

On the one hand, I don’t blame MomDot.  Bloggers, and mom bloggers in particular, are over-saturated with PR pitches.  We get calls daily (truly daily) from brands wanting to dive in.

I often think of our mom blogger friends on the inevitable receiving end.  Step into their world for a minute.  Unlike journalists, most mom bloggers don’t work full-time. They’re balancing blogging with their other passion – family.  And some of the pitches, no scratch that, MOST of the pitches they get are just awful.  Read Bostonmamas Christine Koh’s recent “Bad Blogger Outreach” series.  Delete, delete, delete.

The good news is blogs are now widely recognized by brands as a legitimate channel in the mom media mix.  And there are brands and PR firms (wink, wink) that get it.

It’s important to look at blogs individually and not as one big mom blog bucket.  So much of good blogger relations is about content mapping. What’s the blogger’s focus?  What value does the brand bring to the discussion?  How can you be a true resource to a blogger and not a source of exasperation?

For more, look for 360 at Blogher Business this week, and if you’re not headed to Chicago, keep an eye here and on our tweets (@Laura360, @C_Pierce, @BWelch).

Filed under: Blogger Relations, Digital PR, Events and Conferences, Internet, Marketing to Moms, Pitch tips by LauraTomasetti - 12 Comments →