I attended the first Bloggers Brunch organised by Kids Business in association with Room to View TV last month, and saw first hand how powerful contact with the blogging community can be for businesses.
In April’s Strawberry Communications newsletter I wrote about why blogging is good for business, but I wanted to touch on the topic again because there is a group of bloggers who have really come the fore as brand ambassadors. They are Mummy Bloggers.
Mummy Bloggers don’t just write about life with their kids, posting recipes and photos of playing at the park. Yes, those topics are sometimes covered and yes they blog about their lives – sometimes in such detail that readers squirm – but these posts are part of a much bigger written tapestry.
Each blogging mother has interests outside her children’s milestones, and these interests are woven into their blogs. She might cover developmental issues if the family is coping with those, or food allergies, but she might also cover books her children love, toys they can’t do without, products that make her life easier, or cafes that cater for children.
The potential for topics mummy bloggers can cover is infinite, but what makes them stand out from other bloggers is their passion for their chosen subject, their honesty and their ability to build a devoted community around that topic. Successful bloggers have readers waiting impatiently to see their posts – and some bloggers post daily or more. Just think of the content consumed by these communities.
So, back to the Bloggers Brunch. Here I got to meet some savvy brand managers who were willing to devote their time and products in return for an audience with 50 influential members of the mummy blogging community. Each blogger left with a goodie bag filled with samples to try and blog about, if they chose, plus products from the sponsors to road test.
I brought home some excellent Kleenex products from Kleenex Mums, a bag of Mega Bloks from Mega Brands and a toy boat from Little Tikes for my youngest son and an amazing Bruder DHL delivery truck that had my eldest son beside himself with excitement. I blogged about these products and posted photos of the boys playing with the toys on Facebook and Twitter, so I’ve been helping their marketing efforts too. It’s clever marketing and something you should consider if your brand appeals to women, families or children (or dads if you want to target daddy bloggers!).
To find out more about Mummy Bloggers, what they blog about, how to contact them, or how to join them, have a look at these sites: Mummy Bloggers Blog, PR Friendly Aussie Blog Directory and Digital Parents.
Hey Jo thanks for the links back to Mummy Bloggers 🙂 Interesting article, did you see the event as offering value to these brands? I couldn’t help but feel like such a commercial event was a missed opportunity for brands wanting to make connections with bloggers – and seeing the posts that have gone up I can’t see how the brands have made the sort of impact that they might have expected from that sort of investment. I guess I see social media as being all about the relationships and an expo-style event just seems like a missed opportunity. Can’t help but wonder if Kids Business hasn’t been the business that’s gotten the most amount of coverage from the event?? Would be interested in your thoughts.
Hi Louisa
I love your blog and think it’s a great resource, so thought I should share my find with my readers.
Re your comments on the brunch, looking at it as a blogger I felt it was a great opportunity to connect with the brands and although not all were relevant to my circumstances (with two boys I steered clear of the girl-orientated products), I had ample opportunity to look at the products and speak with the brand representatives. I actually thought it was great that we were able to choose which brands we wanted to speak to, rather than being spoken to as a group. I can’t speak for the brands and don’t know what the level of investment was, but I know there were many blog posts, Facebook updates and tweets about the brands and their products on the day and in the weeks afterwards so each would have to measure whether it was valuable to them. Personally I would have preferred more hands-on interaction and demonstrations of the brands, but I think given the space and time constraints it was a success. The real test would be if a brand comes back for successive brunches.
I also thought Kids Business took a back-seat role when it came to promoting its own brand, which is something I prefer as a blogger and a business owner. The biggest thing I got from the brunch was the opportunity to be inspired by the speakers and network with other bloggers.
I can see what you are saying here and I think there’s a lot to be said for the amount of SM exposure the day produced. Though Kids Biz took a back seat they are also probably the only company that was mentioned in all the posts about the event, which is guess is why I wonder if they got the most benefit. I can see benefit for the brands being involved but I think that, from my perspective as someone whose core business is blogger engagement (which I realise is different to the PR angle that Kids Biz has), it was more of an expo style event that invited bloggers to attend. There’s a place for that, but we should see it for what it is and then mould it accordingly.
Oh, and yes it was a GREAT day for bloggers. Heck, we heard some great speakers and went home with a truck load of stuff – what’s not to like?
Thanks for your additional comments Louisa and I agree on all fronts. I think the PR industry, marketers, businesses and bloggers are still testing the waters a bit here to see what works and what doesn’t. I think watch this space because blogger engagement can only get bigger and better!
Thanks for mentioning the PR friendly, Johanna. Awesome article! I wasn’t able to make it to the first bloggers brunch but I look forward to attending the one at the end of July.
Thanks for the comment Tina. You’ll have a great time at the brunch this time 🙂
Hi Jo – We missed you at the second official Bloggers Brunch! Have a feeling you would have love it. You would have seen that your feedback was addressed; there was HEAPS more interaction and demonstration from the brands. Further to your comments, there are multiple re-bookings in the pipeline from brands that have participated. Feedback we continue to get is so great – this is how we learn, grow and evolve. See you at the next brunch, if not sooner
Christie thanks so much for your comment. I was thinking of you all today and wishing I was there! So glad it went well for you and so pleased you took up some of my feedback points. Fantastic news for you about the re-bookings and I hope you’ll invite me along again to see how the brunch is evolving.