Typewriter Robot by Jeremy Mayer

I’ve been asked to write a blog post.

A blog? Me? But I get PAID to write and to whip other people’s meandering brain-farts into glorious prose! Well, that is, I did until two weeks ago, when I was laid off from my job as editor at a book publisher. You know, moldy old books. Like, paper and ink and four-color printing and stuff.

I’ve been in print publishing for nearly 20 years, writing for and editing magazines and books on everything from international business news to music to architecture. Why should I stoop to a medium that’s attainable to any idiot with an iBook? I mean (to paraphrase the old joke about awards), blogs are like hemorrhoids: sooner or later, every asshole gets one.

The truth is, publishing now really is for everyone, from bloggers to tweeters to the right-place-at-the-right-time bystander who manages to capture breaking news with a cellphone camera.

This may be bad news for the professionals, that endlessly growing pool of talented, out-of-work journalists who are duking it out for the few available jobs at established publications. For everyone else, though, it means access to a wealth of opinions, points of view, and, yes, insane ramblings, which may inform, infuriate, call to act, or simply amuse.

The Web, with its accessibility and immediacy, lends itself intrinsically to writing of an egocentric nature. My own writings have never been personal; my professional duties have always been as a reporter or as an editor of other people’s work. I find it incredibly embarrassing to talk about myself; can’t we discuss that fascinating individual over there?

But clearly I need to get with the program. My profession has changed; hell, even the language we use to discuss it has changed. While I won’t stop looking for a job at a “legitimate” media outlet, in the meantime, I will begrudgingly learn to write snappy, snarky, first-person Web-speak, and to embrace the blogs and Twitters and Diggs and Wikis, and, yeah, I still don’t know what Foursquare is.

So, here’s my blog entry. Maybe some people will happen upon it. But for now, until I get used to the idea, one thing you can count on is that I won’t be posting a link for all of my friends on Facebook. Just give me a few weeks.

Family dynamics have certainly changed in the past few decades; no need to watch Mad Men to confirm this. The 1950’s dad-as-dictator framework has collapsed, and today we’ve even surpassed the 90’s model of mom and dad ruling together. In 2011, households are democracies; kids, mom, and dad all have a say, but mom is more powerful than ever. Mothers today have higher salaries and many are college educated. They are more involved mothers and ultimately, more informed consumers.

“I wish every product were like the iPod,” one mom said in a recent survey. “It is the one thing in the house that means as much to me as it does to my daughter…we share music. I can’t imagine sharing music with my parents when I was a kid.”

Mommy bloggers, as they’re called, have taken over the web. These women are a powerful force in the blogosphere, often peppering their sites with coupons that fit the needs of the thousands of other moms who scour their sites daily. With topics ranging from pregnancy, parenting and motherhood to household tips, these blogs are relevant, targeted, and successful.

So successful, in fact, that a new wave of “daddy bloggers” is now attempting to catch up. It’ll be tough, however, to catch up in this race, as mom bloggers take on roles varying from that of Entrpreuner Mom to Tech Mom to Photographer Mom. Hardly anyone, especially in the online world, is just “Mom” anymore. In 2011, brands will continue to frequently court these powerful bloggers, no longer dismissing them as bored, stay-at-home moms. Aware that women make 85 percent of consumer purchasing decisions, major brands do not take lightly the fact that 23 million women read, write or comment on blogs weekly. The power of the mom blogger can no longer be disputed.

Pepsi, Wal-mart, and ConAgra are just a few of the companies that have formed relationships with them. On the negative side, just last year, mommy bloggers encouraged drama which included a Nestle boycott, dissatisfaction with Air Canada, vilification of corn syrup, and outrage at Amazon’s choice to sell a book about pedophiles, among other issues.

The Pepsi Mommy Blogger case study is an interesting one; Pepsi has been working on an image makeover and has therefore reached out to mothers, playing up the importance of their Tropicana, Quaker and Dole brands, which currently only make up 18% of total revenue. Pepsi appeared at the 2010 BlogHer conference, and is sponsoring the 2011 Social Media Week, during which it will unveil its Women’s Inspiration Network (WIN). By covering topics that would be of interest to females, and more specifically, to mothers, Pepsi is hoping to corner the Mom market and gain from their influence. These “feminine” topics include the environment, sustainability, health, and stories of inspirational women.

It’s safe to say, then, that the stereotype of the Mommy Blogger has gone out the window. In the blogosphere and elsewhere, these women have power. Mommy bloggers have realized this power, hosting meetings and conferences frequently.

Also read 2011 Predictions for Mommy Bloggers and about Some up-and-coming Mom Bloggers.

In this age of the internet, however, retailers are expecting even more financial success on Cyber Monday, a more recent phenomenon. Since 2005, the Monday after Black Friday has been called the “Biggest Online Shopping Day of the Year,” with many consumers making their purchases from home or (more likely) from office computers.

The most trending topic on the web on Thanksgiving Day was “Black Friday Ads.” Not surprisingly, this year, retailers are taking advantage of social media to increase their sales. If you “like” certain retailers’ Facebook pages, you’ll have access to special deals.

If you like the Sears’ Facebook page, for example, you’ll also “have the power to unlock great deals.”

When you check into Sports Authority using Foursquare, you can win a $500 gift certificate.

Many small retailers have also been using Cyber Monday as a chance to connect with consumers using personalized tweets, moving past the assumption in earlier years that this online shopping day is for big businesses only.

In fact, this Cyber Monday is looking to be the perfect time for many under-the-radar businesses to launch themselves into a bigger market by using their social media savvy. Here, some tips for businesses on how to incorporate social media into their Black Monday advertising: http://www.fruitzoom.com/2010/11/cyber-monday-37-tips-to-leverage-social-media-zoom-monday-sales/ By leveraging social media and internet marketing for both online and offline traffic, businesses can up profits and internet presence.

This week, Best Buy has used Twitter to inform shoppers of bargains, but in a more resourceful use of social media, they are also using Twitter as an instant customer service solution. The company has their Twitter accounts staffed and ready to answer questions about problem purchases … all in 140 characters or less.

Check out the best deals, from electronics to sporting goods and apparel to gardening supplies, on http://www.cybermonday.com/

Over the years, those involved in social media have continued to attempt to redefine ROI, wondering if it was even necessary in this field. The lack of tools for analyzing made quantifying results near impossible, and this lack of standards for ROI also made it difficult to “sell” social media campaigns and tactics to executives and companies.

This year, however, social media has grown immensely in terms of ROI. While case studies are nothing new, they prove invaluable for social media ROI, extending to B2C and B2B, small and large businesses, for-profit and non-companies. Case studies can prove ROI as determined by sales, shorter sales cycles, new leads, improved company operations, and better business innovations.

Take the example of Burberry, a high-end fashion chain that initially seems impervious to social media’s “of the people” approach to building fan bases and ultimately, business. The company’s “Art of the Trench” campaign, however, capitalized on the recent trend in blogs that feature street-style photography.

While many designers and retailers had already taken their businesses to Twitter, Burberry was the first major fashion company to create a social media empire of its own. Burberry’s facebook page received 7.5 million views and with over 1 million fans, the company’s same store sales increased by ten percent after the campaign.

For a company that has been selling the same thing and marketing the same “look” for years, this was surely a coup. They had no new product to sell and were advertising the same trench coat that made them famous decades ago. Through the use of a social networking fashion blog via facebook, Burberry drew in a new demographic and a new generations of shoppers, simply by making use of what made facebook cool: They allowed their fans to “like” items, leave comments, and “share” photos, ultimately making their consumers feel powerful and drawing them in.
ROI in this case is undeniable, as shown by the company’s growth over the last year.

Mommy Bloggers Are Hot

Mommy bloggers have become so influential that when McDonald’s named Rick Wion their first director-social media, the press release announced how the company had specifically mandated he beef up social media outreach to target groups such as mommy bloggers. While the press release made this sound like big news, McDonald’s has actually been using social media and working with Mommy bloggers for several years through its “Moms Quality Correspondents.” In another well known instance from a couple of years back, Mommy bloggers rallied in criticism of a Motrin campaign such that the ads were pulled. That was roughly two years ago. More recently, Pampers experienced a similar well-documented backlash. Basically, mommy bloggers are firmly established as hugely trusted influencers over a promotional campaign. We have some interesting links documenting this at the end of the Motrin case blog entry; networking, documenting home life, rallying behind a cause or a product and so many other things aren’t terribly new. It all has simply taken on new shape with the advent of the internet, the web and what we now term as social media (Blogs etc.). This ever-changing wave must be ridden.

Some Facts To Consider

By most accounts, Mom’s influence over 85% of all consumer purchases in the USA, and wield $5 trillion in purchasing power. In most cases moms do the majority of grocery shopping, Christmas shopping and vacation planning. And when they are looking to buy, they research online, ask trusted friends for advice and turn to their favorite mommy blog to see what other woman have to say. Because mommy bloggers typically only review products they need and almost never promote a product they would not want to use or have not tried, who wouldn’t trust them? These women tell it like it is and are known for their candid discussion of all issues. An influential mom can pump up a brand or break it down with one post. It sounds like a stereotype, but moms really are fiercely loyal and protective of their kind. When a mom finds a blogger she likes, she will quickly become a loyal follower, book marking and sharing the information with her friends much quicker than if it were a tech or news site. Not surprisingly, with more and more companies increasingly turning to these influential moms for promotional purposes and product endorsement, the Federal Trade Commission in December issued guidelines that recommend bloggers who write about a product to make clear to readers whether they have received money or other benefits.

Blogs Are Like A 24-7 Mom group

As these woman throng to the blogosphere to talk to someone who gets them and participate in discussions on everything from school, education, gardening, food, technology, baby products, kitchen gadgets, home-safety, automobiles, politics, environment, fashion, marriage, sex and anything else a mom wants to talk about, they also become the creators of content. The moms with a niche or interesting angle tend to grow their community and following with the most success. This, in turn, results in their increased sphere of influence. Beth Blecherman, one of our esteemed blogger allies cautions anyone who wishes to really make a niche for themselves (as a blogger) via online social media channels (i.e. blog, Twitter, video, Facebook etc): “Don’t try and do everything at once. In other words, focus on a certain subject or theme etc. Also, don’t hesitate to learn strategies from existing personal online brands that are successful. Look at their approach to their community building and how they integrate other social media tools.” She has a good point because if there is anything that distinguishes Mommy Bloggers from one another it’s those with a clear focus and ambition and those who are blogging for perhaps humbler reasons. By no means are we casting judgment. There is well-documented concern within the Mommy Blogger space that all of this online activity does detract from motherhood itself. To each their own.

Beth is the co-founder of http://www.siliconvalleymomsgroup.com and founder of http://www.techmamas.com

Where Does One Talk to “Mom”?

One of Media Needle’s most esteemed allies from this space Ciaran Blumenfeld (founder of http:// www.Momfluential.net) cautions “Blogs and sites will continue to grow and change and mutate. There is no such thing as a generic “blog” any more any way. There are photo sites, video sites, ranking sites, contest sites, review sites, editorial sites… Multimedia use will increase and social networking will just continue to swap spit with what’s out there now”. We agree. In other words, you might identify a strong set of Mommy bloggers by twitter re-tweets or a series of YouTube product testing videos. We’d be fools to not mention the ongoing snowball of facebook. In other words, we can still call it a “web” can’t we? A suite of tools are at everyone’s disposal of which the Blog is just one element. Keep your eyes open. Ciaran adds “I like Whrrl.com. There are so many apps and tools for information finding, gathering, sharing. It can be hard to keep up but I love the hunt for a new tool “find”/ I find new ones every day. Not all of them stick but the finding is fun!”

In Closing

We’d like to think that keeping it fun is helpful. Marketers can be dry. Brand advocates can be cut-and-paste. One thing we need to add is that this realm is made of real people with real life experience. If you wish to direct efforts towards the Mommy Blogger realm, cap it off with respect. Kimberly Kauer of Silicon Valley Moms comments in one of her 2009 entries “… we believe this debate points to a growing sentiment among female bloggers that we want sponsors to engage our minds, not our purses.” See: http://www.svmoms.com/2009/08/draft-a-blogher-lesson-in-womens-power-and-perception.html for better context. Moms with profit motives notwithstanding

This blog entry was edited by an “Honorary Uncle Blogger” with frequent interruptions by a 2 year old and a 1 year old.

Interesting links:

Jeremiah Owyang’s brilliant analysis of the Motrin “event” and how it was monitored: http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2008/11/17/motrin-mothers-groundswell-by-the-numbers/

A stellar YouTube documentation of Mommy Tweets in response to the Motrin campaign: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhR-y1N6R8Q

A nice summary of the Pampers case study: http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/Pampers+feels+wrath+mommy+bloggers/2701485/story.html

Elizabeth Zamos and Bernard Yin