Social Networks

 A few weeks ago, I posted about how companies can and should recognize bloggers for good work by considering them for paid opportunities, whether blogger ambassadorships, content-writing gigs, consulting projects, or fulltime employment. The post made the point that after a blogger has established her street cred by blogging well about your products, for no charge, it’s time to look for ways to validate and expand that relationship.

Now I’d like to talk about what bloggers can and should do to position themselves for those opportunities. In fact, that was the topic of a panel presentation I participated in at last week’s BlogHer, called  “Minding Your Own Business: Bad Blogger Pitches (The Other Side of the PR-Blogger Relationship).”

The most important thing a blogger must do to be taken seriously by a brand is: be professional.

In an effort to best illustrate what agencies and brands consider professional, I’d like to share 5 examples of what is NOT:

1. Complaining in social media about PR people. I mean, REALLY. Fact is, you never know where we may wind up — one day a lowly publicist at an agency, the next head of PR at a company you’d kill to work with. We’re your gateway to opportunities. Don’t slam the door.
2.  Grousing about 1) not being asked to review a specific product 2) not being invited to an event 3) everything. Do the math. There are thousands of mom bloggers out there. We can’t send you all products and we can’t invite you to every event, unless they all take place at Madison Square Garden.
3. Opting in to review a product and then not reviewing it. And not bothering to tell us you’re not going to review it. Or why. Or not returning our email or call when we ask, politely, for feedback. Or reviewing it in March when it was sent to you for Christmas. And is no longer on the market. Making your post worthless.
4. Posting a review and getting all the facts wrong. Minor points such as the spelling of the client’s name, the price or the link.
5. RSVPing to an event and then not showing up, with no notice beforehand or apology afterward. Which is even worse than cancelling the night before, after all the arrangements have been made, and all those extra meals, products, massages, etc., have already been paid for, in advance, as you would for a wedding. Dropping out is not only unprofessional, but just plain rude.

To the professionals out there — you know who you are.  Keep it up–we love you and will bend over backward to find great opportunities for you. To the rest, my best advice is: Follow their lead.

Energizing, exhausting, overwhelming –yes, I’m talking about BlogHer, the world’s largest conference for women in social media. More than 3600 women (and a few courageous men) turned out last week for 2 days of networking and education, with a strong dose of primping and pampering (false eyelashes and a hand massage, anyone?) thrown into the mix. Each blogger had her own agenda, of course. “Newbies” came to learn how to get started, more established bloggers to see old friends and explore new corporate partnerships. Some bloggers spent all their time at the keynotes and seminars; others passed some hours sightseeing or at the pool. And of course, there were parties. Lots and lots of parties. It was, after all, BlogHer.

So how was this, my third BlogHer in a row (not counting BlogHer Business and local meetings) different from those in the past? For one, I had the wonderful opportunity to speak on a panel, called Bad Blogger Pitches (The Other Side of the PR-Blogger Relationship). More on that in a future post. In addition, based on the subject of my panel and some similar ones, there seemed to be more of a focus on professionalism — helping bloggers to realize that if they want to go beyond blogging for pleasure, if they want to turn their blogs into a profitable business, they need to understand what brands expect in return. Brands themselves, meanwhile, showed more thoughfulness in their approach to bloggers. Whether that meant offering the chance to settle back in a cozy room and cook up S’mores with Hershey or relax in a spa-like setting with HTC, some companies focused mo

 I can’t keep myself from smiling at the new TV ad from Toyota for Venza, all about the boomer generation’s lack of “sociability” in social media. In the commercial, a daughter laments the paucity of her parents’ Facebook followers. Interacting with online followers, in her view, is living. The commercial then shows scenes of her parents having a blast mountain biking with friends in real life (after driving to meet them in their Venza, of course).

Which brings me to one of my favorite questions: Do moms socialize in real life more as a result of social media, or less?

There’s no doubt that overall socialization, in the broader sense of the term, has improved as a result of social media. A University of Texas, Austin, survey of 900 current and recent college graduates concluded that Facebook provides opportunities for friendship, intimacy and community and in general causes us to be more social.

 But does networking on line make moms more social off line?

One dad — my husband, bless him — was a late convert to social media. His sole connection: Facebook. He started with it to “get up to speed” for work. And now… He spends a lot of his time not only catching up via Facebook but also meeting some of those folks he’s connected with– high school classmates or former work buddies – over lunch. I’d say that, for him, social media has created additional real life sociability.

I, on the other hand, definitely communicate online more regularly with people outside of my day-to-day circle, but don’t necessarily see them in person. While there is only so much time in the day to do anything – work, sleep, eat, take care of the kids – I wonder if that online time could be better spent over dinner or drinks either with those social media friends or others.

Blogging began as a way for women to connect with others virtually – then grew to conference after conference designed to bring them together in real life.

There are even new apps out there designed to take us away from the screens and into more “live” sociability. One called Sonar is said to link with your Facebook, Twitter, and/or Four Square account and send you alerts when you have a friend nearby. The idea behind the app, according to the founder, is to create a personal interaction and perhaps a friendship.

 Sherry Turkle, author of Alone Together, has a skeptical view of the Internet’s impact on real sociability. She believes that technology is dominating our lives to the point that it is causing us to become less human and providing us with a false sense of the real world.

 Moms, what is your take on social media? Does it make you more social in the real sense of the word – or less?

Marketers, what programs do you have to help bring friends together, live and in-person?

Although it will be no surprise to moms themselves, according to a recent Nielsen study moms rule the roost when it comes to social media. The research found:

• Moms are 19% more likely than the general population to engage in social networking
• They are also more likely to become a fan or follow a brand (31% more likely), become a fan or follow a celebrity (24% more likely) and comment on others’ postings (27% more likely than the general population).

Furthermore, moms are responsible for a quarter of all video streams on social networks, and are also more likely to post their own content:

• 37% more likely to post photos
• 25% more likely to link articles/videos
• 33% more likely to give status updates

Talk about owning a space!

The study is an intriguing one. For more details click here.

Now here’s a clever way to exploit the popularity of social media — talk trash against it and target the moms who love it.

There’s a new ad campaign called The Log Off which encourages moms to cut back on all that social media time and shift it instead to something more important — like playing with their kids.

The ad, designed to encourage what  its creator called “online moderation,” features a  lip-synched song  in which children are “pleading with their mommies to get off Facebook and play with them,” according to Social Times, and “really puts the guilt trip on moms who spend too much time on Facebook.”

Whoa.

While the ad was clearly designed to generate as much attention as possible (“Hey, let’s go bash some moms in social media and see if anyone talks about us!”), it does raise a few questions.

Ladies: Are you, in fact, spending way too much time on Facebook? IS it taking away from quality time with your kids? How do you feel about that and what, if anything, have you done in response?

Yesterday, I posted the highlights of an intriguing study just out from BabyCenter.  Today, some more details…

The study maintains that there are five unique segments of social moms and that these five are broken down into two categories

Influencers: Field Experts, Lifecasters and Pros

Influenced: Butterflies and the Audience 

According to the study,  these Influencers make up only 18% of social moms, but account for 78% of the influence. The research defined influence based on how often moms post or comment on social networks, along with the size of their networks. The study defined those networks as including “e.g., BabyCenter, Twitter, Facebook or blogs.”

Following is a summary of how BabyCenter breaks down its categories:

Field Expert. A young stay at home mom who uses social media to share parenting advice, typically  focused on a specific topic (e.g.,  raising twins, breastfeeding issues), with a large network of moms who seek her out for advice. She is defined as being most active in “parenting-focused social media environments.” According to the study, Field Experts make up 8% of social moms and have a 33% share of influence overall.

Lifecaster. A Millennial mom  of young children who is very active in social media.  She has a strong need to stay connected and enjoys being recognized as the person to go to on many topics, not just parenting. She has a large number of connections in social media.  Lifecasters make up 8% of social moms and 34% percent of influence overall.

Pros. Gen X mom bloggers who have turned their passion for social media into a profession. “She posts opinions and advice on a wide variety of topics including parenting tips and product reviews and giveaways.” Often, she has been compensated in some way for writing about brands on her blog. Pros represent 2% of moms in social media and have an 11% share of influence overall.  BabyCenter explains: “While they are incredibly influential individually, they account for a lower proportion of the influence overall due to their small size.” Pros are most influential on blogs, where they have an 89% share of influence and on Twitter with 68%.

And who are the Influenced?

Butterflies. Young professionals expecting their first child. She  has a lot of friends online and off, but little time, so  she tends to only post  important updates and primarily uses platforms such as Facebook.  She also seeks advice about her pregnancy on parenting-focused social media networks. She tends to be more on the receiving end of advice and recommendations rather than a dispenser of such information. Butterflies represent 16% of moms in social media but only wield 7% of the influence overall because of their low level of activity.

 The Audience. This, the largest group of social moms, is listening to the other moms. This group ranges from expectant moms to moms of older children. They have fewer online friends and comment less frequently in social media, but are highly influenced by the other segments. “Moms in this group use parenting-focused social media environments…to find useful information, ask questions, get product recommendations or receive support. They use mainstream social sites to keep in touch with friends and for consuming entertainment. They are there to observe and obtain information – not to comment.” At 66% percent of moms who use social media, the audience makes up the largest group but wields little influence relative to their size at 15% overall.

Moms, do you feel these categories make sense? Into which group do you fall? Marketers, what is your reaction?

 For more details on the “2010 Mom Social Influencer Report,” visit here.