Toy Fair Social Media Panel, Part 2: The Blogger Perspective

Last week, I had the opportunity to moderate a panel at Toy Fair titled, Connecting With Moms In Social Media — Blogs, Twitter and Facebook,  featuring representatives from toy companies K’NEX and Hidden City Games, and mom bloggers. In a previous post, I offered a summary of the marketers’ point of view. Today I’d like to share some key tips from the wonderful mom bloggers on the panel — Kimberly Coleman, Mom in the City and Melissa Chapman, Real Moms Guide, Kids in the City and WCBS-TV.

Marketers, here’s what mom bloggers want you to know:

• To marketers numbers are important, but to bloggers it’s all about influence.  If you are trying to find mom bloggers to work with, just remember that lists are subjective. Know the blog’s audience – it’s about the quality of people reading the blog, not always the quantity.
• Listen before you speak. Begin by searching Twitter and setting up Google Alerts to find out who is already talking about your brand.  Engage with the moms on Twitter and read their blogs to find out what they are writing about.
• Be authentic. Have a dedicated person handling your Facebook and Twitter accounts because that offers more of a personal connection to the brand.
• Remember that everything isn’t for everybody. You don’t want to send a plastic toy to a “green” mom blogger.
• There are no guarantees that you’ll get a good review – it actually is better to get an honest review rather than a post that just cuts and pastes a press release.
• Be honest when approaching bloggers. Be clear about what you are offering and make sure it’s mutually beneficial.
• Don’t expect bloggers to write about your product without seeing it. Bloggers want to know what the product is and why it’s relevant to their audience.
• Bloggers also want their readers to be able to purchase the product, so make sure it’s available for parents to buy.

Marketers, do you have any questions or comments? Mom bloggers, is there anything you would like to add to the list?