The growing influence of mommy blogs within PR

I looked at the posts in my Twitter feed the other day, and realized they all seemed to fit into one of four categories: news, local interests, friends or “mommy bloggers”.  Mommy blogs are a fairly new media sub-group, but they have become increasingly popular among modern mamas today.

The rising influence of mom bloggers have caused PR professionals to sit up and take note of their important role in the media.

What is a mommy blog?

A mommy blog is a blog written by a mother, or team of mothers, that covers topics of interest to other mothers. The vast majority of mommy blogs are personal accounts. Essentially, they are public diaries of a woman’s thoughts, questions and reflections of the season she is going through as a parent.

However, some mommy bloggers have a specific focus. An example is The Travelling Mom, who describes her blog as the modern mom’s guide to travel sanity with your family. She offers tips, travel advice and inspiration for planning a fun and educational family holiday.

Other blogs are more corporate. These larger blogs – often blog collectives – are managed and written by a team of women.  The yummymummyclub, created by former MuchMusic VJ Erica Ehm, is a perfect example. This site is a place where you will find Erica’s thoughts, but also short articles on a variety of topics, links to other blogs and advertising.

Public relations and the mommy bloggers

Good PR work involves developing relationships and understanding the variety of media that could help to deliver the messages you want to communicate. Mommy blogs offer PR pros a new channel through which to reach a niche community of readers with limited time, definite ideas and unique perspectives.

Here are a few reasons why public relations professionals need to engage with mommy bloggers:

• Gets the story to your audience – serious bloggers are modern journalists and can be seen as a trustworthy source for credible information
• Influence – a mommy blog may be a busy mother’s only news source in a day, making them a great way to reach this niche market
• Product reviews – some bloggers will test a product and post a review on their blog

Recognizing the value in connecting with these influencers, Peak has conducted several campaigns targeted to mommy bloggers. For our client Harrison Hot Springs Resort, we organized a family-oriented media familiarization tour for several local mom influencers to experience the resort with their children. This resulted in media coverage on several high profile blogs and the VancouverMom e-zine.

To help Freybe Gourmet Foods launch its line of natural meats, we hosted a Mom Meet-Up which brought together several of the Lower Mainland’s mommy bloggers to sample products and discuss the challenges in making healthy meals for your children. Currently, we are working with Novo Textiles Co. to promote its new NOVOshield home textiles line and are inviting Canada’s top mom bloggers to review the product. By engaging this demographic in an authentic way, we are able to introduce our clients to an entirely new online audience.