I am 21 years old, in college, out of the house… but the truth is, even though my mother is 2oo miles away in Atlanta, I still hear her voice in my head when I am trying to make the simplest of decisons. “Don’t eat that.” “Clean up behind yourself.” Blah, blah, blah. And even though she isn’t here, I do it.
I know that I am not the only one who does this. That’s why when I found this blog: Micky D’s and Moms- The Three “R”s of blogger Relations, I was glad to hear that I was not alone.
This article talked about how ifluential are mom’s are in life, and how that influence is now moving to the web- blogs to be exact. With that being said, three main goals for McDonald’s is to use “social media to build the business, manage customer problems, and beef up outreach to target groups such as mommy bloggers.”
In order to reach this mommy blogger euphoria- they must meet the three “R”s of blogger relations:
Research: Any brand or PR firm that wants to get in-front of the momosphere needs to find the right moms first – picking at random won’t cut it with the mamas.
Respect: Well, who wouldn’t respect a mom to begin with? But as a rule, treat bloggers with as much respect as journalists.
Relationships: Possibly the biggest theme of the session – building relationships with bloggers is key. Without any sort of relationship, the blogger has no reason to listen to your pitch or even your brand.
These three R’s should be kept in mind whenever trying to build a relationship with mommy bloggers.
Parents do influence what their kids eat whether we realize it or not. It doesn’t surprise me to see that McDonald’s is concerned about the “momosphere” and has gotten the ball rolling on their response. They have a long history of dealing with criticism. They seem to have done a good job of responding to the “Super-Size Me” documentary. They basically amped up their marketing and started putting “healthier” alternatives on their menus, which worked. I think they’ll have no problem navigating the blogosphere. That being said, their statement is a good example to follow. Blogging is about building relationships, and the best way to maintain them is through respect for fellow bloggers.
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