Why we Care about Mommy Bloggers
Recently, I had the privilege of attending a “Social media for social good” workshop with media extraordinaire, Nirasha Jaganath, also known as the influential blogger, Mommy Niri. The workshop touched upon the importance of social media for today’s nonprofits and the ever so popular world of blogging.
As a writer for two blogs at BiddingForGood, I am always jazzed to learn how to infiltrate the world of other influential bloggers. These bloggers are sometimes known as “mommy bloggers” but be careful…there are a lot of daddy bloggers out there too!
We realize influential parenting bloggers are a great asset. These bloggers are people who care about their kids’ well being, education and future. As Mommy Niri pointed out, these people dedicate their entire life to their blogs so they can share useful information with us. The reason why BiddingForGood cares about these bloggers is because they are successful in leveraging social media to create an audience of pretty important people – other parents.
A good part of BiddingForGood’s business stems from moms and dads who care about their kids. About 40% of our business comes from PTO/PTA committees trying to raise money to enhance programs at their kids' school. Starting to see a cross-over?
BiddingForGood isn’t the only one who recognizes the magnitude of an influential blogger’s voice. Fortune 500 companies have instilled programs making influential bloggers their brand ambassadors. There are many forms of brand ambassadors. Some get paid cash, some get paid by product, and some get cross promotional benefits. Often times, bloggers receive products in the mail from companies vying for a nice little write up (or two) about their product. But did you know that some of these bloggers are sitting on a ton of products that they sometimes can’t even house? Heck, I can’t keep up with the amount of toys my kids currently have.
Mommy Niri found herself in a situation where products were starting to stockpile in her basement. She decided to do something “good” with them. Donate them, of course. What a wonderful idea. Who wouldn’t want donations of free, shiny new products? Well, to our surprise, it seems like she couldn’t give them away. She tried to donate the items to worth-while nonprofits and they declined her offer. Yup. They said “No. Thank you.” Why? Because they need dollars. I try to understand where the nonprofits were coming from as some of them are clients of ours.
Mommy Niri did find one nonprofit who was thrilled to take her up on her generous offering-Room to Grow. Room to Grow provides parents raising babies in poverty with one-on-one parenting support and essential baby items throughout their children’s critical first three years of life. Mommy Niri loved the feeling of being socially responsible and decided to extend the power of her blog with a second blog called Mommy Niri Cares. She uses the blog extension to round up other influential bloggers and tell the stories of “do-good” efforts. Genius! This is why we love influential bloggers. They don’t just have a powerful voice, but they have the power to make a real impact.
According to a Forbes article, there are about 3.9 million mommy bloggers out there. Imagine if they all had Mommy Niri’s ingenuity and passion? I certainly would have a lot to blog about it.