Monetization Power Session – Type-A Conference 2011 Liveblogging

The Monetization Power Session is running a bit late with David Binkowski, Holly Hamann, Maria Bailey, and Tonja Deegan – but we’re now getting started. Kelby Carr is moderating. We’ve been told that this will be an interactive session, but I’m not quite sure how that’s supposed to be working out.

Can each of you share what your biggest success story is as far as working with bloggers for pay?

Tonja’s firm hasn’t done many paid campaigns. They’ve done a lot of reviews, though.

Holly is telling us about Kenmore’s recent project working with mom bloggers who told heartfelt stories. They asked moms what their biggest household challenge was. They wanted insight from 40-50 bloggers and to get Facebook Likes. They ended up getting replies from 6,000 women about their biggest household challenges, with thousands of new Facebook Likes.

Maria wants to help move bloggers out of blogging and into other media. Her most successful campaigns have involved social media moms. She hires moms for companies like Wyndham to blog on the brand websites. It provides a regular income on a monthly basis. She also has moms do video reviews. Most moms watch more videos online in a week than they read blogs. (Not true for me, but I can see why others would.)

David wants to talk about the Intuition campaign. They wanted to be on Facebook, but he had to help them understand how consumers work and how the Internet works. They actually launched Twitter first, and with BlogHer coming up, they did a party. They wanted real women that other brands may shy away from because they weren’t considered “safe.” Within a month of launching the Facebook page, they had 66,000 fans. (I don’t think he’s really answering the question.)

What are your biggest challenges as far as paying bloggers for their work?

David says the biggest challenge is not the money, but that things change. Companies will decide they want to do something, but then for no apparent reason, the agency gets a call to say the budget has been frozen.

Maria says that the biggest challenge is that moms are busy, and from where she sits, she doesn’t always get things back on a timely basis. Moms don’t always meet the deadlines. Sometimes it can take three months after initial contact, and the company has a knee-jerk reaction when they say one day, “Okay, go!” But life has gotten in the way since then, and they aren’t able to deliver.

Holly says they have account managers who do fight very hard for the bloggers. They do try to pay bloggers what they are worth, accommodating women who come back and justify why they deserve to get more compensation than they were originally offered… but it can be hard to fit that into the budget.

A survey showed them that bloggers are most dissatisfied with working with brands because of :

1. disorganization
2. didn’t like the product
3. money (way down in third place!)

Tonja explains that moving from traditional PR structure (everything unpaid) to a new model has been difficult for some agencies. They have a 18-month plan or a 24-month plan, but they didn’t have a budget for brand ambassador programs, etc.

PR, advertising, etc. used to be all completely separate, but now they are needing to work together.

What is the difference between earned media and paid media, and how does ethics fit in?

Tonja talks about earned media being the responsibility of PR. Press releases used to be the vehicle that worked. Paid media has traditionally been advertising and stuff that PR never used to touch. Traditional agencies that send out press releases are baffled when bloggers come back about a pitch when they want to get paid. We need to move toward a model where people are getting paid on more of a spokesperson model instead of paying for reviews.

Holly says that brands want the long-term relationships with bloggers, and that’s what they’re willing to pay for. They want bloggers who are invested in their products, who already love their brands. They want bloggers to acknowledge and disclose the relationships to be ethical.

Maria wants to reiterate that brands do want to build relationships. She thinks reviews will go the way of banner ads. They’ll disappear because they’re becoming less relevant. The biggest challenge in this social media/PR revolution is that bloggers want to be respected as journalists, but they don’t have to stand up to the same journalistic standards as, say, a reporter at the New York Times. (For the record, I do not claim to be a journalist.  I don’t want to be a journalist.)

David says that you must disclose your relationships with brands or you will get caught. Ignorance is not a defense. But there are a lot of ignorant agencies that ask bloggers to do very unethical things. (Are they pleading ignorance when they’re called out, but only to cover their butts? Or do they really not know? Either way, that’s one way to know you don’t want to work with that agency.)

It takes more work to be unethical than it is to be ethical.

What can bloggers do to best position themselves to make money?

David’s advice: If you don’t use LinkedIn to search for brands and companies, start doing it now. Connect with brands and agencies, and let them know you’re interested in working with them. It’s a site about business, and it makes you look professional.

Maria spent a decade trying to convince companies that moms are important. Moms yield a lot of influence in a variety of sessions. Companies are interested in you bbecause of that influence. The more places you are, the more influential you are. Get into podcasts, get involved in your kids’ schools. Put all of your offline activities in your media kit, including the 100 other moms you talk to at PTA meetings.

Holly says you don’t have to go to the brand directly. Go to the agencies; try to find the brand managers you want to work with. (How do you find out which agencies work with which brands?) Smaller bloggers count. Some brands want those bloggers who have fewer than 5,000 unique visitors. Use keywords. Don’t be a wildcard. Some brands don’t want to work with anyone who blogs about alcohol, tobacco, or firearms. Be reliable.

Tonja wants your media kit to give her state or region – you don’t need GPS or street address, but they need to know generally where you are for location-specific campaigns. She’s done some ridiculous amounts of research to find out where some bloggers are located. (That’s what Beth and I are trying to make easier with our new company, Tech Valley Bloggers, to connect businesses with bloggers in the area surrounding Albany, New York.)

If you’re not on Foursquare, checking in and doing stuff in your local community, get on there. Brands want to see that you’re getting your community involved in the conversation. (I knew that getting my Foursquare checkins would pay off eventually!) (Price Chopper, my local grocery chain, HAS noticed that I am the mayor of their highest volume store.)

Interactive Time

PR is made up of a lot of younger people who aren’t being taught about social media in school.

Mingle locally. Join your Chamber of Commerce. Work with local companies. Teach those local companies about social media. (I’m on it!) Get to know your local business community.

When you see brands working with the same big bloggers all the time, it’s all about traffic. But those brands that work with  the smaller bloggers are looking to develop real relationships with bloggers who have a passion for their niche.

Ideas from the Crowd

Offering coupons from brands that fit in with stories they’re telling about their families to make these things relevant.

Don’t forget moms of older kids who are raising the next generation of consumers, who will be out there in the world spending their own money in the next few years. Dispel the myth that parents don’t have more control over how kids spend their money.

A master list of PR contacts, who works with which brand, would be very helpful for bloggers who want to work with them.

I am liveblogging as a volunteer for the Type-A Parent Conference, and an edited version of this post will be available directly on Type-A Parent.

Christina Gleason (976 Posts)

That’s me: Christina Gleason. I’m a writer, editor, and disability advocate. I'm a multiply disabled autistic lady doing my best in this world built for abled people. I’m a geek for grammar, fantasy, and casual gaming. I hate vegetables. I cannot reliably speak, so I’ll happily conduct business over email or messaging instead.