Women Bloggers Studied As Sponsored Conversations Start

by Les Luchter, May 5, 2011, 7:00 AM

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More than 90% of women bloggers are eager to partner with advertisers, but 60% have never been approached by any brand or agency, according to a survey conducted last month by BlogFrog across its network of blog sites and analyzed by the Social Studies Group.

BlogFrog, whose network of 75,000 bloggers on women's and "mom" topics reaches more than 6 million women monthly, said that 2,000 of them had responded to the survey.

The key findings include:

· Almost all women bloggers had positive opinions on brand-sponsored social media and blog campaigns. Almost 60% of them indicated they want long-term, deeper relationships with a few special brands.

· Of those who have received brand pitches, 70% reject at least half of them.

· As consumers, women bloggers are highly influenced by other blogs. 93% have purchased a product based on brand information found on a blog or online community.

Brands like Purex, Disney, Kraft, Silhouette, Procter & Gamble, and CSN were given high marks for their blogger relations.

The survey results come on the heels of BlogFrog's launch of Sponsored Conversations, an ad vehicle that enables brands to initiate and maintain large-scale, real-time online discussions among targeted women.

One of the first Sponsored Conversations campaigns, from Sears' Kenmore home appliance brand, illustrates how the ad vehicle works. Developed by digital agency Zeno Group, the campaign enlisted 40 influential mom bloggers reaching 3 million readers to post and answer the question, "What's Your Biggest Household Challenge?" Each blog's readers were also asked to answer that question.

The bloggers also provided the readers with a link to a hub page where original posts and -- over four weeks -- 6,000 responses from all 40 blogs were captured, aggregated, and curated. In addition, Kenmore invited readers to post their comments via its Facebook page for a chance to win an iPad2.

Finally, a Kenmore dynamic display ad, featuring a real-time updated comment string and link to the hub page, ran wide across the net. BlogFrog, which partners with such networks as Glam Media and Federated Media for its ad placements, calls this element an "amplification" of the original conversation.

This week, the campaign entered its second and final month, with a change in the conversation, and related hub page and dynamic ad. Kenmore and the bloggers have now invited readers to share "genius" household tips. Prizes in a new contest, again via Facebook, include a $3,000 gift certificate and chance to appear in a Kenmore ad.

BlogFrog's Sponsored Conversations cost from $15,000 to $30,000 per month, with a $7-9 CPM, Holly Hamann, the company's co-founder and VP, told Online Marketing Daily. BlogFrog splits the revenues 50/50 with the bloggers, who also receive direct compensation -- usually several hundred dollars -- for their sponsored posts, which are clearly labeled as such. In the new survey results, the 90% who want to work with brands also want compensation.

With Mother's Day quickly approaching, the power of the so-called mommy blogs to sway brand conversations was also evident Wednesday as BlogHer -- promoted as the largest women's blog community, with 25 million unique monthly visitors -- formed an online video syndication network called Her Channel in conjunction with women's digital media company DECA.

Meredith's Parents magazine, meanwhile, issued a press release just to thank mom blogs for helping Parents.com garner more than 27,000 entries in its annual "cutest baby" photo contest, with the grand prize winner to appear on the magazine's cover in November.

Yet, while the mom blogs often take the media spotlight, BlogFrog's Hamann stressed that her company works with all manner of women's blogs -- whose topics range from infertility to military wives, cancer survivors and eco-bloggers.

And BlogFrog, which began two years ago with the aim of bringing real-time conversations to blog sites, is likely to expand into additional blog areas. Hamann offered a whole list of possible categories deemed complementary to the current women's/mom focus: food, fashion, health & wellness, fitness and entertainment.

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