• by Stephanie Azzarone , Op-Ed Contributor, December 28, 2011

It’s been the year of the mommy blogger, as companies of all sizes have fully recognized the potential impact of blogging moms on consumer purchasing decisions.

So what will 2012 bring? As one who has been involved in connecting bloggers with brands for many years, I’d like to proffer these projections:

• Wheat and chaff. Brands will become more selective about whom they work with. No longer will they blast out information and product samples to mass lists of a thousand or more moms, many of whom don’t cover relevant topics, reach the right target audience or have enough posting frequency or readership to make even the most minimal effort worthwhile. Instead, companies will be discerning in the numbers and quality of the bloggers they contact.
• Defining influence. These same brands will look beyond UVMs and even Facebook and Twitter numbers to more closely identify true influencers.
• No need to apply. Brands will get increasingly frustrated with the lack of professionalism among many mom bloggers – leading to a further narrowing of the field.
• Raising the bar. As bloggers partner with brands for more paid activities, the cost of hiring these moms to serve as ambassadors, host special events or create content will rise.
• Fear factor.  When blogging was young, many companies feared doing or saying “the wrong thing.” For 2012, companies will feel more comfortable about making their expectations clear.
• Analyze this. Brands will take a much closer look at measurement. Most companies have moved beyond the “gotta be in social media” stage to the “what does this get me” level. Eventually, bloggers will have to demonstrate that they can drive traffic or accomplish other key corporate objectives. Right now, only the top few are succeeding in doing that. At some point, visibility and buzz alone will not be enough.

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