It's a Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom World

Mother’s Day may be in May, but the blogosphere reminds us that mom is to be cherished—forever and always.

I chatted via e-mail and Twitter with Cat, the creator of the mom blog 3 Kids and Us, which has made its way to #5 on the top 100 Mom Bloggers Club list. That’s quite a feat since the blog really just started (early summer 2008), and we bloggers know, it takes a LONG time to spread word-of-mouth or link-luv about a blog.

In 1999, it was reported that nearly 80-85 percent of women are the primary purchase decision-makers in the home, and Cat is quick to point out, “men just don’t make up that number, because moms are the researchers. As a mom, I want to make sure the products I use are safe for my family. All moms want that,” she said.

The explosion of moms on social networks has lead to some poignant acronyms as well: WAHM, SAHM, FTWM. There’s probably many more but that’s currently what’s out there on TwitterMoms profiles and online clubs such as Mom Bloggers Club, CaféMom, and Cat’s personal favorite, MomDot.com— because the founder Trisha knows how to keep moms connected while also offering a more personable, welcoming atmosphere. MomDot.com via its Ning social network garners a whopping 50,000 unique visitors per month, so according to Cat, “Trisha is doing something right.”

Don’t underestimate moms’ stamina in broadcasting her favorite events, news, or kids’ stories over a blog. Cat informed me she spends a total of 8 hours/day blogging, so it’s really a full-time gig with the added hustle and bustle around the home. The most surprising thing about mom blogs, particularly “3 Kids and Us,” regardless of the Web-click banner ads for monetization purposes: blogs are not a source of income for families. That sure shocked me, as I always figured top mom bloggers with high visitor traffic would be shoe-ins for a start-up entrepreneur contest entitled, “The Next Best Thing.”

As the telescopic lens of company brands has become more zoomed in on moms, so have the criticisms for doing things wrong. Though it’s not a requirement for brand managers to hire a social media mom (Lolita Carrico thinks so), Cat drives this mom message home:

“If a company wants to sell their product to a mom or her children, they need to take the time to speak with the people to whom they are marketing. Moms know what they want and need; we don’t want to be told by a suit why something is beneficial for our families when they themselves have no idea how the product will fit into our lives.”

So here’s to moms like Cat who are working really hard in energizing other moms and companies to do it right, and aren’t getting paid for it.

To Ask Or Not To Ask: That Is The Question

I think we would all agree it is important to make it easy for people to sign up for our blog's RSS feeds and give multiple options (Reader or email), but I think there are some differing opinions about actively asking for people to subscribe.

My favorite radio station, The Current, is an indie public radio station based in Minneapolis. This week they are having a member drive for financial support. The station is completely funded by donations and therefore depends on the growth of their member base. In its 4 years on the air, word of mouth has spread the station all over the world and their model has been deemed a successful model for how independent and community-based radio is done. Of course you can donate any time, but during member drives, most of The Current's budget for the year comes in.

I've seen blogs go with a few different options for recruiting new readers. Some have their own type of "member drive," occasionally reminding readers in a post to take the next step and become a more involved member of the community by signing up for the RSS feed (or making a comment). Some make a clear push by including a "Did you like what you read, then sign up here" type of approach at the top or bottom of each new blog post. Others prefer to not make outright requests for new readers, but let the community spread word if they like what they read.

I asked "Ask for new RSS members or not?" on Twitter and here's what a few people said:So what do you think? What's your approach?

Strike A Balance Between Hope and Reality

Students and practitioners of PR would be wise to study President Barack Obama's communication skills. His ability to connect to an audience was on display last night during his nationally televised address to a Joint Session of Congress. I can't recall the last time we had such a clear and prominent example of a master communicator in the forefront of American culture. If part of a president's job is to inspire hope and calm the country's fears, then Obama needn't worry too much about his job performance in that category. Some would argue that our daily Dow Jones nosedives better reflect the president's overall approval on Wall Street, but his approval ratings on Main Street--which are currently in the sixties-- should be his top concern at the moment in regards to public opinion.

Obama walked a difficult line last night between acknowledging the harsh reality of our current economic situation and delivering a hopeful message to the American people in desperate need of help. A good communicator addressing his people in times of crisis must never underestimate the hardships of his constituents, nor should he continually linger on a message of sorrow and pessimism. Former President Bill Clinton, in a recent interview on Good Morning America, offered a few helpful suggestions to Obama. Clinton felt that Obama was focusing too narrowly on the reality of the economic situation, which is nothing short of bleak. Though Obama's adherence to transparency in the oval office is commendable, his near abandonment of the soaring, hopeful rhetoric that was so vividly on display during his campaign was disconcerting for many Americans, especially his supporters.

But judging from last night's speech, Obama has taken Clinton's advice and added the necessary "lift" to his oratory address. Obama basically said that though we may have dark days ahead of us, our country has always succeeded and will continue to do so. We've faced much worse in the past, he said, yet still came out on top. Obama carefully stressed several non-partisan issues like improving education and fixing healthcare in order to rouse both sides of the congress to its feet in unanimous applause. 33 times to be exact. He even managed to raise his former rival, Senator John McCain, in support of ending the war in Iraq. Was McCain's gracious gesture more out of courtesy and respect for our country's leader than for full agreement? Probably. But Americans like to see their politicians put aside their differences in support of a common purpose for the greater good of the country. And the people's opinion means everything in a democracy of elected representatives.

It seems that more than ever, we need a good leader to show us out of the darkness of recession and into the light of prosperity. He needs to be a symbol of strength, fortitude, and tenacity. And as we all know, it takes someone who can really connect with the people. Let's hope our leaders continue to practice the lessons of good PR. We need it now more than ever.

Breaking Breakfast Promos on Twitter

Today's tweets about free pancakes promo brought to you by IHOP reminds me of yet another breaking breakfast promotion (previously broadcast) on Twitter: Denny's Free Grand Slam Breakfast.

Now to you newbies of Denny's, like me, that's any four breakfast items of your choosing for FREE (originally breaks your wallet for 6 bucks). Two Eggs, two sausage links, two pancakes, two bacon strips or two slices of toast. Let's not forget about hash browns, buttermilk biscuits, or english muffins. Four of these breakfast items for free; 99 cents for more? I must be dreaming.

Though it may sound like a commercial ad too good to be true, Twitterers are among the first demographic to share free breakfast news with you, and I'd say Denny knows this because Denny knows social media. Denny's "Adopt a Band" program via Facebook Page has been wildly successful--with Good Charlotte and Taking Back Sunday letting everyone know that inside the diner. Band pics adorn the page, as well as 5,300+ fans. A simplified back-door approach, Denny's Adopt a Band program was part of its effort to rebrand "Denny's All Nighter," to appeal to a more on-the-road and breakfast-worthy demographic. Another brilliant move by the Denny's brand: All Night After Parties complete with a listing of party dates. Wow. Apparently, they've been doing this since 1953 (!), according to their Twitter bio.

You might be thinking Denny's fanbase is a far cry from IHOP's 26,000+ fans on Facebook and today being National Pancake Day and all, but as we've mentioned before, it's all about interactivity. No show of a discussion board or an administrator heavily involved in answering Q&As, but a lovely bunch of loyals touting the free pancake promotion at IHOP restaurants nationwide. Hmm... maybe the Twitter love is all IHOP needs to make themselves memorable among breakfast competitors.

What do you think? Denny's or IHOP for sustainable social media?

Getting Caught Up

I just got back from a week vacation. I was almost completely away from the internet the entire week - no email, RSS, blogs, Twitter, or Facebook. Aside from about 1 hour during the week in which I checked my personal email, everything else was on hold and I knew it was growing. When I came into the office this morning, I had several hundred emails, over 1500 RSS feeds, and a whole week of Twitter messages to untangle.

A few observations:

• I ended up just deleting or marking lots of emails and articles right away in order to bail the water out of the boat quicker. While most days this tends to take place on a smaller and slightly slower scale, I found my "scanning eyes" were moving quite quickly. Lesson learned: Maybe there are lots of things that I don't really need to read even during a normal week.
  
• After visiting a few sites, I was able to establish a picture of some of the things I had missed. I watched TweetWeek to get a recap of some of Twitter happenings. I scanned PopURLs to look for top stories that I may have missed. Lesson learned: Sites that compile and recap can be just as helpful as reading it all yourself, but takes a lot less time.
  
• Although I tried to eliminate the clutter and ignore the "echo chamber" effect of social media buzz, there was still a good amount to read. Lesson learned: There is no way around the fact that you must be "in" social media to understand what is going on.
• After getting somewhat caught up, an interesting thought popped into my mind: Did I really miss anything? Through reading recaps, eliminating the waste, and ignoring the echo chamber, I was able to effectively catch up in a fraction of the time I normally would have. It seems like there is not only a lot of repeating going on in social media, but there may also be a lot of things that can waste your time. Possible lesson learned: Maybe a week away isn't as detrimental as I thought it could be.

A few questions for you -
Where do you go to get caught up when you get behind on news, social media happenings, etc?
Could you be away from Twitter/Facebook/etc for a week and not implode?
If you were away one week, what would you really miss that couldn't be remedied with a little catch up?