I’m headed to NYC today for business conference that’s part continuing ed and part relationship building with a key constituency PR folks like me work with regularly. It’s BlogHer '10 and from my understanding, bloggers from around the country convene on NYC to talk about trends & issues facing this form of social media, improving writing, monetizing your blog, how to talk about niche aspects of our lives and more.
I look forward to meeting some of the bloggers SONIC has worked with over the past couple of years. Bloggers have helped us drive awareness for cause branding (our Limeades for Learning® program), new products (like the Footlong Quarter Pound Coney) and Wacky Pack® Kids Meals and our fantastic lineup of non-entertainment branded toys.
The FCC regulations regarding disclosure were discussed at length and with some degree of controversy at BlogHer09. I wonder what the follow up will be this year. I’m also attending a preconference sessions called BlogHer Business '10 that is a smaller group with people like me who work with bloggers in a business setting.
I’m headed solo to this gig, although a woman who works on our business at Barkley (SONIC’s agency of record) is speaking and we plan to meet up at some point.
I look forward to meeting some of the women I follow in social media space, including @MomAgenda, @lauralevitan, Penelope Trunk, the Pioneer Woman and others. The sponsorships are pretty incredible for this gig – CPG brandsand other retailers see BlogHer conferences as a natural extension of their marketing mix. I’ll probably evaluate the conference to see if there’s opportunity to SONIC in some forms or fashion. Some of our competitors will be present and it will be interesting to see what they’re doing onsite to build relationships with bloggers.
Blogging and social media has and continues to change communications & PR. With the decline of print and local media, PR practitioners need to evolve. While there’s much dialog in the industry, I see many people still holding back & waiting to see what will happen. Too late for that, Charlie. The space will continue to evolve and we need to nimble enough to adapt to changing technology to spread the word. Interesting to me that some people still have their heads in the sand and think this marketing channel is “cute” or “fun” or “fly by night.”
I’ll let you know what I learn. Hopefully, I’ll pick up some tips, suggestions and strategies to make CNotes a better blog, too.
