My very first post. Welcome! As I'm sure you'll realise if you decide to come back over the coming months, this blog is about all that I encounter whilst living in London's Westbourne Grove, working in the dizzying world of PR and everything else inbetween.
I thought I'd start my very first blog post with an Ode to Mummy Bloggers, which might seem a bit strange since it's not a category I'm likely to fit into any time soon.
A chance meeting with some of the women (and men) behind Britain's vastly influential parenting blogs through work this week was a real joy; not only from a PR perspective but also a personal one. I'll admit to being a 'long time listener, first time caller' when it comes to engaging with the blogging world and I find it fascinating to watch how individuals are putting themselves out there with their personal lives.
The welcome side-effect is one of consumer empowerment, as brands face up to the reality that blogging is an essential - if risky - part of brand awareness. With the explosion of the Internet PR has gone digital and the success of social networking giants Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have increasingly put pressure on brands to engage with their audience in a very personal way.
But this isn't news to anyone. It's been widely reported on for the last year or so; in fact an Editor of a national newspaper has previously admitted that anything with a 'facebook angle' is almost guaranteed to make the paper, from the quirky 'My Dog Has 400,000 Friends On Facebook' to the seedier, more dangerous headlines that have become commonplace in the last twelve months.
The part that I find most interesting here is the duality of the mummy (and daddy) bloggers that I met. Whilst brands view the anonymous mummy blogger a mysterious, elusive and unpredictable force in person these women are charming, funny, friendly, engaging and open minded. They take their posts very seriously and (most) won't regurgitate PR fodder in place of real research, giving an honest and unbridled opinion on the topic in question. Their commitment to transparency is clearly reflected in their ever-growing influence.
But with great power comes great responsibility: talking with the bloggers at my table they explained that brand-bashing was a serious and real possibility for any brand that didn't respect the relationship - but not one taken lightly by any of the bloggers. What I really took away from the meeting was the realisation that the blogger/PR relationship was much like any other; regular time, attention and love is needed to make sure both sides to have their needs met (although it's certainly true that bloggers need a bit more TLC than that of the well seasoned journo). Impeccable manners won't do any harm either, as well as good old fashioned face-to-face time (not to be confused with the iPhone's latest call mechanism).
