With Mother’s Day fast approaching, we decided to take a look at the growing practice by consumer brands and their agencies to include mom bloggers as a part of the PR and marketing mix. <br /> <br />The trend of mother’s publishing content about their lives while weaving in their experiences with products and services is big business. <br />BlogHer, known for its namesake conference since 2005, says it has paid $25 million to 5,000 bloggers and social media influencers over the past five years. <br /> <br />More than a dozen similar paid blogger networks compete in the space, and highly targeted multicultural variations now include Muslim, Latina and African American women, among others. <br /> <br />The Federal Trade Commission has taken notice, including rules in its March 2013 publication of “.com Disclosures.” It’s a must-read for any organization contemplating hiring mom bloggers as part of the PR or marketing efforts, and for content creators who don’t want to find themselves testifying at a Senate subcommittee hearing about payola in the form of juice boxes or diapers. <br /> <br />Critical Mention interviewed Cristy Clavijo-Kish, a veteran Miami PR pro who worked at Porter Novelli before co-founding Hispanic PR Wire, which was acquired by PR Newswire in 2008. In recent years, as co-CEO of Latina Mom Bloggers, Clavijo-Kish has built a business that pays content creators for posts that meet both brand and regulatory requirements. <br />“It has become a profession,” said Clavijo-Kish. “A lot of stay at home moms have an opportunity, but also professionals – former media people, marketing people who really know what they are doing in terms of content delivery and making a personal connection.” <br /> <br />The logo wall of fame on the Latina Mom Bloggers page touts work with retailers like JCPenney, Dollar General, The Home Depot, Walmart, Target and Best Buy; consumer products companies like Clorox, Unilever, S.C. Johnson and P&G; entertainment giants like Disney and Universal; and even the automakers Ford and Nissan. <br /> <br />A common thread in the content published about these brands and their products is how they relate to individual bloggers and their families, said Clavijo-Kish. <br /> <br />“They need to definitely make it about themselves. It’s not just about the brand. It’s about how they feel about that brand.” <br /> <br />Insights provided by Critical Mention’s broadcast media monitoring
