bloggers

Simple Actions Make a Difference in the Fight Against Child Hunger in America

May 19, 2016 by The Motherhood

Since 2013, The Motherhood has been a very proud supporter of the Child Hunger Ends Here campaign by ConAgra, which aims to empower a community of people to take on the fight against child hunger in America, changing the realities of hunger one meal at a time.

This year, YouTube sensation Kid President (aka Robby Novak) partnered with ConAgra to help bring awareness to this critical issue. Working with ConAgra, The Motherhood mobilized our network of bloggers to share Kid President’s video, helping trigger meal donations from ConAgra to Feeding America (with one view, like or share of the video equaling one donation). We were thrilled to hear we surpassed the goal of 100,000 meals in less than one week – amazing!

Kid President helps fight child hunger — Credit: Jon Morgan/AP Images for ConAgra

Over the past several years, in partnership with ConAgra, its agencies, retail partners and celebrity ambassadors, The Motherhood has engaged 136 bloggers as advocates for the Child Hunger Ends Here program, generating more than 1.2 billion overall impressions during that time. By taking simple yet impactful actions themselves, and encouraging their communities to do the same, these bloggers alone have triggered an estimated half a million meal donations!

That group includes a number of bloggers who have lent their voices, support and influence to more than one Child Hunger Ends Here campaign over the years, helping to make a continued impact on the fight against child hunger in America. In their words, here is why the program strikes a chord with them:

Anne, Upstate Ramblings
“Kids love helping others, and it is important to teach them compassion when they are young so it becomes a lifelong habit. My son helps out with a huge food drive run by the scouts every year, but we also make sure to drop off smaller amounts of food every month. Food pantries always need more supplies, and every donation, no matter how small, will be appreciated.”

Getting involved in the fight against child hunger in America — Image credit: Anne, Upstate Ramblings

Crystal, Cinnamon Hollow
“You know the saying ‘It takes a village to raise a child’? Well that saying comes from somewhere. We are a nation that is built to take care of one another. If the children of our future are suffering, guess what? We’re all suffering. It’s not too difficult to reach out and make sure everyone has enough food on their table. Actually, it’s REALLY easy. And all you have to do is shop for your own regular products. ConAgra, Kroger and P&G do the rest.”

Crystal, Simply Being Mommy
“Companies like ConAgra make it easy to help and get involved in the fight against hunger in the United States. I’ve been a huge supporter of the Child Hunger Ends Here program for the last few years and I invite you to be a supporter as well. I can’t think of a better cause to support than hungry children within our own communities.”

getting kids involved in the fight against child hunger in America — Image credit: Crystal, Simply Being Mommy

Donna, Blog By Donna
“It truly is inexcusable to me that here in the United States, the land of the free, the land of the plenty, the land where many of us waste food on a daily basis… we have children hungry. And children who experience even intermittent struggles with hunger may suffer serious, long-term consequences to their health, well-being and educational achievement. What’s more, being hungry robs kids of the promise of childhood – the ability to play, grow and learn. It’s easy for us to help end child hunger. Seriously… EASY! ConAgra Foods is partnering with P&G to build a community of people to make a difference …. this is a cause I will gladly support.”

Jennifer, Double Duty Mommy
“While I was [on the site] I also signed up to make a monthly donation. I feel good about donating because at least my family is helping our community every month even if we can’t always bring food directly into the food banks.”

Volunteers helping the fight against child hunger in America — Credit: Jon Morgan/AP Images for ConAgra

Kathy, A Mom’s Impression
“Ending child hunger is going to take a lot of people taking little steps. One of the easiest steps is helping ConAgra Foods by entering a code to supply a meal for a child. Join me today, and help end this epidemic in America!”

Lending Support in the Fight Against Child Hunger in America

The Child Hunger Ends Here program has set a goal to donate one million meals to food insecure kids in 2016, and everyone can easily participate by going to their favorite retailer and looking for the red pushpin and code on specially marked packages of ConAgra’s food, like Marie Callender’s® and Hunt’s®. For each eight-digit code entered at www.childhungerendshere.com from January 2016 through January 2017, ConAgra will donate the monetary equivalent of one meal to Feeding America, up to one million meals.

To learn more about the issue of child hunger and ways to get involved, visit www.childhungerendshere.com and click on the “How You Can Help” tab.

This post on the fight against child hunger in America is published in proud partnership with Child Hunger Ends Here. All opinions are our own.

Featured image courtesy of the Child Hunger Ends Here program.

The Motherhood Research Reveals How Sponsored Content Leads to Purchase

January 28, 2016 by The Motherhood

When researching products and making a purchase, consumers turn to real people whose opinions they value.

There has been a shift in online advertising, and consumers are less receptive to intrusive ads and impersonal brand messaging. Digital ad-blockers are now among the most popular app downloads, and to continue reaching target consumers online, brands are increasingly turning to sponsored content on blogs and social media.

Authentic, high-quality online content, developed by influencers, represents the future of public relations and digital marketing. However, the need to track how these sponsored content campaigns lead to consumers making a purchase is a critical challenge.

To help determine what kinds of messages encourage brand affinity and consumer purchase, The Motherhood asked more than 700 blog readers from across the country to share insights on how they consume online content, including sponsored content – and its impact on what they buy.

Creating Trust

I’m definitely more likely to trust another mom than I am to trust a brand advertisement.

Social media and blogs present the unique opportunity to build a sense of community and trust with others like us, and also for brands to authentically connect with consumers. Online influencers have created tribes of followers, made up of people who have similar interests and who value their opinions.

Blog readers highly value bloggers’ perspectives and recommendations. As a result, readers share those recommendations with their own communities in real life and online, creating a ripple effect. With 86 percent of readers talking to others offline about topics they’ve seen in blogs and on social media, sponsored content not only influences direct readers, but also the readers’ social circle, creating a trust circle with exponential reach.

Readers aren’t Buyers — Yet

Personal stories I’ve read always weigh in my mind when making a decision about a product.

While consumers are reading blog posts and social media, they are just that – readers. A common misconception is that when an individual reads a blog or social post about a product they will immediately click through to purchase. Our study found that the influence of online content extends beyond that initial read.

After reading a blog post, the majority of consumers keep the information in mind for when they’re actively considering making a purchase in the future, and only 13 percent make a purchase right away. When evaluating the effectiveness of social media programs at driving sales, brand marketers need to recognize that there is most often a gap between the initial impression and the time when the consumer is ready to buy.

Making a Purchase

One of the best things about the internet is that you can get all sorts of opinions on all sorts of things. You just have to connect with people who like what you like for the reasons you like.

However, when readers are ready to buy, brands they’ve read about online and those their friends have mentioned rise to the top of their minds. Although The Motherhood’s research found that making a purchase isn’t necessarily an immediate action, future purchases are very often influenced by sponsored content online: the vast majority of consumers stated they are more likely to purchase from a brand they’ve read about on a blog or in social media.

Want to know more? See the entire infographic below for the complete results of The Motherhood’s research!

Blogs Motivate and Support New Year’s Resolutions

January 6, 2016 by The Motherhood

Have you set any New Year’s resolutions for 2016?

Approximately 45 percent* of Americans make New Year’s resolutions, but only about eight percent are successful in reaching their goals. Among resolutions for 2016, the top categories included:

Self improvement or education-related resolutions (47 percent)
Weight-related resolutions (38 percent)
Money-related resolutions (34 percent)
Relationship-related resolutions (31 percent)

The Motherhood analyzed anonymous Facebook conversations on the topic of New Year’s resolutions leading up to the start of 2016. Here are some interesting points we uncovered:

Top general topics mentioned included: family, friends, health and religion.
The most-shared links included links to fitness/health sites, travel sites and blogs.
People ages 24-35 are most actively talking about their resolutions on Facebook.

Most of us know that New Year’s resolutions can be hard to maintain. As this FastCompany article states, it’s because resolutions often require changes in habits, which are difficult to make (or break)!

Finding Support Online

From our perspective, blogs, social networks and other online communities have a huge opportunity not only to serve as a source of information and motivation, but also to help with accountability and support for those wishing to make a change in their habits. In fact, of the most-engaging links about New Year’s resolutions on Facebook, four of 10 were links to blog posts. Further, the most-shared blog post link included a free printable to help people define goals for 2016!

Last year during this resolution-making time, Kentico Software released survey results that showed one-third of those who made New Year’s goals planned on searching online for products or services to help support them in their endeavors, and 38 percent planned to turn to sites or apps that can help them track their progress throughout the year. (Apps such as Charity Miles and StickK help hold users accountable by tracking progress while adding a charitable aspect.) Furthermore, the report stated that 26 percent planned on using blogs and other sites to help them achieve their resolutions.

We recently saw the supportive nature of the online blogger community in action during a campaign we hosted on behalf of a weight loss client. During the first half of this blog tour (second half results are not yet available), 91 percent of blog post comments and 83 percent of Facebook comments showed support for the influencers’ weight loss, demonstrating a strong sense of community, as well as the involvement and interest of the readers.

Bloggers: What is your experience with your online community support system and New Year’s resolutions?

*University of Scranton, December 2015

Influencer Spotlight: Xenia, Raised By Culture

November 2, 2015 by The Motherhood

Xenia, of Raised By Culture, is celebrating Dia de los Muertos today, sharing the secret to Thanksgiving dinner and some smart advice for new bloggers! She also has some words of wisdom for new moms that we loved.

Read on to learn more about what Xenia loves about the fall season, what her favorite project was with The Motherhood and the #1 way she would like to utilize social media for good.

Give her a shout out at @RaisedByCulture!

Did you love learning about Raised By Culture and want to read more about bloggers that were featured as part of the spotlight series? Check out all of our Influencer Spotlight posts here!

Case Study: Bloggers, Brands Come Together at Local Market Events

October 9, 2015 by The Motherhood

The Motherhood’s network includes thousands of social media moms all across the country, so much of our work is done over email. However, we also execute in-person local market events that enable us to connect our trusted influencers with the organizations we’re proud to call our partners.

When bloggers experience a brand in person through a carefully and thoughtfully planned event, the resulting content comes to life beautifully through words, personal photos and videos. Beyond the blog post, however, brands have an opportunity to earn bloggers’ trust, build advocacy, interact with the blogger as a customer, gather feedback and forge a powerful and valuable connection for years to come.

During summer 2015, The Motherhood executed a number of local market events:

Northwoood for Moms: It’s a Mom’s World

To tell the story of how Pittsburgh-based Northwood Realty Services is an ideal place for moms to start a real estate career, The Motherhood invited 10 bloggers from the region to an event to meet some of Northwood’s top real estate agents—who also happen to be moms!

Bloggers exchanged stories with the Northwood Moms and engaged in a robust conversation about balancing career and family, pursuing passions and the many ways to define success. Bloggers live-tweeted using the hashtag #NorthwoodForMoms, earning Northwood a spot on the list of trending topics in the Pittsburgh region. The event resulted in not only a trending hashtag and more than three million impressions in the target market, but it also directly led to multiple interviews from moms who are interested in being real estate agents.

Bolthouse Farms Kids: Fruits & Veggies Disguised as Snacks

To elevate the Bolthouse Farms Kids brand in Pittsburgh and generate awareness of its new products, The Motherhood enlisted a powerhouse team of influential Pittsburgh moms to attend a series of local market events.

To kick off the program, each blogger received a box of Bolthouse Farms Kids smoothies, fruit tubes and veggie snackers to share with their family and their blog readers. As part of their social media posts, bloggers also urged their readers to spot the #SnackMob trucks and attend events in their area. Then, each blogger attended #SnackMob truck events throughout the city and encouraged their readers to do the same. Bloggers also used their social media posts to spread the word about the #SnackMob contest and to document their own experiences with this one-of-a-kind snack truck.

Chick-fil-A: Where Good Meets Gracious

The Motherhood recently partnered with a group of bloggers for a local market event that gave them a behind-the-scenes look at the heart and soul of Chick-fil-A – inspiring them to create personal and heartfelt posts about the facets of the company that only an in-person gathering could have revealed.

Bloggers shared a sneak peek at a few soon-to-be-released menu items (that had been flown in from Atlanta by the company’s menu development manager so the bloggers could sample them), tried their hand at creating lemonade the same way each Chick-fil-A store does, and discovered some truly special connections with the store operators. Others appreciated how Chick-fil-A supports local communities or how the company makes life easier for working moms. Chick-fil-A also inspired this 7 Day “Be the Change” Family Challenge.

Email contact@themotherhood.com for more information on securing blogger attendance at local market events.

Influencer Spotlight: Monica, Marino Bambinos

September 1, 2015 by The Motherhood

How do you keep the kids organized as you head back to school? What are your favorite activities during the fall Season?

Monica of Marino Bambinos shared some of her best back-to-school tips for getting back into a routine, her favorite things about the autumn season and more in this month’s Blogger Spotlight.

Read on to see what Monica had to say, and give her a shout at @MarinoBambinos!

Check out all of our Influencer Spotlights here!