Over the past 10 years, while working with both brands and bloggers, The Motherhood has noticed an interesting trend: Marketers, almost universally, use the term “mommy bloggers” in referring to our network, while bloggers themselves don’t always seem to love that label.
Last month, The Motherhood worked with Smith Brothers Agency in Pittsburgh to develop and distribute a survey to bloggers nationwide. Our goal: To gain a better understanding of how bloggers currently work with brands, and how they might prefer to partner in the future. (Our complete findings will be released later this year.)
So what did we uncover?
To start, it helps to know how to address your audience.
On the strength of more than 400 responses, we found that the majority of bloggers either dislike the “mommy blogger” label (41 percent) or feel neutral about it (50 percent). Fewer than 10 percent of respondents said they like it and think it’s a good description of who they are and what they do.
When asked what they hear marketers call them regularly, more than two-thirds of respondents identified “mommy blogger” as the prevalent term. But, significantly, when asked what they prefer marketers call them as a group, only 3 percent chose “mommy bloggers.”
Obviously, there’s a disconnect between how these women would like to be known as a group, and how they are labeled by brands who truly value their influence online.
The majority of respondents (38 percent) said they would like to be known as “mom influencers,” and more than 1 in 5 bloggers would prefer to cut “mom” out of the term entirely. A few of the preferred alternatives included:
- Blogger
- Digital influencer
- Social media influencer
- Social media strategist
One respondent summed up much of the feedback when she said, “I feel like I am more than just a mom, so I don’t pigeon-hole myself with any term.”
On the use of “mommy blogger,” another respondent noted, “It doesn’t sound professional. It’s hard to take it seriously.” Others agreed, sharing that “mommy” is a childish adjective that only their kids should use, and “mommy blogger” can have negative connotations — among them, that blogging is a hobby rather than a business.
We know the bloggers in our network are true professionals and take their work on behalf of brands seriously. Tell us how you feel about these labels!
