Mom bloggers write about many things - including motherhood. Haphazard Happenstances describes her blog as being about: “…the perils of being a mother and a wife and the daily little titbits of life that make me laugh out loud or give me reason to pause”. They also write about fitness, business, travel, health – blogging simply being the vehicle for connecting them with an audience (this makes the appropriateness of the term problematic for many women).

“Moms have an impact in the blogosphere”, says Lynne Smit, social media guru at Hippo Communications, a local PR and media company. “They share their blogs via Facebook and Twitter, reaching friends and friends of friends, creating an expanding audience of people interested in what they have to say”. According to eMarketer in September 2010, Mom bloggers numbered 3.9 million in the USA alone. “It is hard to find accurate statistics for South Africa, but we can safely assume that the number of mom bloggers is growing daily. Blogging has taken the place of journaling; it is a place where we can document our lives”.

Blogging can also be a source of income. Tonya of www.whoopsidaisy-tonya.com comments: “Since women account for 85 percent of purchases, and with so many mommy bloggers in the blogosphere, advertisers would be wise to take notice”. Women bloggers, especially, communicate when a product or service is good, and this is what is attracting the interest of marketers.

In a recent article titled: Does Anyone Really Take Mommy Bloggers Seriously? Ty Kiisel wrote in Forbes magazine, “Whether or not your organization takes mommy bloggers (or social media generally) seriously, ignoring the power of this new metaphor for collaborating and learning might be a big mistake. I believe a marketing application of the metaphor only scratches the surface ... I do think it’s safe to say in light of our current inability to create the collaborative environments we all agree are critical to success, the mommy bloggers might be on to something.”

Hippo Communications runs workshops for bloggers and potential bloggers. Says Smit “We focus on how to hone blogging skills, to build followers and get blogs noticed. And for those who want to use their blog to earn an income we dissect case studies so they have practical 'how-to' information at their fingertips”.

What is clear is that the Mom Blogging phenomenon is growing rapidly. And the blogging and marketing spaces will never be the same again.

Hippo Communications offers hands-on 1 and 2-day workshops with practical outcomes on blogging, Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook for business, and LinkedIn and Google+ from beginner to advanced levels. Contact Penny Gaines on 021 556 8200 for further information.