brands

Which Brand Won the “Social Bowl”? [Infographic]

Regardless of whether you were happy or sad (or indifferent) about the outcome of the Super Bowl this weekend, one thing is certain: like every year, several brands battled it out in the commercials.

Pre-game, SHIFT took a look at some of the biggest brands out there to see who would win the “Social Bowl” this year. Check out the game:

Do you agree with this assessment? Is Coca-Cola really the “winner” when it comes to social media? Let us know with a comment below!

(Thanks to SHIFT for providing this infographic.)

28 Brilliant Bloggers Talk About Working With Brands

Author: elkecarvosso6

Brilliant Bloggers is a weekly series here at BlogWorld where we look at the best posts from around the web all surrounding a specific topic. Every week, we’ll feature three of the most brilliant bloggers out there, along with a huge list of more resources where you can learn about the topic. You can see more Brilliant Blogger posts or learn how to submit your link for an upcoming edition here.

This Week’s Topic: Working With Brands

Working with brands in an interesting way to monetize your blog. The most common approach is to simply join an affiliate program. You can also approach companies to ask for review products or negotiate other sponsorship packages, such as sidebar ads or conference attendee sponsorship. I’ve worked with tons of brands over the years, and the results have been a mixed bag. Some brands are extremely blogger friendly. Others still think that social media is a phase. In any case, I definitely recommend checking out the beyond brilliant Working with Brands post Michele McGraw wrote right here at the BlogWorld blog…and then head to the below posts for even more brilliant advice.

Advice from Brilliant Bloggers:

10 Tips for Working with Brands and PR Companies by Naomi Ellis

Before you start working with any brand, this is a post you should read. I love Naomi’s advice – her tips give you everything you need to know to get started. When I first started working with brands, these are definitely things I wish I would have known. Follow Naomi on Twitter @sevencherubs for more great advice.

Working with Brands: Reputation, Requests, & Saying No by Ashe

I love this post because it is a bit of a reality check. Working with brands can be awesome…but there is also the potential for some major suckatude. You don’t have to say yes, even if a brand approaches you. Not every brand is the right fit for you and your readers – and this post is a cautionary tale as to why that’s the case. After checking out the post, you can follow Ashe on Twitter @ashemischief.

Conference Sponsorship: What Bloggers Can Offer Brands by Leticia Barr

Conference sponsorship is an awesome beyond awesome way to work with brands as a blogger. This post by Leticia Barr gives awesome advice – especially about how to best work with brands so that the relationship is mutually beneficial without breaking conference rules. No conference, BlogWorld included, wants to kick people out so many sure you learn about their policy before working with a brand for conference sponsorship. After reading this post, check out Leticia on Twitter @techsavvymama.

BONUS: Preserving Your Integrity When Working With Brands I know this series is called “Brilliant Bloggers” but if you want to work with brands, you need to watch this video with David Segura, the CEO of Giant Media (@dseg10)

Even More Brilliant Advice:

Blogger Rant: Your “Opportunity” is a Waste of My Time by Jaime Palmucci (@denimdebutante)
Bloggers and Brands: 7 Tips for Working with PR by Francesca (@SITSGirls)
Brands, Bloggers, and Money by Sommer Poquette (@greenmom)
Brands Should Not Pay Bloggers by George F. Snell III (@HighTalk)
Brands Working with Bloggers – It’s Confusing by Stephanie (@socialologist)
Do Big Brands Exploit Mommy Bloggers Who Work for “Prizes and Rewards”? by Maggie McGary (@maggielmcg)
Freebies aren’t for Free: Ten Things to Consider before Working with Brands by Tauni (@taunitweets)
How Bloggers Can Make Money from Brands byMark Pollard (@markpollard)
How Bloggers Should Work with Brands by Alana Brooks (@goodgrlgoneblog)
Improving Brands and Blogger Relationships by Barbara Rozgonyi (@wiredprworks)
Mom Bloggers Deserve to Get Paid by Kelby Carr (@typeamom)
Monetization is in the Eye of the Beholder by Deb Ng (@DebNg)
Online “Events” and Call in “Opportunities” by Ciaran Blumenfeld (@momfluential)
What is Your Experience Working with Brands and Dads – video with C.C. Chapman (@CC_Chapman) by Holly Pavlika (@HollyPavlika)
When Brands and Bloggers Collide by Busy Mom Blog (@busymom)
Why Should Brands Pay Bloggers by Scott Hepburn (@scotthepburn)
When You Don’t Get Invited… by Louisa Claire (@_Louisa_Claire_)
Why Big Brands Won’t Advertise On Your Blog by Jason Falls (@jasonfalls)
Why Mom Bloggers Shouldn’t Work for Tweets and Links by Jennifer James (@mombloggersclub)
Working with Brands as a Brand Ambassador by Mariana Perez (@ohMariana)
Working with Brands Online – Best Practices and Procedures by Peter Klein
Working with Brands: the Blogger’s Perspective bySherin Malick (@HiFashionSherin)
Working with Brands: The Important of Talking with Bloggers, not just at Them by Veronica Foale (@SleeplessNights)

Did I miss your post or a post by someone you know about working with brands? Unintentional! Help me out by leaving a comment below with the link!

Next Week’s Topic: TBD

I’d love to include a link to your post next week – and if you head to the Brilliant Bloggers Schedule, you can see even more upcoming posts. We all have something to learn from one another, so please don’t be shy! Head to the schedule today to learn how to submit your post so I won’t miss it.

Setting Up Your Blog To Work With Brands

Author: reynaldocason08

We know that Moms “like” brands on Facebook, but how will the brands find your blog? You’ve set up your blog and now you want to start working with brands. It isn’t as simple as, “if you build it, they will come.”

I’m going to assume that you have your blog set up and you have been blogging long enough to have content on your blog. You may not have found your niche, but you should have an idea of what topics you are most passionate about.

1. About Me Page. This page is a must if you want to work with brands. Make your About Me page unique to you. Smashing Magazine has a great post with examples of unique About Me pages.

2. Contact Information. This seems obvious, but so often I find a blog I love and I want to contact the blogger and I can’t find their contact information. If you are uncomfortable putting your email on your blog, add a contact form page. Links to your Twitter and Facebook page should be included also.

3. Review and/or Brand Posts. You do not need to be working with brands to write about brands. If there is a brand you are passionate about and want to work with, then start writing about the brand in a natural way. Brands want to work with bloggers who are already passionate about their products. If you use their products, you will be able to write about why the product improves your life.

4. Media Page and/or Media Kit. You do not need to put all your stats and advertising rates on your blog, but you should make it easy for PR or brands to request the information. Here are some resources to help you write your media kit.

5. Highlight Your Top Posts. Add your top posts to your sidebar. This will help both new readers and brands find the posts that are most popular on your blog.

6. Pictures. Be sure you have lots of pictures on your blog. Pictures make your blog more interesting and fun. You want to be able to highlight brands in the best way possible and pictures can tell a great story.

7. Good Search Engine Optimization (SEO) practices. You may have the best content on the Internet, but if no one can find it, then it is useless. You don’t need to write for search engines, but think about what words you would use if you were looking for the information you are writing about. Research keywords before writing your posts. Good SEO can be achieved while keeping your posts interesting.

Even if you have all 7 on your blog, you will need to do some leg work. Pitch the brands yourself if they are not finding you. Attending a conference is a great way to meet up with many brands in person.

What tips do you have for finding brands to work with?

McDonald’s Canada Puts Out a Call for Mom Bloggers

Author: onicatherine

What do you do when you want to educate consumers about your brand? It seems you call on the mom bloggers. At least that’s what McDonald’s Canada is doing. They want real moms to go behind the golden arches.

It’s called the “All-Access Moms” program, which is a joint partnership between McDonald’s and the television show Cityline.

What’s it all about exactly? McDonald’s Canada has put out a casting call for mom bloggers who want to learn about the chain’s food quality and safe practices. Five moms will be chosen and they’ll blog abut their experience on their own blogs, as well as a microsite devoted to the program.

The June 26th cut-off date for submissions has already been reached and it will be interesting to watch this program unfold.

Karin Campbell, senior manager, external communications for McDonald’s Canada, explained what the goal of the program is. She said, “It’s a response to the questions that we know Canadians have about our brand. This is just a more formal way to answer them and use an important customer for us, which is moms, to answer stakeholder questions.”

McDonald’s has often come under fire from both health and animal rights groups.

So what do you think – is this a smart way to spread the word about your brand, while providing your company with some reputation management? Sound off in the comments!

How to Create Effective Facebook Wall Post For Your Brand

Author: erlindawardill

I don’t know about you, but my Facebook Wall is becoming more and more like my Twitter wall! I’m following so many people and it’s hard to filter through all of the messages from my friends and the companies I follow. So what’s a brand to do?

BuddyMedia put together a comprehensive guide around Wall posting. Their data was taken from a sample size of 200 clients that they analyzed for a two week period in February of this year. They included the largest brands across a variety of niche topics, and paid close attention to the comment rate, ‘Like’ rate, and engagement rate. Here is some of the info they have to share.

When Should You Post:
Brands that posted outside of normal business hours had 20% higher engagement rates on their posts. As for the day of the week, Thursday and Friday seemed to garner the most engagement – but varied a lot depending on the industry.

What is the Best Post Length?
Posts 80 characters or LESS had, on average, a 27% higher engagement rate than posts with over 80 characters, yet accounted for only 19% of all posts.

Should You Shorten Your URL?
Engagement rates are three times higher for posts that used a full-length URL, as opposed to a URL shortener. The guess is that the brand indicators a user normally looks for are no longer apparent in these shortened URLs.

What are the Best Keywords?
When it comes to promotions – your best off using Event, Winner, Offer, New, and Win – not things like promotion, sweepstake, or coupon.

Should I ask a Question?
Wall posts with a question at the end had a 15% higher engagement rate than questions asked elsewhere in the post!

Do you follow this advice already? Is there anything you’d change for your brand’s page? Visit BuddyMedia to pick up your free copy of the results for even more information!