By Mark Havenner
Mommy bloggers certainly captured a lot of attention in 2009. This often elusive, yet highly influential network of moms that took to social media with flagpoles, megaphones, and important insights on parenting, was all the rage in the media. Headline after headline we saw that these parental bloggers were so influential, they began accomplishing the “Holy Grail” of social media: churning a profit. If advertising was not enough, companies began buying reviews from mommy influencers to the point where the FTC had to step in and wag a finger, a story we weighed in on in our Strategy and Musings blog last June.
But if 2009 was the mommy blogger year, 2010 is already being penned as the “year of the daddy blogger” by an expert, a daddy blogger, a social media marketer, and a poll (currently resulting in 65% favorable to the idea). We even discussed the rising trend in Strategy and Musings last August in response to Sony’s DigiDad project.
Certainly daddy bloggers are on the rise and so are networks that are supporting them. They have taken to Twitter with their stories on parenthood and are already involving brands in their publications. Like the moms, each of them target a particular interest, but with a focus on parenthood, as a theme.
Here are a few:
The Dad List: http://www.thedadlist.com/
Natural Papa: http://naturalpapa.com/
Daddy Is Tired: http://www.daddyistired.com/
Mocha Dad: http://www.mochadad.com
DaddyGotCustody: http://daddygotcustody.com/
Playground Dad: http://playgrounddad.com/
LookyDaddy: http://www.lookydaddy.com/
DadGoneMad: http://www.dadgonemad.com/
CynicalDad: http://www.cynicaldad.com/
LaidOffDad: http://laidoffdad.typepad.com/
DadCentric: http://www.dadcentric.com/
DadLogic: http://dadlogic.net
This new trend of blogging begs the question, is this actually a new trend? And if so, is there a discernable difference between mommy and daddy bloggers apart from gender? Certainly topics will vary between the two types of blogs, but ultimately they are parenthood blogs and so, therefore, will appeal to the same demographics with the same marketing tactics. Parents read these blogs to participate in conversations about parenthood and to seek peer-oriented advice on products parents need. From a marketing perspective, the objectives and tactics will remain the same, whether or not the parent is a mommy or daddy.
The media is already making noises about the next big trend and companies are not far behind in trying to tap this rising market. There is even talk of a daddy blogger convention. Regardless of whether that will happen, marketers will be trying to get a piece of the pie. Just follow any of the new daddy bloggers, and it will be obvious that an influencer can come out of anywhere — dads or moms, and that what matters most is the transparency in these types of consumer engagements.
Maybe 2011 will be the year of the Kiddy Blogger.
