This past weekend, we had the privilege of attending the 7^th annual BlogHer conference in San Diego, Calif. BlogHer ‘11 brought together leading female voices ranging from mommy, food and health bloggers, to journalists and corporate CEOs. With two full days of informative sessions, an elaborate expo hall and sponsored events,the conference offered insights into ways that bloggers want to connect with their readers, tools they’re using to push out content and how they want to work with brands.Through conversations with bloggers, listening to speakers and panels and spending time on the expo floor, we were able to take home several key learnings from this conference.

Blogs drive purchase decisions. It’s no surprise bloggers continue to influence purchase decisions among consumers, but this sentiment was wholly reinforced. According to the 2011 BlogHer Social Media Matters study, 80 percent of BlogHer’s audience has made a purchase based on a recommendation from a blog. This influence is supported by the trust consumers are putting into blogs they follow – feeling that they have a lot in common with the author. In fact, according to the same study, 73 percent of those surveyed said the blogger they follow “has similar opinions and attitudes,” 58 percent said they “feel they know the blog writer like a friend because we have so much in common” and 57 percent said “I have been reading the blogger I follow for a long time and we have similar taste.” These stats reinforce that it is increasingly important for brands to maintain strong relationships and look for opportunities with bloggers as they are undeniably trusted influencers for many consumers.

Facebook is the engaged modern mom’s media platform. Although bloggers continue to push out content with tools like Twitter and Google+, Facebook still leads as the most-used social media channel. It continues to allow bloggers to drive more traffic to their blogs and interact with their fans. When pitching or working with bloggers, look for opportunities to provide additional content for a blogger’s Facebook page, giving the blogger more content and providing another touch point for the brand.

Bloggers are open to being sponsored for blog posts. This emerging topic among bloggers came up again and again over the course of BlogHer, as many are looking for opportunities to work with brands on a paid basis. As brands continue to work with bloggers, it will be important to explore opportunities for sponsorship and content integration, as this seems like a direction that many well-established bloggers are moving toward.

Bloggers are communicating new technologies to their audiences. Several of the bloggers we chatted with are constantly pushing out new technologies and apps that would be useful to their readers. For instance, Desiree Scales, of The Bella Buzz, recently communicated a new app to her readers called Aisle 411, which helps people find the items they’re looking for, create and manage shopping lists, plan shopping routes, find product reviews and even earn rewards and dollars off for simply finding whatever it is they need. Be sure to research what tools bloggers are giving their readers to find new ways to offer up valuable content when pitching them.

Although experiential rules the expo floor, social elements extend engagement. Photo opportunities in a branded setting are still a good way for brands to get attention and interact with consumers – particularly at a crowded trade show. This year’s floor had everything from a Sesame Street stoop to an interactive bathroom. However, photo opps. alone do not create engagement, so across the board, brands used social media to extend consumer engagement. Gatorade offered green screen photos showing attendees getting doused with Gatorade - Bill Belichick style - and encouraged users to share the images on social media channels. Other brands offered photos with celebrities or icons, provided a hash tag and encouraged tweeting the photo to win a prize. Incorporating social engagement with an experience is a great way for brands to engage consumers, drive traffic to social media outlets and increase overall brand knowledge. As social media continues to thrive, you can definitely expect to see this type of engagement in the future.

The BlogHer conference was an eye-opening experience and it is not just for bloggers anymore; PR pros can definitely benefit from this informative conference.

Did you attend BlogHer11? Let us know about your experience.

--Emilie Valle, Account Supervisor, @Emilie_Valle
--Jessica Benjamin, Account Executive, @JessBenj