I recently wrote about the importance of relationship-building when working with public relations representatives. And just like any relationship, growth and development occur when that relationship becomes face-to-face, rather than simply via email or even phone conversation. It would be impossible for you or I to meet every single company and their representatives. But when given the opportunity, I do try to make an effort to further the relationship with companies I support by meeting their representatives in person and learning all I can about the company.
If you’ve noticed, I’ve been to a fair number of events over the past few months (most of them local). And if you can believe it, I have also graciously turned down a number of events. Whenever you see a post about a company on my site, you can be certain that I’ve spent some time researching and learning more about the company and have evaluated it’s fit for both my family and you, the readers. The same is true for the events I attend.
So what happens at a blogger event?
Really, they’re all different. Some are family-oriented, so I’m able to bring my husband and son which makes for a very different dynamic than an event geared solely towards the press (i.e. bloggers). I always prefer that a company at least attempt to make the event family-friendly. It’s not to say that I won’t attend an event, simply because my son or husband are not invited. But it definitely makes it more likely that I’ll be able to attend, considering I stay home with my son. One company, in particular, actually arranged child care (included with the event) so that we didn’t have to worry about that conflict.
When the event is more “formal,” there will likely be some sort of presentation (history, introduction, etc.) which details information about the company. What I’ve found however, is that most events are casual. There is no set “schedule” and plenty of time is allowed for networking. My favorite events are those that are highly interactive.
Why attend a blogger event?
I believe I answered that question above, but in essence, it’s one more step towards building relationships. It’s an honor to be invited to an event and I always remember that when deciding whether or not to attend. This is an opportunity (which may or may not present itself again) to initiate or further develop a relationship with a company. It’s also a step towards opening the lines of communication between yourself and the company (again…do I hear the word relationship?)
What about your family?
As I mentioned above, I am a huge advocate of family-friendly blogging events. I’m not one to say that my husband and son should be invited to every event. However, if a company truly wants me to attend an event, offering some sort of child care is definitely an incentive to attend, if it’s not feasible to bring a child. As a side note, I feel the need to mention that my husband is 100% supportive of everything I do with regards to my blog. In fact, I wouldn’t have it any other way. If my husband tells me that it’s too much (and he has said that on occasion), then I respect him. I would not be blogging at all if my husband was not supportive. We actually do much of this together (he just stays behind the scenes most of the time).
Taken at the Disneyland Holiday Parent Blogger Event
What questions do you have about blog events? What insight can you share about the events you’ve attended?
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I’d be willing to go to some of them. Nobody has asked yet though and I haven’t gotten it together to research them anyway. I guess it doesn’t matter because I’m well on my way to ruling the world anyway! 🙂 AHAHAHAHA (evil laugh). No, seriously, I agree. They would make great networking opportunities.
I love when you cover blogger events, especially since you usually include your whole family. I would love to go to one someday also, but because of my disability, I would need it to be a family friendly one, so my husband could attend with me.
Thanks for keeping the tips coming, I really appreciate them.