Originally posted on ShePosts.
As a major player in the consumer packaged goods industry, ConAgra Foods (client) has been busy socializing many of their brands and building relationships with influential bloggers and online communities. To demonstrate the importance of these efforts, the company recently invited a panel of bloggers to speak at its Leadership Excellence Series. The invited bloggers spoke to more than 60 executives from various departments within ConAgra Foods about how and why they work with companies to promote a given product or brand and to discuss what makes the relationship mutually beneficial for both parties.
Esther Brady Crawford is the editor of ShePosts.com, a website designed to keep busy social media moms informed about the latest news in the online community – from blog marketing campaigns to conferences. Esther was part of the panel of bloggers who spoke at LES and posted a recap of the event on her website.
As the editor of ShePosts I was recently invited, along with Gregory Ng of Freezer Burns and Danielle Smith of Extraordinary Mommy, to speak to ConAgra Foods executives about social media in their award-winning Leadership Excellence Series.
The morning was focused on how their company is currently using social communities and tools to reach + connect with customers through their various brands like Healthy Choice, Orville popcorn & Slim Jim.
During the question and answer section we each shared about a variety of topics including, “How much of your content is sponsored?” and “How do you use different social tools and sites?” – which are featured in the video below:
When talking about social tools Danielle Smith said:
So many things that have happened to me in the past year and a half have happened as a result of Twitter.
The Omaha based company has been proactively engaging the mom blogging community through a variety of programs including their flagship sponsorship of Blissdom ’10, the Child Hunger Ends Here brand ambassadors, and a series of picnics for Hebrew National that have been taking place across major metropolitan markets.
It’s clear that they’re listening and monitoring all channels online, but like many large corporations they find it challenging to live in a 24-7 environment where stories have the potential to spread like wildfire.
To achieve success in this space ConAgra is attempting to implement enterprise-wide changes because they see opportunities in every aspect of the organization including in HR, marketing, legal, and career development. Stephanie Moritz, ConAgra Foods’ Director of Public Relations presented a case study at BlogWell and shares how they educate senior management through “digital immersion,” along with several core elements that define their social approach:
- Targeted + manageable approach (avoid the shiny objects)
- Build consensus + identify internal champions
- Thoughtful activation of tools
- Long-term commitment
{disclosure: While this is not a sponsored post, I was compensated for speaking on the panel. A special thanks to Gina Demars at ConAgra and the Edelman Digital team for pulling it altogether.}
Image credit: Adikos
