Ever heard of hungry-girl.com? If you aren't in the food business, you probably haven't. But if your audience is female, weight conscious consumers, then blogger Lisa Lillien is your Oprah.

 

At least that's how General Mills sees it. The world's sixth largest food company, whose brands include Wheaties and Green Giant vegetables, has even let hungry-girl.com announce two of its products, according to public relations manager David Witt. Lillien is “one of the first consumers who was found a following with their own voice," Witt says. "She’s one of the most cogent voices in the weight management field.”

 

General Mills is one of the more prominent consumer products companies to leverage the power of bloggers. The company maintains three significant platforms with which it interacts with this new breed of influencers:

 

MyBlogSpark.com is a members-only club where bloggers can try out new products and participate in surveys and events.

 

Pssst… Is a word-of-mouth network in which several thousand influencers have opted in to receive news, behind-the-scenes information and product samples.

 

MyGetTogether is a place where Pssst members can register to host parties and events featuring General Mills product samples.

 

Having bought into the power of word-of-mouth, General Mills has learned a thing or two about working with consumer influencers. For starters, it believes in having an objective for engagement. Witt ticks off the company’s goals: Brand advocacy, awareness/trial, introducing something new and exciting, furthering engagement with the brand and improving the way the company works. “If you believe that 10,000 people are smarter than one, then we become better by listening to our market,” he says.

 

General Mills doesn't treat its online influencers like the media. The relationship is closer to a friendship than a business exchange. “When you have great news, who do you tell after your family? You tell your friends, of course,” he says. “That's the philosophy we try to engender.”

 

A critical principle is to make influencers feel like insiders. That goal doesn't have to be expensive to achieve. For example, every member of a General Mills network gets snippets of behind-the-scenes information delivered by e-mail at effectively no cost to the company. Some also get the privilege to buy branded merchandise from the company store. "Who cares if they don't buy anything? There’s no cost to making the products available to them," reasons Witt.

 

Particularly influential members may be invited to visit the Betty Crocker kitchens or to give feedback directly to management about new product ideas. Witt stresses that General Mills never tries to twist arms or buy loyalty. The company insists on following the FTC and the Word of Mouth Marketing Association ethics guidelines, which basically come down to "identify yourself and be clear about the intent of the relationship," Witt says. "Be authentic and overtly transparent." 

In a nutshell, treat the online influencer as you would treat someone who invited you into her house. Witt likes this quote from Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay cosmetics: "Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, ‘Make me feel important.’'' Isn’t that how you would like to be treated?