The Blogger conference season is officially kicking off in 2011 with Blissdom 11 next week.

It’s the perfect time to quickly check-in with bloggers on GigCoin about their conference plans for the year. Here are a few highlights from our survey of 15 bloggers:

• 8 out of 15 list cost and lack of sponsorship as top reasons for not attending more conferences
• Top Conferences on their list: Blissdom, TypeACon , BlogHer, BlogWorld, Relevant, Mom 2.0, Evo, Bloggy Boot Camp, Blogalicious and SOB Con
• Top Reasons they choose a conference: learning opportunities, networking, costs and time of year
• 14 out 15 were up for brand work at conferences
• Top ways they prefer to help brands at conferences : live streaming/blogging, event/booth help, run contest/giveaway, video creation and wearing company branded tee shirt

Six quotes from the bloggers:

Why have you chosen the conferences you are attending?

@typeamom

Twitter Bio: Mom 2.0 empire builder, pioneer of social parent blog, influencer, speaker, social media consultant, #typeacon @typeaparentcon hostess, @investigativeMB http://typeaparent.com

“I seek out the ones that are best for interaction, networking and programming.”

@ConnieFoggles

Twitter bio: Product Review Writer, Blogger, Wife, Mom, Autoimmune Queen, Advocate, Disney FANatic, Giveaways, Loves Chocolate, Connecting, Social Media http://brainfoggles.com/businesscard/

“To learn about expanding my blogging career and about earning more paying gigs.”

“I am a conference newbie. I want to get as much as I can from these conferences. I want to take my blog to the next level, and the only way to do that is to attend conferences that will teach me the right way to do it.”

What type of work would you be willing to do for a business at a conference?

@AngEngland

“Provide relevant content before and after on my blog, using my SEO knowledge to boost rankings. Expose brand to other savvy online influencers both before and after the conference, in addition to tastefully during the conference, where appropriate…I think that sponsorships should be all inclusive for companies and bloggers – maybe the blogger provides optimized content for the company both on the company blog, and on their own. Or does a series of giveaways throughout the year. Not just passing out business cards in the hallways at a conference where they are lost or set aside in the rush…but really engaging their audience on behalf of a brand in a tangible way.”

@CarissaRogers

Twitter Bio: I connect. I am a MOM of all trades. #GNO. Sharing recipes, blogging tips, parenting fun, #VolunteerSpot #GigCoin

http://GoodNCrazy.com

“I’d be happy to wear a T-shirt at a specific event, (like at BlogHer during one of the featured parties). Give out trinkets at the same specific event. Cross brand my own business cards (I handed out over 300 at BlogHer last year). Follow up after the conference with contacts that are interested in the brand. And run an online campaign just before the conference (when the buzz is the greatest). Could include a giveaway but would have to negotiate appropriateness of that first.”

“Wear sponsor shirts – Write a blog post about a sponsor – Mention sponsor at the end of the post during the conference duration – Run contest/giveaways during conference.”

What do the Blogger Check-In results mean for your business?

• Hiring bloggers to help build buzz and create compelling content at conferences is a terrific opportunity for both brands and bloggers. At  TypeACon for example, you have hundreds of attendees with a very good Klout score, averaging way above 40+ with a potential reach of millions. That’s a huge opportunity to reach people you can’t on your own!
• Bloggers want to get creative! They are looking for ways to work with you to grow your business, consider involving a few bloggers on crafting a conference strategy for your business before you jump in.
• Bloggers help you reap multiple benefits from the conference before, during and after. Here are four examples:
  1. Launch a contest/campaign: help promote a new contest and campaign to take advantage of the conference buzz.
  2. Create compelling content: capture video interviews, live blog/tweet from your accounts, write a creative post, conduct a fun quiz you will be able to leverage by creating testimonials, and more!
  3. Support you on the ground efforts: man your booth, pass out samples and help support your events/activities at the conference. Bloggers are connectors, let them help you connect with other bloggers.
  4. Gather feedback & research: conduct product testing/sampling, organize a focus group, host a test taste and  mystery shopping.

Need help launching your blogger conference strategy?

Please feel free to reach out with any questions.
Gigcoin is here to help! Please email: julieda@gigcoin.com.

How do you think businesses can best leverage bloggers at conferences? And do you think it’s a good investment?