A great deal can be learned by looking back. Perhaps that is why a convention organizer recently asked me to include a slide in my presentation noting the greatest changes in Moms in the last five years. Of course, there are many fashionable, parenting and philosophical changes that have occurred, but I elected to focus on those that have impacted marketing.
Consider this blog post a two-part series. I’ll focus on the greatest changes I’ve seen in the past 5 years here and follow it up next month with part two- my predictions for the next 5 years.
Here are the top 8 changes I’ve seen in the mom market in the past half decade.
1) Marketing “with” Moms rather than “to” moms
I’ve written about this before. Marketers used to spend millions on a brand message, distribute it to mothers and they would repeat it on the playground or at a PTA meeting. Today, moms read, see and hear that brand message, they define it for themselves and family and repeat it to other moms as they see fit. Wal-Mart may be the place to “Save Money, Live Better” but to some moms Wal-Mart might mean, fast easy shopping and if that’s the way they feel, that may be what turns up in the blog, vlog or YouTube video. Moms have become your marketing partner, not your target market. Market WITH moms, not TO moms.
2) Motherhood as a brand
Gone are the days of the Stepford wives. Today’s moms are branding themselves- MizFitOnline, Dr.Mommy, and MilitaryMom. Moms are doing it their way and just as companies are trying to build their brands, so are the mothers they are marketing with.
3) Customization
Millennial moms have redefined Burger King’s old tagline, “Have it your way”. Today’s new mothers expect to customize products, media and even the lifestyle of motherhood. They are applying their pre-baby style to post-baby life and customizing motherhood to their daily activities, personal values, goals and philosophies and expect the products they purchase to be customizable to the motherhood they define for themselves.
4) Frugalista Mom
The economy may have forced moms to shop differently but now that she’s tasted the sweet success of saving money, she’s not going back. The Mom Frugalista is here to stay, regardless of her income level. Moms have discovered that saving money is empowering, fun and a badge of honor among her peers.
5) Emergence of the virtual playground
Moms used to trade ideas and product information on the playground down the block. Today the physical playground as a social platform for mothers has been expanded to a virtual playground. Monkey bars and slides have been replaced with blogs and tweets. Moms mingle on the virtual playground passing along tips, advice and product recommendations just as they passed along casserole recipes next to the swings on the corner lot.
6) Sphere of influence on steroids
Word of mouth marketing has been the most powerful form of marketing in the world of mothers. Take yesterday’s sphere of influence and inject it with steroids and you have Word of Mom 2010. An influencer once was the PTO President or soccer mom but today she is a Blogger, business owner, YouTuber, Turbo Tweeter and Facebook Fanatic as well as the team and homeroom mom. Engage her as your brand evangelist and you have word of mom on steroids.
7) It’s A Small World After All
Moms have gone global. Thanks to technology, moms in Europe can compare business plans with moms in the US or mothers in Australia can trade sleep tips with moms in South Africa. Mothers love nurturing relationships and this includes interacting with moms across the globe.
8) Boomers are Becoming Grandparents
They may be the youngest group of “nanas” and “grandmas” in history but the good news for marketers is that these young- at-heart boomers are purchasing the same products that they did when they were moms. Loyalty is important to mothers and the fact that this young generation of grandmothers are fully engaged in their new role means that their old favorites still make it into their shopping cart.
Maria Bailey is the CEO of BSM Media and the author of “Marketing to Moms,” “Trillion Dollar Moms,” and “Mom 3.0: Marketing with Today’s Mother by Leveraging New Media and Technology.” She is also the Host of Mom Talk Radio and Co-Founder of MomTV.com. She can be reached via Twitter @Momtalkradio and email at maria@bsmmedia.com.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Mom Bloggers, It's A Small World After All
I am sure that Walt Disney himself had no way of knowing just what a small world it would become after all, particularly in the world of moms. Today more and more brands are reaching beyond borders to connect with moms while advancements in technology have empowered mothers to socialize with moms around the globe. Both McDonalds and Walt Disney World now have global mom panelists while Huggies, Coca-Cola and Purex also engage moms across continents in marketing programs.
Although my mom marketing books are published in 12 languages, it’s only been recently that I’ve seen a dramatic increase in interest by American brands to expand their mom marketing programs overseas. The trend has taken my studies of moms from South Africa to South America, and most recently Europe. Each stop provides an unique opportunity for learning.
The highlight of my journeys occurred three weeks ago when I hosted a Mom Blogger Mixer with FattoreMama, www.fattoremama.it, the leading Italian mom portal, in Milano, Italy. Not only was it exciting to host 60 social media mom influencers but it was fulfilling to be able to share the event with over 1200 US moms who tuned in via MomTV.com. For over 2 hours, moms from both sides of the pond compared notes on social media, parenting and motherhood via live chat and online video streaming. It was social media mom networking at its best.
So what do companies who want to engage moms outside the US need to know? Here are a few considerations.
1) Moms around the world share five core values.
Regardless of where you are, marketers can connect with moms by speaking to one of five core values: 1) Child enrichment, 2) Health and Safety of her family 3) Value 4) Time management and 5) Simplying Life. Brand messages should connect the benefits or features of your product to at least one of these core values in order to create relevance and value.
2) Twitter is an American marketing tool.
You won’t find Twitter Parties in Austria, Spain, Belgium or Switzerland. There are very few moms who have adopted Twitter as part of their social media tools. Many moms outside the US, question the need for Twitter when most of their friends and followers can be found on Facebook.
3) Cultural differences contribute to style of mom bloggers.
It was only recently that Mom Bloggers in the United Kingdom decided to disclose their identity on their blogs. The “bulletin board” approach to life, as my husband calls it, is a trait that American moms seem to possess in greater quantity than mothers in France and German . Bloggers who are moms in the Netherlands focus their posts not on their role as a mother but on their life in general. Being a mom bloggers seems to be trumped by the desire to be identified as a lifestyle blogger.
4) Product Reviews are far and few between on mom blogs.
Even in countries with a proud population of mom bloggers, few moms review products. In fact, the state of the mom blogosphere in Italy reminds me of the US mom blogosphere 3-4 years ago. There is a strong and active debate among Italian mom bloggers regarding whether or not it’s right and ethical to review products. Marketers would have better luck sending product samples to traditional journalists who are mothers and female webmasters in the hopes of obtaining an online review.
5) Indoor play centers and festivals present an effective vehicle for sampling product.
Moms everywhere enjoy spending quality time with their children and in Austria, Greece and Germany, these occasions present a good opportunity for demonstrating products. Moms are open to interacting with brands related to her role as a mother whether she’s at the zoo or an indoor playground.
6) Limited Internet access has slowed growth of social media in some countries. This is particularly true in Turkey, Greece, and southern Italy, where online mom magazines are more popular than blogs. For marketers, the most effective way to connect is through these magazine message boards and forums.
7) European moms were green before green was cool.
Long before it became trendy to take along your own shopping bags to the grocery store, moms in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France were eliminating plastic waste. Green friendly products and services are a great way to connect with moms worldwide.
Moms present buying power around the globe and with the right tactics, marketers can establish a dialogue which drives brand awareness and ultimately sales.
Maria Bailey is the CEO of BSM Media and the author of “Marketing to Moms,” “Trillion Dollar Moms,” and “Mom 3.0: Marketing with Today’s Mother by Leveraging New Media and Technology.” She is also the Host of Mom Talk Radio and Co-Founder of MomTV.com. She can be reached via Twitter @Momtalkradio and email at maria@bsmmedia.com.
Although my mom marketing books are published in 12 languages, it’s only been recently that I’ve seen a dramatic increase in interest by American brands to expand their mom marketing programs overseas. The trend has taken my studies of moms from South Africa to South America, and most recently Europe. Each stop provides an unique opportunity for learning.
The highlight of my journeys occurred three weeks ago when I hosted a Mom Blogger Mixer with FattoreMama, www.fattoremama.it, the leading Italian mom portal, in Milano, Italy. Not only was it exciting to host 60 social media mom influencers but it was fulfilling to be able to share the event with over 1200 US moms who tuned in via MomTV.com. For over 2 hours, moms from both sides of the pond compared notes on social media, parenting and motherhood via live chat and online video streaming. It was social media mom networking at its best.
So what do companies who want to engage moms outside the US need to know? Here are a few considerations.
1) Moms around the world share five core values.
Regardless of where you are, marketers can connect with moms by speaking to one of five core values: 1) Child enrichment, 2) Health and Safety of her family 3) Value 4) Time management and 5) Simplying Life. Brand messages should connect the benefits or features of your product to at least one of these core values in order to create relevance and value.
2) Twitter is an American marketing tool.
You won’t find Twitter Parties in Austria, Spain, Belgium or Switzerland. There are very few moms who have adopted Twitter as part of their social media tools. Many moms outside the US, question the need for Twitter when most of their friends and followers can be found on Facebook.
3) Cultural differences contribute to style of mom bloggers.
It was only recently that Mom Bloggers in the United Kingdom decided to disclose their identity on their blogs. The “bulletin board” approach to life, as my husband calls it, is a trait that American moms seem to possess in greater quantity than mothers in France and German . Bloggers who are moms in the Netherlands focus their posts not on their role as a mother but on their life in general. Being a mom bloggers seems to be trumped by the desire to be identified as a lifestyle blogger.
4) Product Reviews are far and few between on mom blogs.
Even in countries with a proud population of mom bloggers, few moms review products. In fact, the state of the mom blogosphere in Italy reminds me of the US mom blogosphere 3-4 years ago. There is a strong and active debate among Italian mom bloggers regarding whether or not it’s right and ethical to review products. Marketers would have better luck sending product samples to traditional journalists who are mothers and female webmasters in the hopes of obtaining an online review.
5) Indoor play centers and festivals present an effective vehicle for sampling product.
Moms everywhere enjoy spending quality time with their children and in Austria, Greece and Germany, these occasions present a good opportunity for demonstrating products. Moms are open to interacting with brands related to her role as a mother whether she’s at the zoo or an indoor playground.
6) Limited Internet access has slowed growth of social media in some countries. This is particularly true in Turkey, Greece, and southern Italy, where online mom magazines are more popular than blogs. For marketers, the most effective way to connect is through these magazine message boards and forums.
7) European moms were green before green was cool.
Long before it became trendy to take along your own shopping bags to the grocery store, moms in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France were eliminating plastic waste. Green friendly products and services are a great way to connect with moms worldwide.
Moms present buying power around the globe and with the right tactics, marketers can establish a dialogue which drives brand awareness and ultimately sales.
Maria Bailey is the CEO of BSM Media and the author of “Marketing to Moms,” “Trillion Dollar Moms,” and “Mom 3.0: Marketing with Today’s Mother by Leveraging New Media and Technology.” She is also the Host of Mom Talk Radio and Co-Founder of MomTV.com. She can be reached via Twitter @Momtalkradio and email at maria@bsmmedia.com.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Meet the Mom Frugalista
There’s a new breed of mom - and she’s here to stay. Meet the Mom Frugalista. She’s a savvy, price-comparison shopper who utilizes technology, offline media, and most of all her peers to stretch her buying dollar. She was once a mom on a budget but the recent shift in economic climate generated a conversion of moms from disposable income queens to coupon divas. She’s tasted the thrill of saving, the fulfillment of reclaiming control of her checkbook and the excitement of hearing the clerk say, “You just saved $101 today.” Sixty percent of moms surveyed by BSM Media said they have used coupons for the first time in the last year. Although the economy seems to be turning around, she’s not turning back to her old spending behaviors. Why would she? She’s learned that if she visits Coupons.com, she can increase her arsenal of savings. If she reads Mommysnacks.net‘s blog before leaving the house, she can design a road map between retailers who are all competing for her business. The Mom Frugalista is here to stay and it’s time for retailers and brand managers to win her loyalty.
Before I share the “How to Connect” with a Mom Frugalista, let’s understand the “why” behind mom’s desire to share news of a great deal. Moms share money-saving opportunities because it’s a way to nurture relationships with other moms. It deepens their relationship to save another mother a dollar or two. It also demonstrates a mom's outward ability to demonstrate her shopping prowess. If she finds a deal and shares the news, it demonstrates her personal skill in shopping thus elevating her status among her peers. It’s friendly competition at its best, the kind that nurtures relationships and fulfills her need to share. Here are a few tips to leverage these innate behaviors and connect with the Mom Frugalista.
-Engage the mom influencers. Sounds basic, but it’s amazing how few marketers are engaging with coupon, consumer and frugal social media mom influencers. Each week these women communicate the best deals for moms in their blogs, tweets and facebook pages. Developing a relationship, one with a real dialogue, with Moms like ConsumerQueen, PennyPinchingDiva and Deal Seeking Mom can give marketers the opportunity to have influential moms deliver their message.
-Search Twitter for your consumer. It doesn’t take much effort to find moms who are looking for your product. Go to Summize.com each morning and search your brand’s name or solution. When you find moms seeking your product or one like it, offer them the opportunity to try it at a discount. Let’s say you are a dinner solution product- pasta for the sake of examples. A search of “dinner ideas” may reveal a mom tweeting to her peers asking for a suggestion. Here’s where the pasta brand jumps in. A smart marketer might DM that mom and offer her a link to a recipe. However, a great marketer would offer to send a link to a recipe and a downloadable coupon. Relevant and valuable content delivered in the nick of time to provide a meal planning solution to a busy mother.
-Recognize that all types of moms love to save, then put your money saving deals in the right hands. Seek out fitness fanatics like Mizfitonline.com and Themojocoach.com if you are a brand offering low fat or low sugar solutions. These women can be a great resource in distributing your saving information to other health conscience moms. They don’t have to be savings bloggers to help you spread the word.
It takes a coupon to persuade today’s mom who is loyal to a brand. Eighty percent of moms in a recent BSM Media survey of 3000 moms said that it takes a coupon for her to try a new brand. Moms know that they can find the means to save on the brands they love so it takes the same value to motivate her to test a new product. Find a way to get a sample or coupon in her hand if launching a product is in your marketing plans.
The Mom Frugalista is here to stay. She’s smart and savvy and is looking for the savings on your products.
Before I share the “How to Connect” with a Mom Frugalista, let’s understand the “why” behind mom’s desire to share news of a great deal. Moms share money-saving opportunities because it’s a way to nurture relationships with other moms. It deepens their relationship to save another mother a dollar or two. It also demonstrates a mom's outward ability to demonstrate her shopping prowess. If she finds a deal and shares the news, it demonstrates her personal skill in shopping thus elevating her status among her peers. It’s friendly competition at its best, the kind that nurtures relationships and fulfills her need to share. Here are a few tips to leverage these innate behaviors and connect with the Mom Frugalista.
-Engage the mom influencers. Sounds basic, but it’s amazing how few marketers are engaging with coupon, consumer and frugal social media mom influencers. Each week these women communicate the best deals for moms in their blogs, tweets and facebook pages. Developing a relationship, one with a real dialogue, with Moms like ConsumerQueen, PennyPinchingDiva and Deal Seeking Mom can give marketers the opportunity to have influential moms deliver their message.
-Search Twitter for your consumer. It doesn’t take much effort to find moms who are looking for your product. Go to Summize.com each morning and search your brand’s name or solution. When you find moms seeking your product or one like it, offer them the opportunity to try it at a discount. Let’s say you are a dinner solution product- pasta for the sake of examples. A search of “dinner ideas” may reveal a mom tweeting to her peers asking for a suggestion. Here’s where the pasta brand jumps in. A smart marketer might DM that mom and offer her a link to a recipe. However, a great marketer would offer to send a link to a recipe and a downloadable coupon. Relevant and valuable content delivered in the nick of time to provide a meal planning solution to a busy mother.
-Recognize that all types of moms love to save, then put your money saving deals in the right hands. Seek out fitness fanatics like Mizfitonline.com and Themojocoach.com if you are a brand offering low fat or low sugar solutions. These women can be a great resource in distributing your saving information to other health conscience moms. They don’t have to be savings bloggers to help you spread the word.
It takes a coupon to persuade today’s mom who is loyal to a brand. Eighty percent of moms in a recent BSM Media survey of 3000 moms said that it takes a coupon for her to try a new brand. Moms know that they can find the means to save on the brands they love so it takes the same value to motivate her to test a new product. Find a way to get a sample or coupon in her hand if launching a product is in your marketing plans.
The Mom Frugalista is here to stay. She’s smart and savvy and is looking for the savings on your products.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Why do Marketers still fear Marketing to Moms?
I have a favorite saying and one that stirs my business philosophy as much as my personal actions. It’s attributed to the bright man or woman referred to as Anonymous and goes like this: “If you always do what you’ve always done, then you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” I wish I knew who Anonymous was because I’d give him or her the gold medal of marketing intelligence. If he or she only knew how many times I repeat their quote to a marketer who is exploring the mystical world of marketing to moms.
One would think after all the thousands of articles written on the buying power of moms that we would be well beyond companies “exploring” whether or not they should speak to mothers. Unfortunately we aren’t. Even with the $2.1 trillion spending power attributed to moms, brands are still hesitant to turn the conversation from child to gatekeeper.
So why write about fear and marketing to moms now? Having just returned from Toy Fair in New York, I have been pondering the question most frequently asked of me, “if we market to the moms, will we become uncool to the child?” It’s a question asked out of fear. The fear of talking to the financial gatekeeper- Mom. It’s a fair question. But I wonder if this same fearful marketer has asked, “who is paying for our product at the cash register?” My guess it’s not the tween, teen or toddler in the house. It’s the mother. So if your sales are flat or falling and you are debating whether or whether not it’s time to turn your marketing focus to the mother, I fondly quote Mr/Ms. Anynomous. “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten.” It’s time to change the plan to include the Household CFO also know as mom.
Imagine what could happen to your sales if you purposefully set out to establish a relevant and valuable dialogue with moms about your product? Certainly you aren’t going to approach it the same way as you would her teenager or tween but can imagine if she knew you recognized her as your customer?
There are excellent examples of companies who successfully speak to moms and remain hip to the child. Nintendo Wii comes to mind. They did a wonderful job in teaching moms to play Wii while marketing to their entertainment-centric children. Build a Bear Workshop creates a fun experience for the child while speaking to the mom about values and philanthropy via social media. And of course, Zhu Zhu Pets engaged moms in hosting MommyParties while running commercials on Nick and Disney Channel.
Did any of these brands chase away their core target audience- the child? Not at all. In fact, I would argue that the engagement of Nintendo with moms made it a whole lot easier for Junior to convince his mom to fork over the $300 for a Wii. I also bet that the kids who got the first Zhu Zhu Pets because their moms had access to the product before anyone else, thought their blogging mom was super cool!
Fortunately for marketers gone are the days when one commercial had to fit the entire family. There’s a style, strategy and tactic for every segment of consumer. A conversation that a brand can have to multiple people with multiple interest via multiple platforms all at once. That’s the magic of social media and consumer generated content. With the magic of online marketing, social media and consumer generated content, marketers have the opportunity to get over their fears of marketing to moms and do something they’ve never done before in order to get the results they’ve never gotten before.
Maria Bailey is the CEO of BSM Media, the leading global marketing with moms firm. She is author of “Marketing to Moms”, “Trillion Dollar Moms,” “Mom 3.0: Marketing with Moms by Leveraging New Media and Technologies,” and “Ultimate Mom.” She is Founder of Bluesuitmom.com, www.momtv.com , National Mom’s Nite Out and host of MomTalkRadio, www.momtalkradio.com, first nationally syndicated radio show for moms. You can follow her @momtalkradio.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
When Virtual Playgrounds Collide With The Mom Next Door, Marketers Win
Ask any marketer who has been around for a while what the greatest form of marketing is in the mom market, and he or she will undoubtedly answer "word of mouth." Some may even cleverly call it word of mom.
A decade ago, a marketer's dream was to have a mom tell other mothers about their brand or product on the playground. We jumped for joy if moms sitting in focus groups told us that they heard about our product from another mom at a play date. It was difficult to quantify this "word of mouth," but we knew in our guts it was either building brand awareness or driving sales. Then, almost miraculously, the mom blogger was born and suddenly marketers could see and track word of mom in comments, tweets and blog posts.
Today, brand managers clamor to have Mom bloggers write up a product review or tweet about their product. However, in the rush to connect with Mommy bloggers or Social Media Mom Influencers, as I prefer to call them, marketers have forgotten that a mom's influence doesn't live on her hard drive alone. The sphere of influence of a true Mom Influencer transcends her virtual world into the physical community she inhabits on a daily basis. The best word of mom agent is the mom who is active on the virtual AND physical playground.
To support the need for marketers to look at moms in a multidimensional, BSM Media surveyed 1,000 moms who are active in social media online blogging, tweeting or Facebooking. According to the survey, 65% of moms feel they have as much influence offline as they do online. Fifty-two percent of these mothers admitted to sharing product information with an offline friend regularly with another 32% saying that they usually share information they find online with offline peers.
These social media moms not only socialize online but offline as well. Fifty-four percent of them belong to at least three mom-/women-related organization or groups in their physical community with over 35% belong to more than five such groups. Examining the lifestyle of today's most active mothers and most prolific influencer, it should come as no surprise that mom's two worlds become much intertwined.
Today's mothers see few boundaries between the virtual playgroups she socializes in and the moms she chats with in the carpool lane. In the same survey, when asked how she feels about her "offline" and "online" friends, mom tells us that she values them equally -- 48 % responded that she felt equally close to both sets of friends. In fact, over 68% of moms have a virtual friend they desire to meet in person.
So what does this mean to marketers who want to engage mom influencers to create a buzz about their product? It means you must look beyond Technorati and all the impression measurement systems online and look at Social Mom Influencers in a more holistic manner. You need to measure not only how many readers she has on her blog but to examine the number of moms she touches via Twitter, Facebook, PTAs, Girl Scouts, church groups and other offline branding initiatives she might have going on.
There are many mom bloggers who don't show up on lists of the most-read bloggers who are now doing local television segments while writing for their city newspapers. These mothers offer marketers greater reach and a wider sphere of influence than a singularly focused online blogger.
Word of mouth marketing is still alive and well in the offline world even though marketers have shifted their attention in recent days. The most successful marketers in the future will be those that identify the right mom influencer for their brand and facilitate bringing her online playground into her physical neighborhood.
A decade ago, a marketer's dream was to have a mom tell other mothers about their brand or product on the playground. We jumped for joy if moms sitting in focus groups told us that they heard about our product from another mom at a play date. It was difficult to quantify this "word of mouth," but we knew in our guts it was either building brand awareness or driving sales. Then, almost miraculously, the mom blogger was born and suddenly marketers could see and track word of mom in comments, tweets and blog posts.
Today, brand managers clamor to have Mom bloggers write up a product review or tweet about their product. However, in the rush to connect with Mommy bloggers or Social Media Mom Influencers, as I prefer to call them, marketers have forgotten that a mom's influence doesn't live on her hard drive alone. The sphere of influence of a true Mom Influencer transcends her virtual world into the physical community she inhabits on a daily basis. The best word of mom agent is the mom who is active on the virtual AND physical playground.
To support the need for marketers to look at moms in a multidimensional, BSM Media surveyed 1,000 moms who are active in social media online blogging, tweeting or Facebooking. According to the survey, 65% of moms feel they have as much influence offline as they do online. Fifty-two percent of these mothers admitted to sharing product information with an offline friend regularly with another 32% saying that they usually share information they find online with offline peers.
These social media moms not only socialize online but offline as well. Fifty-four percent of them belong to at least three mom-/women-related organization or groups in their physical community with over 35% belong to more than five such groups. Examining the lifestyle of today's most active mothers and most prolific influencer, it should come as no surprise that mom's two worlds become much intertwined.
Today's mothers see few boundaries between the virtual playgroups she socializes in and the moms she chats with in the carpool lane. In the same survey, when asked how she feels about her "offline" and "online" friends, mom tells us that she values them equally -- 48 % responded that she felt equally close to both sets of friends. In fact, over 68% of moms have a virtual friend they desire to meet in person.
So what does this mean to marketers who want to engage mom influencers to create a buzz about their product? It means you must look beyond Technorati and all the impression measurement systems online and look at Social Mom Influencers in a more holistic manner. You need to measure not only how many readers she has on her blog but to examine the number of moms she touches via Twitter, Facebook, PTAs, Girl Scouts, church groups and other offline branding initiatives she might have going on.
There are many mom bloggers who don't show up on lists of the most-read bloggers who are now doing local television segments while writing for their city newspapers. These mothers offer marketers greater reach and a wider sphere of influence than a singularly focused online blogger.
Word of mouth marketing is still alive and well in the offline world even though marketers have shifted their attention in recent days. The most successful marketers in the future will be those that identify the right mom influencer for their brand and facilitate bringing her online playground into her physical neighborhood.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
New Year- New Trends in Mom Marketing
With every New Year come waves of change. We make resolutions to do things differently, whether it’s changing our eating habits or the manner in which we manage our money. For marketers, January presents the opportunity to evaluate the goals of the year past, test new initiatives in the coming year and re-evaluate insights of their target market. When it comes to mothers, I’ve tracked consumer behaviors that the team at BSM Media feel will lead to the Mom Marketing Trends of 2010.
Marketing to Moms becomes Marketing WITH Moms: Resolve in 2010 to marketing “WITH” moms rather than “to” moms. Gone are the days when brands can push out marketing messages to moms and expect that moms will regurgitate it to their peers. Social media has given rise to a new generation of mothers who customize and personalize everything from coffee to your product information. These empowered moms want to share in spreading the word about your products; however they want to be partners in this relationship, hence the “with” rather than the “to.”
Video Puts a Face to Bloggers and Mom Mavens: Skype, VID and Vlogging have opened the door to a whole new dimension to the relationships mom bloggers and podcasters have developed with other mothers many miles away. With webcams and Flips in hand, moms can now communicate face-to-face with other friends, family members and companies. For marketers this means that it’s time to come out from behind your brand and put a face to your product. You can do this by engaging moms to be online “spokesmoms” or by uploading product videos to mom video portals such as Newbaby.com, www.newbaby.com or Facebook fan pages. More ambitious companies such as Logitech have found success in hosting shows on MomTV.com, www.momtv.com and doing product placement in mom produced shows as well.
The MomFrugalista is the New Chic of 2010: During 2009, the economy forced moms to explore coupons and discounts like never before. In fact, 60% of moms who claim to have never used coupons prior to the down economy admitted to now using them while compiling their grocery list. Saving money has become chic and cool among moms, even those with disposable income. It’s a game and in some circles of moms, a badge of honor. Stockpiling, insert previews and blog posts highlighting sales will continue to be a growing trend . Companies launching new products or attempting to increase sales will have to entice moms to try their products with coupons , samples and special offers. Moms have felt the excitement of saving money at the grocery store and few intend to give it up regardless of the economy.
Taking Online Mom Mavens Offline: Moms have enjoyed making friends online, in what I call the virtual playground, for several years; however they are now looking to bring these friendships to life in the physical world as well. This means great new opportunities for marketers because, as these online influencers expand offline, their networks and influence will expand as well. A recent example of this was the 300 Mommy Parties, www.mommyparties.com. BSM Media orchestrated for Zhu Zhu Pets. Moms across the US invited moms and kids into their home to play with Zhu Zhu hamsters making it the #1 toy of this holiday season. Attendance of mom bloggers has also spiked at local Mom Mixers. Companies can capitalize on mom’s desire to interact face-to-face with other moms while creating a platform for them to experience products and brands in an intimate and fun manner by sponsoring Mommy parties, Mom Mixers and local meet-ups.
It’s a new year and as a marketer it’s up to you to stay up with the times. Push aside your old CPM models and online impressions benchmarks and explore what can happen when you engage moms as your marketing partner.
Marketing to Moms becomes Marketing WITH Moms: Resolve in 2010 to marketing “WITH” moms rather than “to” moms. Gone are the days when brands can push out marketing messages to moms and expect that moms will regurgitate it to their peers. Social media has given rise to a new generation of mothers who customize and personalize everything from coffee to your product information. These empowered moms want to share in spreading the word about your products; however they want to be partners in this relationship, hence the “with” rather than the “to.”
Video Puts a Face to Bloggers and Mom Mavens: Skype, VID and Vlogging have opened the door to a whole new dimension to the relationships mom bloggers and podcasters have developed with other mothers many miles away. With webcams and Flips in hand, moms can now communicate face-to-face with other friends, family members and companies. For marketers this means that it’s time to come out from behind your brand and put a face to your product. You can do this by engaging moms to be online “spokesmoms” or by uploading product videos to mom video portals such as Newbaby.com, www.newbaby.com or Facebook fan pages. More ambitious companies such as Logitech have found success in hosting shows on MomTV.com, www.momtv.com and doing product placement in mom produced shows as well.
The MomFrugalista is the New Chic of 2010: During 2009, the economy forced moms to explore coupons and discounts like never before. In fact, 60% of moms who claim to have never used coupons prior to the down economy admitted to now using them while compiling their grocery list. Saving money has become chic and cool among moms, even those with disposable income. It’s a game and in some circles of moms, a badge of honor. Stockpiling, insert previews and blog posts highlighting sales will continue to be a growing trend . Companies launching new products or attempting to increase sales will have to entice moms to try their products with coupons , samples and special offers. Moms have felt the excitement of saving money at the grocery store and few intend to give it up regardless of the economy.
Taking Online Mom Mavens Offline: Moms have enjoyed making friends online, in what I call the virtual playground, for several years; however they are now looking to bring these friendships to life in the physical world as well. This means great new opportunities for marketers because, as these online influencers expand offline, their networks and influence will expand as well. A recent example of this was the 300 Mommy Parties, www.mommyparties.com. BSM Media orchestrated for Zhu Zhu Pets. Moms across the US invited moms and kids into their home to play with Zhu Zhu hamsters making it the #1 toy of this holiday season. Attendance of mom bloggers has also spiked at local Mom Mixers. Companies can capitalize on mom’s desire to interact face-to-face with other moms while creating a platform for them to experience products and brands in an intimate and fun manner by sponsoring Mommy parties, Mom Mixers and local meet-ups.
It’s a new year and as a marketer it’s up to you to stay up with the times. Push aside your old CPM models and online impressions benchmarks and explore what can happen when you engage moms as your marketing partner.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
I Love Twitter. You Should, Too!
I love Twitter. Absolutely love it and as a marketer you should too. As the mother of four, I use Twitter much in the same way I used to use Google or Yahoo!. When I need a recipe for a quick kid-friendly snack, I tweet it. Looking for a great gift idea? I tweet it. Once I even tweeted my search for canned pumpkin and found it, thanks to Twitter.
For many moms, twitter has become a search engine on steroids because of its ability to return recommendations from a peer group you trust and who knows your preferences, lifestyle and lifestage. This personalized delivery of relevant content is a dream come true for both consumers and companies trying to connect with them.
Unfortunately, companies have entered the Twittersphere haphazardly and without any real thought to how best utilize this powerful marketing channel. It’s not enough to just set up a Twitter account and tweet out the promotion of the week or newest press release. In fact, there’s been much tweeting about this lately among moms on Twitter. “Why do companies flood my Twitter account with garbage I can’t use?”, tweeted one mom last week. Another tweeted, “I spent 4 hours blocking companies who send me only marketing messages.”
A marketer can do a very effective job in connecting with moms in 140 characters or less as long as they follow a couple key strategies in mind. So to support these points, I did what I do most when I want to gain the prospective of moms, I tweeted this question out to my 13,000 followers: “What would you tell marketers about using Twitter when marketing to moms?”
1) It’s called Social Media because it’s social. For a woman, this means speaking back. Moms will quit following you if the dialogue is not a two-way conversation. @Gomominc tweeted: “Companies shouldn’t ask your opinion and then just go off …..”
2) Twitter shouldn’t be a platform to only broadcast promotions and sales. @ameladramaticmommy tweeted: “Be a person first and a company second. I would follow more companies if they tweeted out something interesting about them first”. If you want to see how a company representative can support a brand AND allow their personality to shine through, follow @comcastcares or @babycenterPR.
3) Take part in Twitter events. If you are surprised that there are “events” on Twitter, you probably aren’t using Twitter to its greatest potential. There are lots of events in this virtual space ranging from #FF (Follow Friday) and Twitter Parties. @Resourcefulmom created the former which have proven successful in gathering thousands of moms. Just last week BSM Media and @Resourceful hosted a Twitter Party for Zhu Zhu Pets. The event attracted over 1,000 moms and generated almost 9,000 tweets with the hash tag #ZhuZhuPets.
4) Don’t wait for moms to find you. Timing is important in delivering relevant content. Pick a few key words that fit your brand and search for twitter conversations on Summize.com, www.summize.com. In maintaining a Twitter account for one of my toy clients, we search daily for tweets that contain the word, “birthday”, “gift” and “toy”. Often we will find tweets that say” Need a birthday gift idea for 5 yr old boy”, to which we reply, “have you seen the new (insert appropriate toy) which is on sale at (insert retailer)” Relevant content delivered when a moms needs it.
5) Fear not! The conversation will happen with or without you, so you might as well join in. Many companies tell me they fear setting up a Twitter account. “ What if moms have something negative to say and say it to me on Twitter?” Well, guess what? They are going to say it whether you are there or not, but at least if you are Twitter, you have the chance to engage in the conversation.
Think back to the 80’s before social media existed and moms used to talk about products on the physical playground. Marketers were often blindsided by guerilla consumer chatter and only had the opportunity to react after it had reached the masses. With Twitter, if you see a mom complain about your product, you have 140 strokes of the keyboard to rectify the situation almost immediately. Customer service at its best.
I invite you to follow me on Twitter. I’m @momtalkradio. You can DM me or List me and if you don’t know what I’m describing, it’s time to learn. Today’s moms are doing more than just talking about brands, they are tweeting them too.
Maria Bailey is the author of “Marketing to Moms”, “Trillion Dollar Moms: Marketing to a New Generation of Mothers” and “Mom 3.0: Marketing With Today’s Mothers by Leveraging New Media and Technology”. She is CEO of BSM Media, the premier marketing to moms s firm connecting companies around the globe to mothers. Maria is also Co-Founder of BlueSuitMom.com, Newbaby.com, and MomTV.com and host of Mom Talk Radio, the first Nationally syndicated radio show for moms. You can follow her on Twitter @MomTalkRadio or email her at maria@bsmmedia.com.
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