Guest Post by Anissa Wardell
Did you know that moms are the buying power in the U.S. market? The buying power of mothers tops $2.1 trillion a year, and they control 85% of household income. (Jack personally believes they control even more, but moms want dads to feel like they at least have 15% of the power.) Hands down, moms are among the most coveted consumers in the U.S. market.
Here are 7 things that moms want, and that you should incorporate into your marketing plans:
- Moms want credible sources
- Moms want to connect quickly
- Be holistic in your approach to moms
- Don’t forget Radio advertising
- Offer services that will make their lives easier
- Be consistent with your message
- Be relevant, don’t talk down to moms
Moms see blogs as credible sources of information, which is why you see major companies and brands that have marketing campaigns that involve engagement with “mommy bloggers.”
Recently Jack did an interview with one of the web’s top mom bloggers, Heather Armstrong of Dooce.com.
In this interview Heather explains that part of her popularity began when she simply wrote her feelings on her blog about her boss. Heather says it like it is, she doesn’t mince words. Moms (and even men) flock to her site from recommendations from other moms, and from other moms blogging about her. Is she credible? To her audience, yes, she is. Heather shares the details of her life with her readers, and they get to be part of her life. Heather shows her credibility in everything she writes.
Advertising on mom blogs, forming partnerships with them or finding ways to get them to blog about you or your product, is an effective way to encourage them to connect. One of the best ways to find out which mom blogs have the highest traffic numbers is to use Technorati. Try searching Technorati for keywords like “mom blog” or “parenting”.
Their Authority number will give you a better idea of how many blogs are linking to their site. Reaching out to these moms can be very rewarding, but, you have to know how to reach out to these moms first. Pitching them, isn’t going to do you much good, they are savvy internet marketers themselves.
Making 85% of the household buying decisions means moms are busy!
Moms are busy, therefore, you must connect them to a message quickly in order to get a response. Be brief and use concise language. Remember, we are talking to moms, you need to communicate to moms in more than one way. No longer can you slap up a tv commercial between soaps and expect it to bring in traffic or purchases by the droves. More and more moms use the internet to not only connect with other moms, but, to make purchasing decisions.
In order to connect with today’s mom, you need to use the channels that your niche market of moms spends the most time on.
- First, where is your mom market hanging out?
- What social networking sites does she frequent?
- What blogs does she have to read?
- When does she get online?
- How long does she spend online?
There are several sites that have social communities that cater to these moms and allow them to chat, share experiences, and seek advice from other moms.
After choosing the online sites, you need to consider how to appeal to moms through offline channels. Moms still read their favorite magazines, and by placing your branding where they frequent offline you are adding to your credibility.
Radio should be an important part of your marketing campaign.
Moms spend a great deal of time in their cars either stuck in traffic or waiting for their kids to finish up at activities. There is very little female or mom focused radio and car time is prime time for moms thinking. If you want to really impress moms, offer them services that are going to make their lives easier. Moms acquire lots of things, lots of tools, but what they need is time. Moms don’t have time to get everything done.
Be consistent in your marketing efforts.
All your marketing channels should be spreading the same message in order to really reach moms. Moms have to recognize your brand and message in different methods. Make sure that you don’t talk down to moms. If you always make sure to talk to moms in a relevant fashion, you won’t have to worry about talking down to them. Keep in mind, moms are savvy, and if you market to them properly, not only will you have a great customer, but, that happy customer will go out of her way to make sure all her friends know about you.
Do you still doubt the mommy market?
Check out these mommy blogs and note that many are extremely high traffic sites. Also note that they attract some of the biggest and most mainstream advertisers on the web today. Mommy bloggers are seriously bringing home the bacon!
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Jack this post is brilliant. Have a mom write a post about moms.
I downloaded the interview, will pay special attention to this one.
Like you agree moms contol way more than 85%.
Thanks for the great post Anissa
Gary McElwain
Gary McElwains last blog post..Gary Vaynerchuk "Fondle Your Friends to Build Brand Equity"
Basically every women will be mom one day, existing moms are big market by itself! If we can gather more resources to help moms, I think we can help them make some money and we can make some money from them as well…
As a mom, I have to agree that the moms that I know who are online are strong, smart, and do make many of the buying decisions for their families.
We’ve got the power, but I feel that we’re also a market that wants to be nurtured, not “sold” to. Anything that makes me feel yucky slams the door in a big hurry.
On the other hand, if I buy something and love it — I’m likely a customer for life.
Excellent article. Thanks for sharing.
Nicole Deans last blog post..A Bear on a Bicycle? The importance of Good Copy.
When marketing to moms, remember, not all of us like pink and fuzzy bunnies. Some of us are moms of older kids. Try to avoid stereotypes. Many of us moms are retired executives who are now staying home with their kids. We have MBAs, PhDs, and resumes.
@Nicole and Karen – great points! Thanks for stopping by. I am honored.
Hey,I like this post. I started my mommy blog a more than a year ago,but haven’t got many people on my blog,but okay,I didn’t started the blog with the intention to get a lot of visitors,I just wanted tolet my child know the feelings I had during my pregnancy. But it would be nice if I could earn something from my blog too.
So I tried ad sense etc. I wonder how people are making money with their blogs.
Thanks for the info.
@Chantal – because it is so easy to start a blog, most people blogging don’t make money at it. But most are like you – they didn’t start out to make money at it.
Once you have that focus, start learning about marketing and creating content people in your market want to read based on other popular blogs – and find your voice in that market.
Thanks, Jack
I appreciate that you replied.
I am curious about marketing on the internet.