Even as Generation Z is entering motherhood, brands are still trying to understand and tap into the spending of Millennial Moms. Unfortunately, many are entrusting this daunting task to their agency who may or may not understand the demographic themselves. Here are 5 questions that can help brands steer their marketing activities toward a higher return on investment.
1. Are we delivering a product message that is relevant to moms’ routines & behaviors?
It’s not enough to garner millions of impressions online with your product message on social media or in digital advertising. Millennial Moms react to content, images and messages that are relevant to their busy lives. Last month BSM Media uncovered a secret behavior about moms and their consumption of Little Bites. With this nugget of insight, Entenmann’s focused on a common behavior when moms sneak a pack of Little Bites when she’s hungry and kids are away. Mom Influencers posted their Mom Moment with Little Bites online and thousands of other moms rewarded the relevance of the content with likes, shares and comments. With an engagement of over 3%, it was apparent that Millennial Moms felt an emotional attachment to Entenmann’s message.
2. Who are we using to deliver our brand message?
If the answer is “the largest mom instagrammers”, it’s likely the wrong answer. Word of mouth has always been the strongest form of marketing to moms; however, a recommendation coming from a close friend is stronger than when delivered by a cyber-celebrity. Research shows that Millennial Moms are 65% more likely to purchase a product from a nano- or micro- influencer than a macro-influencer. The selection of influencers should be done carefully and purposefully to identify moms who are truly entrenched with her followers. Need proof? Search the hashtag #socialspotters on Instagram to see the engagement that nano-influencers earn from their followers on their Social Spotter campaigns.
3. If we are using influencers, how are we selecting them?
Numbers matter but engagement, authenticity and content creation matter more. Does your agency personally know the influencers or are they spending your budget on time searching for relationships? Are they using the same influencers over and over again hence losing authenticity along the way? Millennial Moms recognize that brands pay their favorite bloggers; however they are more likely to engage with the paid posts if the content makes sense to the relationship the brand or product has with the blogger. If a fitness blogger suddenly posts about chocolate truffles, followers quickly scroll past your message because it feels more like a paid commercial than an authentic conversation.
4. What are we doing to keep the conversation about our product active offline?
Millennial Moms may spend up to 3 hours a day on social media, but they also spend a lot of time offline as well. They talk about products in the carpool line, at ballet lessons, and on the sideline of practice fields. Your brand should be a part of those influential conversations as well. BSM Media research shows that 80% of mom influencers also have influence offline as well but less than 10% of brands leverage that opportunity. Dig out old marketing tactics such as sampling, brand ambassadors and special events to truly tap into the power of influence marketing.
5. How are we measuring the results of our marketing campaigns?
We saved the most important question for last. A successful campaign should generate your brand not only online impressions, but also hundreds of pieces of great digital content, high engagement, sales and consumer insights that you can use to improve results on your next campaign.
BSM Media, Inc. is an award-winning and internationally recognized Marketing to Moms agency specializing in influencer engagement and outreach programs. Their MommyParties, and Social Spotters, services are proven activation tactics used by Fortune 100 to Start Up companies. BSM Media also owns and operates MillennialInfluencers.com and GenZInfluencers.com which connects brands to Millennial Influencers and Gen Z Influencers.
Maria Bailey is the CEO of BSM Media and the author of “Marketing to Moms: Getting Your Share of the Trillion Dollar Market,” “Power Moms,” “Millennial Moms: 202 Facts Marketers Need to Know to Build Brands and Drive Sales,” and the soon to be released “Marketing to Gen Z Moms.” She is a frequent keynote speaker and media expert. She can be reached at Maria@bsmmedia.com. Learn more about Maria Bailey at www.MariaBailey.com.
