Linda Landers

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1 In 4 Moms Say Purchase Decisions Are Influenced by Social Media Recommendations

Those of us who work regularly in this space know that bloggers — particularly mommy bloggers — are a powerful and influential force, but now comes the data to prove it.

According to a new study by The NPD Group and Child’s Play Communications, 79% of all moms in the U.S. with children under the age of 18 are active in social media. Of these moms, about one in four (23%) said they have purchased a children’s product as a result of a recommendation from a social networking site or blog.

The study: “Social Media Moms: How Networking Impacts Purchasing Behaviors” probes into the behaviors and opinions of active social media moms, defined as moms who currently belong to a social networking site and/or write, read or comment on blogs. Based on responses from a sample of more than 2,000 of these moms, it is evident that online recommendations have even more impact among the most frequent social media users: 43% of these moms who use these sites on a daily basis have purchased a children’s product as the result of a recommendation from these sites.

Active social media moms who purchased a children’s product based on an online recommendation said that, on average, they did so five times in the past year. More than half (55%) of these moms said they made their purchase because of a recommendation from a personal review blog and 40% from a Facebook recommendation.

“Social media has become an enormous influence on purchasing, and savvy marketers have certainly begun to embrace this vehicle when messaging to moms,” said Anita Frazier, Industry Analyst for The NPD Group. “But many marketers have yet to fully realize the potential of social media and the power of peer group recommendations, which means more opportunities are on the horizon.”

Clearly, moms nationwide are making purchasing decisions as a result of the information and advice other moms are providing through social media. It’s important that brand managers continue looking to this group of influencers and work to develop ongoing relationships with them as they develop their marketing strategies.

Has your brand identified its strategy for reaching moms?

We’re Not Mommy Bloggers, We’re Social Media Moms

11/1 2010 BY HOLLY PAVLIKA

Moms may not have invented social media, but the 26 million moms who use social media prove the mommy demographic dominates it. From mommy blogs to Facebook and Twitter accounts, social media provides a limitless platform for savvy “Social Media Moms” to share pics and videos, keep in constant contact with friends and family, and post reviews about products. Social media has empowered women and moms by giving them an endless platform to effect change. The truth is that moms trust the opinions of other moms over advertising. Mom blogs that offer product reviews, coupons, links to deals and specials, and information about the hottest products on the market have become the most reliable go-to source for the mom consumer. No longer is it enough for retailers to make great products and expect push media to attract consumers to their product. There is a delicate balance in finding a healthy medium between content and brand messaging, while figuring out the right tone and approach to building a solid relationship with moms.

Mom’s domination of social media has caused companies to embrace social responsibility. Trust and reputation are all-important in today’s Mom’s connected world. The trust factor is becoming the main differentiator among successful brands and not-so-successful ones. Moms, in growing numbers, are embracing brands and companies they trust.

The biggest mistake a brand can make is to underestimate the power of mom. When today’s mom is faced with a problem, she’ll always find a way to come up with a solution. By sourcing and creating applications on their own, launching blogs that provide a platform for them to have discussions with other moms, or even starting their own businesses, today’s tech savvy mom is constantly finding innovative ways to solve everyday problems. As a result, business models, product development techniques, technology, and marketing are changing dynamically.

Many moms use social media to start their own businesses. These Moms are confident and are taking their excellent networking skills and the strong relationships they have built with their social graphs to leverage a business that ultimately produces revenue. Even in the midst of a roaring recession, Moms are actively seeking ways to monetize their blogs and generate additional income through consulting, speaking appearances, filling out surveys, attending meetings and becoming voices for brands. More and more Moms are crowd-sourcing issues and joining forces to help teach mom to business relationship-building skills. Even between having multiple children, managing a home and running a business, she is moving at light speed.

The Social Media Mom is a force to be reckoned with. She’s been given the tools and she’s making the most of them. Brands can learn a lot from her.

9 Teen Myths You Thought Were True

Today was a significant day for me – I became the mom of a teenager. In honor of my new status, I thought I’d share the following article on teen myths that every marketer can learn from.

9 Teen Myths You Thought Were True

By David Trahan

A teen, a Millennial and a Mom walk into a restaurant for dinner. The Mom has a coupon for 10% off that she got for “liking” the bar’s Facebook page, the Millennial checked in on Foursquare to get a free drink, and the teen has nothing and is too busy texting her friends to care.

Teens are a unique audience. They have their own needs and social drivers that are unique to their stage in life. Many marketers assume that, because teens are young, their needs are the same as Millennials and that they will interact with brands in the same way.

New research is showing that teens have their own needs and behaviors that are different from other generations. If you’re a marketer (or even a mom) looking to reach teens, it’s vitally important that you always have your finger on the pulse of the teen audience. As technology evolves, teens are finding their own uses for it that are unique to their personal and social needs.

Myth #1: All teens want smartphones.
While it is true that teens want phones, smartphone adoption has only reached 31% as of 2010. If 90% of teens own a cell phone, why aren’t they buying smartphones? The answer is actually pretty simple: texting. Teens send an average of 3,339 texts per month, and typing that many messages on a touch screen is a lot more difficult than typing on even the most basic phone keyboard. That’s why BlackBerry is one of the most popular phones for teens.

Myth #2: Texting is the way in.
We already know that teens love to text. What some marketers fail to realize is that teens only love to text with their friends. Only 10% say they want companies to contact them via text message. There are some instances where a brand can use a texting campaign to engage this audience, but most teens see texting as “too personal,” and aren’t inviting brands into their personal space.

Myth #3: Teens use Facebook the way we use Facebook.
Don’t count on just your Facebook page to reach teens. Teens interact with brands on Facebook if they feel there is a real benefit to them for doing so. They’re not “liking” every brand on Facebook that they purchase, and even if they do, they’re not likely to come back to your page after the first visit.

Myth #4: Teens are going to join Twitter.
Recent findings from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project show that only 8% of teens have embraced Twitter. Other studies also show that most teens don’t have any interest in joining Twitter in the future (76%). By the time they decide to use Twitter, they probably won’t be teens anymore.

Myth #5: If you build it, teens will come.
Great ideas go to waste when no one knows about them. Many marketers believe that creating a social experience for teens will spread itself through word-of-mouth and online sharing. A good social media activation can always benefit from a mass-media driver.

Myth #6: Teens are online all the time.
Teens spend roughly two hours per day on the Internet, and almost half of that time is spent on entertainment. Teens don’t need the Internet to interact with their friends — they see them all the time, and if they’re not with them, they’re texting them. If you want to reach teens online, you have to find a way to bridge their online and offline experiences.

Myth #7: Teens don’t watch TV.
Teens watch over 100 hours of television per month — most of which is not viewed on TiVo, Hulu or Netflix. They may be texting or playing games while they watch TV, but they’re definitely still watching it.

Myth #8: Teen word-of-mouth happens online.
Teens do not spend most of their online time communicating with their friends. In fact, over 80% of teen word-of-mouth happens offline. If you want to tap into teen word-of-mouth, find a reason for them to talk about your brand offline.

Myth #9: Teens love online video.
Teens use the Internet for entertainment, and online video is an important component of that. Branded video can be a great way to engage with teens as long as it doesn’t come off as one long commercial. Teens aren’t going to be tricked into thinking that your “viral video” is anything more than an advertisement.

Temporarily Cool: I’m a Mom of a Generation Z-er

The Moms of Generation Z

Oh, happy day! According to a new report by the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association, I’m officially cool. Why? Because I’m the mom of a tween – which means, according to the report, that I’m cooler than the moms of non-tweens. Tween moms are more likely to be on Facebook (true), read more blogs than other adults (true), listen to Top 40 radio (true again), and use our web and mobile technology to do more research online than other adults.

Tweens (or Generation Z as demographers are now beginning to label kids ages 8-12) have emerged as the new “it” market in the last few years, leading marketers to want to know more about their gatekeeper moms. It turns out that we’re a very busy bunch, but I guess we’re busy in different ways.

We’re very adept at multitasking: while using any media, more than three-quarters of us say that we’re also doing laundry and housework. And while our other mom friends are listening to rock and oldies most often, more than one-third of tween moms listen to rock and top 40/pop music.

Social media has quickly become a favorite for many moms, but tween moms use Facebook more than moms of other age groups. It could be because we enjoy catching up with friends and colleagues, but we’re also fanatically monitoring our own tween’s Facebook pages. But for whatever reason we’re online, we’re also tuned into the growing popularity of retailers’ social networking sites that are helping us track coupons, as well as in-store events and promotions.

I’d like to suggest the following theory: perhaps it’s not so much that tween moms are cooler than other moms, but that we’re so busy and in such transition that we have to multi-task just to survive. Tweens aren’t yet old enough to be given free rein to do what they please, but they’re old enough to have very strong opinions and to fight for that freedom they so desperately seek. Their voices are changing as their hormones are raging.

And while I’d like to believe I’m cooler than the average mom, the fact is that at this life stage I’m just extremely busy and grabbing onto whatever tools will help keep my life sane.

So for this weekend I’ll happily embrace my status as a cool mom, because next week my son turns 13 and I’ll have to hang up my title.

Marketing Lessons From The Gap

The recent brouhaha over Gap Inc.’s attempt to change its logo is a cautionary tale for all brands.

Brand building is just that – brand “building.” It’s about building the brand through an ongoing consumer relationship. That’s especially true with women, because a woman’s loyalty to a brand in particular is tied to the relationship she feels with the brand, and how much she feels connected to it. It’s about knowing how to talk to women, and how to listen to her.

Logo aside, I think Gap has more pressing issues. Like many women, Gap became my go-to store when I had my son. The durable, high-quality denim and expandable waistbands in their children’s department meant I got maximum wear (and style) out of the purchases I made for him. And the products worked for me as well. They had a great selection of jeans in a large variety of cuts and washes. But over the years the quality and style began to decline. The denim was thinner, and the jeans felt cheap. And to add insult to injury, the price was not lowered to make up for the lack of quality. Eventually, I stopped going to Gap or even shopping its online site, and as a result the brand became invisible to me.

The Gap brand currently seems trapped between several fashion category trends. Women like to mix low-priced basics from Target or Wal-Mart with expensive signature pieces from premium brands. Unlike Abercrombie & Fitch, which has a deep understanding of its consumer and what makes them “tick,” Gap seems to have lost relevance with its consumers, or to even be able to identify its core target audience.

Yes, this was a massive miss for Gap, right up there with New Coke. To make matters worse, their “crowd sourcing” spin seems to have ticked off the entire graphic design community as well.

But most importantly, Gap’s trials and tribulations over the past few days really highlights the power of social media. What consumers (particularly women) might have thought privately while walking into a store before is now shared publicly. Personally, I like the old logo better, but the logo isn’t what draws me to a particular brand. It’s how invested I am in the brand, and more importantly, how invested the brand is in me.

I get that Gap wants to rebrand itself. The brand seems to be attempting a renaissance, and rethinking the logo is a legitimate thought. But Gap could have used social media to get their customers invested in this rebranding effort. By not asking customers on Facebook and Twitter for feedback before unveiling the redesign, Gap marketers missed an opportunity to speak to the brand’s key audiences – many of them women. Why wouldn’t they invite loyal customers to be a part of their journey, and feel some ownership and pride in the process?

What do you think – did Gap miss the boat?

Where Is the Tooth Fairy When You Need Her?

Marketing Healthcare to Women I could say my life is full –– but that’s code for frenetically, overwhelmingly busy. Too busy to take care of me –– too busy to be healthy. It’s not that I don’t know what I need to do –– it’s finding the time to do it that’s the problem.

And that’s what brought me here. Last week I had the extremely unpleasant experience of getting my wisdom teeth yanked out of my mouth. I’ve known for years that I needed to address these teeth, but I was always too busy avoiding the inevitable. It was finally a salad and fork that ultimately dealt me this hand.

Whether I’m making healthcare decisions for myself or my family, I’m definitely the one making the decisions. Novocain or anesthesia? Remove one broken wisdom tooth or all of them? Dentist or oral surgeon? Vicodin or Ibuprofen?

I walked back to the Chair Of Doom and the oral surgeon, who injected me with the Propopol that sent me off to wonderland (hello, Michael Jackson). I elected to have my wisdom teeth surgically removed –– which means cutting the gums open and breaking the tooth into pieces and pulling the pieces out. I have to admit –– it hurt, but I was trying not to be a baby in front of my son who I’m sure will eventually have to face this as well.

As a marketing-to-women specialist, I understand the purchasing power of female consumers. And though women make 90% of all consumer healthcare decisions –– some $500 billion a year -–– we are still considered a niche market in the healthcare category. In other words, marketing healthcare to women isn’t a priority for many brands.

What do women want from their healthcare providers? For starters, prescriptions that can be sent electronically to the pharmacy from the doctor’s office. Doctors that can provide resources for answers to a patient’s questions before their appointment. In general –– the same customer attention they demand from other consumer products and services. Now more than ever, healthcare marketers need to understand that women want resources they can trust, and should be looking to create lifetime relationships with these important consumers.

Do you feel your providers are marketing healthcare to you?

The Recession Will Be Over When Moms Say It’s Over

Marketing to Moms During the Recession

Though Warren Buffet recently ruled out a double-dip recession in the U.S., ultimately it’s our country’s moms who will decide when the economy starts showing real signs of recovery.

75 million U.S. moms make or influence 85 percent of all household purchase decisions, representing $2.1 trillion in annual spending power. Brands are counting on American mothers to help them survive the current economic slump, but getting moms to unleash their “purse power” continues to be a struggle.

With up to 45 percent of moms insisting they have “eliminated anything they don’t feel is absolutely necessary from their lives,” and another 29 percent having found ways to cut back on spending in response to the current economic climate, moms are putting brands, products and services under tighter scrutiny than ever before, and making sure every dollar is spent wisely.

According to a BSM Media Study, moms focus on the needs of their families first, and then look for the smaller luxuries they can afford for themselves. Instead of a new pair of boots, in this economy it might be a new magazine or lipgloss. And while nesting was a social issue in the days following 9/11, today it’s an economic one, with 81 percent of moms cutting back on eating out, and 72 percent reducing their out-of-house entertainment altogether, according to a recent USA Today/Gallup Poll.

What does this mean for marketers? It means that moms are interacting with their favorite brands in new ways – like Starbucks on a weekly instead of a daily basis, or Costco pizza instead of Friday night delivery. Experts believe this state-of-mind will continue even after the recession is over for many American families.

Moms have always been more brand loyal than men, but they require more frequent interaction and communications designed specifically for them. Marketers need to make the extra effort to build relationships with their female consumers, whether it’s through social media, influencer recommendations or customer appreciation. They need to start marketing with moms, not at them.

Are moms still loyal to your brand through these economic times?

Back To School Shopping With a Tween Boy

Shopping with a Tween Boy

Back to school shopping can be stressful, particularly when you have a picky fashion conscious tween. My nearly 13-year old son has a very strong sense of his own personal style, and refuses to stray far from it. And while I appreciate his independence, I wish he were more open-minded to trying new things, like mixing patterns and layering.

But boys in middle school know what they want to wear, and that’s usually what the rest of their peers are wearing. And if that’s only khaki, black and camouflage for the entire year, well, that’s what they want to wear. Having clothing that’s similar to others at school is one way they feel they can avoid embarrassment. At the same time, they want to establish their individual needs and style, and this is the time they will begin do so.

My son’s favorite place to shop is Tilly’s, a store that markets clothes with the west-coast lifestyle look and feel. He likes Tilly’s because they “get” him. There is as much space dedicated to boys clothes as there is to girls clothing. And there are lots of accessories and products to sample, smell and experience.

This year’s fashion winners and losers for him are:

Shorts – solid colors only
T-shirts – no yellow and absolutely positively NOTHING close to the entire pink family
Socks – the biggest priority. Lots of them and only of the highest quality (Who knew Nordstrom socks have smaller, more comfortable seams at the toe?)
An umbrella for rainy days – absolutely no way!
Backpack – in “no one can tease me” solid gray
Accessories – belts, hats, etc. – turns out the clothes are simply a backdrop for the accessories
Grooming supplies – loves them: the more the better!
Shoes – not sure why his back-to-school shoes need to cost more than the pool maintenance man, but there you are

And my best kept secret for getting my son to embrace something that I like? I tell him I hate it.

Women Welcome Mobile Shopping

The Perks of Mobile Shopping

So you’re in Banana Republic and see a to-die-for camel coat for fall. But before you make the purchase you check with Gap and J Crew to make sure they don’t have something similar at a better price. Instead of getting into your car and going across town or heading home to your computer, you use your smartphone to get the answer in a matter of seconds – saving you both time and money.

According to a recent survey by miBuys, women are overwhelmingly open to mobile marketing and shopping. Respondents said they love using the mobile web overall; 94% said they use their phones to surf even when they’re at home and can access much more powerful devices, such as laptops and desktop PCs. The survey results send a clear message to advertisers that women are already engaged and eager to explore new cell phone services, and that cell phones and portable devices can play a significant role in helping brands build relationships with their female customers.

That certainly makes sense, as mobile is easy and accessible. New apps such as Twemple (a location-based service for products which transform a users city into a giant store) allow users to share purchases with friends, earn points and become opinion leaders within their social networks.

Women and Mobile Shopping

Here are some other findings from the survey:

85% use the mobile Internet almost daily.
70% expect their mobile Internet usage to increase in the future.
84% notice mobile advertising.
67% are interested in receiving mobile coupons or vouchers.
93% are always on the lookout for bargains.

Do you agree with these findings? Do you like the idea of using your phone for more shopping, or do you have enough social media in your lives already? Are retailers moving in this direction quickly enough?

The Girl Effect – The World’s Greatest Untapped Solution

The Girl Effect

THE GIRL EFFECT, n. — The powerful social and economic change brought about when girls have the opportunity to participate.

The focus of this blog has been on women’s consumerism and marketing to women. But in looking at the power of today’s women, we can’t ignore the power of the next generation of women around the world. I recently connected with a wonderful program called The Girl Effect – perhaps the greatest untapped solution for young girls in developing nations.

An adolescent girl is uniquely capable of raising the standard of living in the developing world and the community in which she lives: she will reinvest her income and knowledge back into her family and her community. As an educated mother and an active citizen, a girl will break the cycle of intergenerational poverty. That’s The Girl Effect. But despite her proven potential, she is also more likely to be uneducated, a child bride, and exposed to HIV/AIDS. Less than two cents of every international development dollar is directed to adolescent girls. And excluding these girls doesn’t just impact them, but the world at large.

The Girl Effect is the powerful social and economic change brought about when girls have the opportunity to participate. It’s an untapped force in the fight against poverty, and it’s driven by champions around the globe: the Nike Foundation, the NoVo Foundation, the UN Foundation, the Coalition for Adolescent Girls, CARE, Plan, the Population Council, ICRW and the Center for Global Development – and many others.

THE GIRL EFFECT DATA

Little research has been done to understand how investments in girls impact economic growth and the health and well-being of developing communities. This lack of data reveals how pervasively girls have been overlooked. For millions of these girls, there have been no systems to record their birth, their citizenship, or even their identity. They are virtually invisible. However, existing research suggests their impact can reach much further than expected.

Today, more than 600 million girls live in the developing world.
She’s the economic backbone of her family: the chore doer, the caretaker, the insurance policy.
She’s the mother of the next generation. She will reinvest 90 percent of her income into her family, generating a powerful ripple effect. Her brother? Thirty to forty percent.
When she’s educated through secondary school, she’ll bring 25% more income into her family.
When she’s healthy, her community’s health will improve as maternal mortality and child malnutrition drop, and HIV rates decline.
When a girl in the developing world receives seven or more years of education, she marries four years later and has 2.2 fewer children.
An extra year of primary school boosts girls’ eventual wages by 10 to 20 percent. An extra year of secondary school boosts wages by 15 to 25 percent. But one-quarter of girls in developing countries are not in school.
More than one-quarter of the population in Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, and sub-Saharan Africa are girls ages 10 to 24.
One girl in seven in developing countries marries before age 15, and 38 percent marry before age 18.
One-quarter to one-half of girls in developing countries become mothers before age 18; 14 million girls aged 15 to 19 give birth in developing countries each year

What can you do? Help make these 600 million girls visible by becoming a fan of The Girl Effect on Facebook. Tell the world that you think these girls deserve better – for themselves, and for the end of poverty.

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