Marketing to Mums

Helping brands sell more effectively to the world's most powerful consumer, mums

Katrina McCarter

The clock is ticking for your brand on TikTok 

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No doubt your kids are experts at TikTok and you’ve probably—at least—seen global viral videos like 2020’s lockdown Blinding Lights dance challenge and the baked pasta recipe that saw supermarkets run out of feta cheese.

With almost two billion users in 154 countries and over one billion monthly active users, TikTok is the world’s fastest growing video-sharing platform just five years after its creation by Chinese company ByteDance (here’s a full breakdown of TikTok statistics).

And while it definitely skews younger—its 15 second clips are perfect for tweens and teens—latest figures show a broader user spectrum including that one in four TikTok users is a mother. The app is now reaching an older, more influential (and wealthier) audience.

The verdict? It has definite marketing to mums potential. For instance, last Mother’s Day TikTok surveyed users and found the top five products mums looked for on the platform were holidays, followed by jewellery, handbags, cars and sunglasses.

An interesting insight from the survey is that mums on the platform are “more likely” to see your content through a phone screen and often discover brands through social media: “Marketers should take notice, and reach them with immersive advertising in mobile-first environments for maximum impact.”

So far, videos with the hashtag #mumlife and #momlife have amassed a whopping 3.3 billion views, according to Marie Claire. And #tiktokmum and #tiktokmom are at 177.4 million. The app’s largest user base—those under 24—are actively seeking out content made by mums.

Red alert to brands: This is a mammoth and growing social media platform you should consider as a valuable marketing tool once you’ve perfected Facebook and Instagram to reach and engage mums.

TikTok’s appeal lies in its vibe: unlike the perfection of Insta, it’s about having fun, being silly, perhaps a little vulnerable, definitely authentic. And as all business owners know, authenticity sells.

It delivers an intriguing opportunity for your business to be noticed by your target audience while community building, engaging with the audience and generating conversations. It’s an ideal platform for giveaways, for example.

According to social media specialists Wallaroo, you should investigate a TikTok strategy if your brand’s target audience includes anyone between 13 and 60. It says a 2022 vertical strategy should include TikTok because the platform includes links and commerce URLs in your profile and videos, so “not only is the organic reach on the platform huge, but you can also drive meaningful traffic to your website.” (Click here to find out how the TikTok algorithm works.)

Global beauty, fashion, food, entertainment and travel brands are all creating a content strategy—and some are smashing it.

Eyebrow Queen’s tutorials and product reviews generate attention and sales. Online fashion retailer ASOS shares outfit inspiration. Luxe Italian brand Gucci shows celebrities wearing its clothes in short TikTok films.

Starbucks announces new coffee flavours via Tiktok, French cookware manufacturer Le Creuset shares tutorials and recipe ideas and Netflix changes and mixes scenes from its popular shows.

Guess, Crocs and Target all have strong TikTok identities. But you don’t have to be a big brand to go viral. Last year, staff at Viennese boutique hotel Madgas Hotel made a series of entertaining videos as tourism died amid lockdowns. One reached two million people.

As a platform, TikTok is growing fast and exponentially. It gives brands the opportunity to inform and entertain a ton of potential customers via organic growth and meaningful traffic. And mums love it. Check it out.

The top thing brands do that women hate

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By now, you’ll be hearing a lot about March 8’s International Women’s Day. I am, and it’s making me think hard. About how simultaneously powerful and powerless women are. About how much we love our moms, wives, sisters, daughters for their wisdom and sense of humour (matched by common sense.) About how it’s incredible to celebrate our achievements while seeing clearly the tough road that still lies ahead.

My eldest daughter is leaving soon for her first year of college and I love that it comes at a time when events like IWD remind us of what we have and what we still want. 2022’s theme #BreakTheBias is especially relevant, about imagining a gender free equal world “free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination.”

The global goal is to raise awareness against bias and forge women’s equality through action. Today my small contribution is to highlight one thing women suffer from globally and which I’d love to see vanish.

Stereotyping.

I’ve written before about the ground breaking research my Marketing to Mums organisation did which represented the first time ever that almost 2000 mothers were asked how they want businesses to communicate with them.

It found 63 per cent of moms believe advertisements and brands don’t understand them.  

This staggers me, chiefly because there is a massive opportunity going begging here. With annual global spending power in the trillions, moms are the world’s most powerful consumer. More than half are unhappy with their treatment by brands. And nobody is asking what they really want and how they want to be seen.

The research found there are nine key mistakes brands and marketing agencies make when it comes to communicating with mothers. Stereotyping is at the top of that list of shame and its damaging effects are myriad. First up, stereotyping women and moms significantly limits your ability to attract and retain your ideal target market. It will directly affect your sales conversions.

How many times are moms depicted as a size 8 dynamo, juggling boardroom demands with kids’ needs before turning waspish know-it-all showing a hapless husband how to separate the whites from the coloureds?

While I’m sure those challenges are valid, the way they’re communicated are outdated or just wrong. Triumph—one of the world’s leading underwear manufacturers—reports that in Australia and New Zealand 48 per cent of women are size 14 or above. So this stereotype immediately isolates your brand from the very person you want to attract.

A massive 2014 study by ad giant Saatchi & Saatchi and UK parenting site Mumsnet found only 19 per cent of UK moms have ever identified with a woman in an ad. They found stereotyping of the perfect mom was a turn off, with 74 per cent of respondents saying they weren’t aspiring to perfection anyway.

The message? Stereotyping makes your business look disingenuous. Your aspirational approach won’t land because moms can’t relate.

“Don’t think that because we are moms we want ugly dressing gowns, fluffy slippers, cookware. We like being self-sufficient. We will use tools, fix broken things. We are not afraid of getting dirty. We are not just moms, we are modern women,” is what I heard during my research.

I’m inviting all brands and advertisers to #/BreakTheBias with these three things:

Do your homework

Start investing in research and marketing to women specialists to better understand them.

Most businesses skimp on research, yet this is the foundation that underpins the whole strategy. It’s a vital step. Mothers are not one homogenous group and it is vitally important your brand understands their behaviours, their drivers, so you can demonstrate empathy and a level of understanding that is currently lacking in the market and that will set you apart.

Hire the people you need

Ensure you have moms on your internal and external teams. Even better, support agencies which are mom-led (if you can find one—statistically, around 8 per cent are.) Forbes reported the median age of staff in agencies in the US is 38 and that more than 60% of ad industry employees are aged 25-44. The industry is male heavy because of the recognised gender pay gap.

That means younger, single, white males guide a lot of brand spend while lacking insight into moms’ needs. Agencies need to make more effort to hire and retain women with lived experience to make sure they’re offering their client brands and base a deeper level of insight. Having moms on your internal and external teams show you have representation of your target audience and it mitigates potential risk of a public brand misstep.

Go to the source

Simple: involve women and moms in your new product development. Typically, businesses don’t do this well and miss creating new income streams. They miss product design improvements that could be implemented. Women want to have a say. My current heroes in women-led businesses are beauty brand 19/99 (named for their age range), Super-She (a private female-only island off the coast of Finland) and Squealing Pig, an Australian rose brand created by women.

Have a memorable IWD and carry #BreakTheBias way beyond the one day allocated to it.

5 WAYS TO TAP INTO THE GROWING MARKET OF FEMALE SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS

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Women are emerging as the new superpower in Small Business. Women’s Network Australia states that there are more than 660,000 women led businesses accounting for one third of all Small Businesses in Australia. Women are registering businesses at nearly three times the rate of their male counterparts. Are you neglecting this growing, powerful market?

Many women cite issues securing suitable child care, inflexible work arrangements, a lack of meaningful part time work and a desire to be their own boss and work on their own terms as key motivators to go into business. I can vouch that all of these were key motivators for me to launch my first business back in 2011 after the birth of my third child.

I believe that science also plays a part in fuelling a women’s desire to go into business. In 2008, a US neuroscientist named Craig Kingsley, discovered that the birth of a child actually sees an increase in the learning capacity and memory of women. Mothers develop expert problem solving skills with many women starting businesses to provide solutions to unmet problems they have identified in the marketplace or experienced first-hand themselves.

The rise of women, particularly mum led businesses in Australia is significant. We are seeing a shift and expansion in the purchasing power of women. Now not only are women responsible for the majority of purchasing of groceries, holidays and clothing, they are now substantial purchasers and consumers of legal and accounting services, office leases, electronic goods, insurance, printing services and office supplies. This represents a great opportunity for many Small Businesses.

Here are five things you can do to tap into the growing number of women led enterprises to drive your business growth:

#1 REVIEW YOUR IDEAL CLIENT

With new financial year plans well underway in many businesses, now is a great time to review who is your ideal client or customer. This could be a survey of your top 20% of clients or customers to better understand who they are and what problems they are experiencing. Are women led businesses a growing part of your business? If you decide you want to target women led businesses consider speaking to them to better understand their problems and how your products or services could provide the solutions. I have always found women to be very supportive and willing to share their opinions.

#2 REDIRECT YOUR PROMOTIONAL DOLLARS

If women are running more than a third of all Australian businesses, does your marketing budget reflect this? In preparing next financial year’s marketing spend look to allocate 30% or more into securing more of this growing market segment.

#3 REVIEW YOUR BRANDING AND PROMOTIONAL MESSAGING

In order to increase your sales conversions to women led businesses I strongly recommend you review your promotional messages, language, brand stories you share and look at the way you depict women in your promotional materials. In my experience working with mums, they show a high distaste for businesses which stereotype women or treat them as though they are all the same or stupid.

#4 LOOK FOR STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

Marketing partnerships are one of the fastest ways to grow a business. Identify suitable female business networking groups and brainstorm potential opportunities to work together for mutual benefit. Marketing partnerships can be a great vehicle to share promotions and secure new business.

#5 GET SOCIAL

Women love social media; both for business and personal use. Ensure your business has a strong social strategy and start investing in growing your online community. Relationships with brands and suppliers are particularly important to women so ensure you are investing time and energy online. Brand loyalty can be harder to earn with women however, once achieved it sticks.

I believe that the growth in women led businesses will continue in Australia. The increasing support of women in the start-up scene in Australia, fuelled by the likes of Scale Investors, will see women led businesses grow and prosper. These five tips may assist your business capitalise on this growing, powerful market segment.

 

 

5 TIPS FOR MARKETING TO MUMS

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Mums are the powerhouse of the Australian economy responsible for a staggering $132 billion in sales every year.

Yet despite their economic power, they remain the most misunderstood, misrepresented and undervalued consumer segment in the marketplace. My organisation surveyed more than 1800 Australian mums and revealed that 63% of mums believe advertisers don’t understand them.

What an opportunity for those brands who can get it right. So how do you sway this powerful audience?

MY 5 TIPS FOR MARKETING TO MUMS ARE:

TIP #1  – KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE.

We’ve advised more than one hundred brands since launching in 2015, and we are always surprised and perplexed by the lack of knowledge concerning this powerful consumer segment. Brands tend to make the critical mistake of treating mums like they are all the same or targeting too broadly.

Mums are incredibly different and understanding your mum segment deeply will be critical to your success. A niche approach will yield the greatest rewards. Additionally, training and upskilling your teams about the mum market and ensuring you have a mum working on any brands selling to mums will assist to minimise marketing messaging faux pas.

TIP #2 – GET SOCIAL.

Our survey uncovered that 91% of Australian mums are checking their social media accounts daily with 30% checking in more than ten times every day. Facebook is the preferred social media platform of Australian mums no matter what their age is.

If mums are online, then your brand needs to be there too. Mums are demanding more from the brands they support. They want to build a relationship and understand what your brand stands for. Social media is an excellent platform to build rapport and trust.

Most importantly, it is a great place to listen and learn more about your community. Do this well, and it can lead to the introduction of new products and services to better solve your mum’s core problem.

TIP # 3 – FACILITATE THIRD-PARTY ENDORSEMENT.

Testimonials will make or break your brand as mums actively research brand offerings. Our survey found that testimonials have the greatest influence on a mum’s purchase decisions, greater than a mum-to-mum recommendation.

It’s important your brand is assisting mums to find great testimonials about your brand. Ensure they are captured and regularly updated on your website, featured on printed marketing materials and that you have ratings and reviews turned on your Facebook page.

A clear system for seeking testimonials from your customers should be implemented. Media reviews, awards and publicity can also assist in building an excellent positive third party footprint about your brand.

TIP #4  – ACTIVATE BRAND ADVOCATES.

Mums want to be part of your brand journey. This doesn’t stop when they purchase your product or service. They want you to continue engaging them. In our research, Australian mums expressed a desire to be actively included in New Product Development for brands they loved.

They want to have the opportunity to tell you how your product or service could be improved or your brand extended in ways you might not have considered. By inviting these advocates to get involved behind the scenes, you give them more reasons to talk about you to their networks, allowing you to deepen your relationship and understanding of your audience and most notably, improve your product offering. Have you ever asked them?

TIP #5  – EMBRACE STORYTELLING.

Mums are increasingly rejecting corporate sales messages. Mums want you to respect and earn their attention. Actively engaging in storytelling to convey your brand values and sales messages is a better option.

We’ve worked with many brands across diverse industries helping them identify their most profitable mum segment and assisting them to develop a yield strategy around this powerful and lucrative consumer group.

Astute marketers are investing resources into understanding their mum and acting on these tips and reaping considerable financial gain. Don’t you want a piece of the action?

5 MARKETING TO MUMS TRENDS TO BE AWARE OF

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Mums are a powerful audience controlling billions of dollars in spending in Australia each year.

Given their growing influence and dominance over the economy, their changing behaviours, cannot be ignored.

HERE ARE 5 MARKETING TO MUMS TRENDS WE BELIEVE MARKETERS NEED TO KEEP THEIR EYE ON:

TREND #1 – PODCASTING.

Mums are early adopters of podcasts in Australia. As experienced multitaskers, mums are listening to podcasts while in the car, exercising, commuting to and from work, and cooking; whenever they can get a moment.

They enjoy the intimacy of podcasts and the convenience of listening as opposed to reading. We are even hearing reports of the emergence of podcast clubs. Replacing the humble book club, podcast clubs require mums to listen to a couple of episodes from a particular podcast, and then they get together to speak about it.

In a time when mums are rejecting corporate sales messages, podcasts represent a great opportunity to build relationships and connect with mums in an uncluttered and uninterrupted way.

TREND #2 – MINIMALISM.

Minimalism is fast becoming the new black as mums increasingly adopt mindful decision making. They are seeking simpler, more sustainable lives. There is an emerging trend to declutter and destress their minds. When they do choose to spend, they opt for ethically made, high quality, durable products.

In the past year, we’ve seen the emergence of Facebook groups supporting women to buy less and wear their existing clothing. It’s a direct push back on the fast fashion industry and has resulted in the boom in the hire clothing industry.

TREND #3 – SUSTAINABILITY.

Mums are paying increasing attention to sustainability. Whether it’s coffee cups, coffee pods, nappies or sanitary products, mums are looking for biodegradable, eco-friendly alternatives. In recent times we’ve seen enormous success in businesses such as Modibodi, sustainable period underwear which removes the need to use tampons and pads, saving them from the landfill.

We expect to see the drive towards sustainability to grow into their power choice and automotive options in coming years.

TREND #4 – DIVERSITY.

Family structures have changed significantly in the past twenty years. An increasing number of couples are choosing not to get married, with one-third of children being born to unwed parents. Research shows there are growing numbers of blended families, same-sex families and women who choose to enter motherhood on their own.

Mums want to see more diversity in their marketing communications and will reward businesses who choose to do so.

TREND #5 – FUN.

Mums are increasingly seeking out fun with their children. Millennial mums, in particular, are wanting to enjoy playful, family experiences. They are seeking out the unusual, the unique, with fun being the key driver.

We are seeing more adventurous family travel as mothers view this as an increasingly important way to bond with their children.

We believe Mums are the most powerful consumer in Australia and we’ve built a business around understanding them and helping businesses sell more effectively to this influential consumer group.

We’ve researched thousands of Australian mothers and identified emerging behaviours. Harness these trends to assist you to drive growth and reap considerable financial gain.

5 BIG OPPORTUNITIES TO INCLUDE IN YOUR 2021 STRATEGY IF YOU SELL TO MUMS

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Are you keeping up with changing behaviour of mums? Just as technology is changing at a rapid rate so is the behaviour of Australian mums. Here are five opportunities you can harness in 2021 to grow your business if you market to mums

1. FACEBOOK LIVE.

Mums have a very limited attention span. They will frequently use the few minutes they have here and there to check in on their Facebook account. Mums enjoy video content on Facebook as they love the feeling of having a ‘conversation’ with you rather than reading a post. The visual element really speaks to them making Facebook Live an excellent medium for building relationships, launching a new product or service, or sharing your brand story.

Facebook Live is getting three times the reach of standard posts allowing you to cut through the newsfeed clutter. Very few organisations are currently using this medium to communicate with mums and those who do are enjoying excellent results. I recently engaged a large parenting community on behalf of a client to do a Facebook Live on their product and the reach exceeding all other mediums they used.  Embrace Facebook Live to reap the rewards of deeper relationships and higher sales.

2. FACEBOOK GROUPS.

Mums feel a sense of privacy within closed Facebook groups and will share more than on public Facebook pages.  Every day mums are speaking about brands within these groups and sharing tips and products and services to avoid, knowing that it is unlikely the brand will ever see it.  Here is where the real third party endorsement occurs. 

Facebook groups are growing in popularity with the Marketing to Mums survey reporting that almost two in three mums belong to Facebook groups just for mums.  These are not small communities either.  I am aware of highly engaged Australian mum communities in excess of 100,000 members.  Very few brands are currently engaging within Facebook groups, largely because they are not sure how to, so there is enormous opportunity to be one of the first brands to do so.

I recommend using a Marketing to Mums specialist to identify the best Facebook groups for your business and get them to negotiate advertising or an influencer campaign through the Facebook group.

3. INVOLVE MUM.

Have you ever requested mums’ input in your business? Mums are increasingly wanting to be involved in the creation of your product and service offerings. They like to feel they have contributed to how it all works and that their feedback has been heard and acted upon.  Mums are more likely to reward businesses which ask for their input.  It will strengthen your relationship and they are more likely to speak favourably about your business to their friends and colleagues. 

Consider using an online survey, phone interviewing your top clients or running an event to get their feedback.  Additionally look to implement a system which asks mums for their feedback about their experience and offer suggestions for improvements. If you are considering taking a new product to market ask some of your core clients for their opinions. There are great gains for businesses who work with their ideal mum to develop products and services together.

4. SURPRISE AND DELIGHT.

Mums are increasingly wanting a higher level of customer service. They expect you to earn their attention and value their loyalty.  One way you can deliver a more superior service in 2021 is to personalise the experience. Mums reward businesses who value their loyalty. They are more likely to recommend your business if they are confident in your service delivery. Invest time in working out how you can surprise and delight your client. 

5. BE REAL.

I am seeing a growing dissatisfaction from Australian mums about the way they are being depicted in advertising. This came through loud and clear our Marketing to Mums research.  They are increasingly penalising businesses who depict a mum living a perfect life.  They feel a great disconnect between advertising and their reality. 

Mums are beginning to actively reject brands that are not depicting them accurately. This is a big mistake to avoid in 2021 and beyond. Mums are incredibly skilled problem solvers courtesy of their children.  Businesses who choose to acknowledge the complexity of mum’s life will build more meaningful relationships and are more likely to grow their business.

Businesses who embrace Facebook Live, Facebook Groups, involve mums in the creation of products and services and in feedback, and business who are real, are poised to enjoy a wonderful 2021. Give some active consideration to how you engage mums and reap the benefits.

 

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