Companies wanting to connect with moms should start brushing up on their pithy one-liners – moms are hooked on Twitter. More than half (54%) of moms who use Twitter check their feeds 10 or more times daily; only 13% check once a day or less, according to a study by Lucid Marketing and Lisa Finn.

I didn’t realize how long it has been since I posted.  Time to catch up! I’ve been writing marketing to moms articles over at MediaPost.  Here are two recent ones:

The world is moving faster than ever. You have a way to keep pace, listen and have conversations with mothers, unlike anytime before.

A story I wrote for MediaPost, “Moms’ Life Streaming”

Brands are eagerly adopting a sampling strategy as it allows them to connect directly with moms and capture their attention.

A story I wrote for Happi.com, “Product Sampling In a Pinched Economy“

Here’s how I learned that assuming to know what a woman is experiencing and how she is feeling is often a mistake.

A story I wrote for MediaPost, “Man In A Mom’s World”

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There was a time when many marketers relied on focus groups as their way on understanding consumers.  That approach often produced skewed and myopic perspectives.  A broader and more meaning understanding of moms can be had today.

Thanks to the web, we are no longer have to rely on a a myopic perspective. Instead we can get broad, unfiltered, unapologetic and sincere experiences from a variety of conusmers living in real time.

Try following these new Twitter Lists of Moms Who Blog to keep up with mothers.

http://twitter.com/momswhoblog/moms-who-blog-list1

http://twitter.com/momswhoblog/moms-who-blog-list2

You’ll quickly be following nearly one-thousand moms and have instant access to the pulse of motherhood.

This commercial is effective and great because:

it doesn’t try to say too much

it’s pure emotion, no features or benefits

it’s soft, not loud

the brands and company are clear

it’s american – USA! USA!

the pace is slow, in our fast world

dads love it too

it makes a true statement

the kids are cute

the message is clear, its for moms

Marketers looking to harness the viral power of online social networks to connect with moms will be glad to know that most moms are receptive to marketing and advertising on Facebook. In a survey of moms who are on Facebook, nearly two-thirds (64%) said they either like ads on Facebook or feel neutral about them.

“Facebook is fertile ground for marketers to engage mothers and drive sales, but it needs to be done on their terms. They have no time for brands that don’t ‘get it,’ but they do embrace brands that play by their rules,” said Kevin Burke, president of lucid marketing, which coauthored the research with writer Lisa Finn.

Moms gave clear direction for marketers who want to engage their attention on Facebook. Key elements of marketing effectively to moms via social networks include building clear value into promotions — such as exclusive offers for Facebook fans — and being straightforward in communications.

“One of the most remarkable findings from the study was how sophisticated moms are about marketing. Not only are they aware of their own power as word-of-mouth generators, but they offered specific feedback on how they want marketers to interact with them on Facebook,” said Lisa Finn.

Moms are wary of offers that sound too good to be true and want marketers to respect their boundaries by not overloading them with updates. They welcome coupons and other ways to save money, and are open to sharing their opinions and ideas with the companies they like.

Moms’ favorite companies on Facebook are those that help them meet the daily needs of their families: parenting websites, children’s retailers, family entertainment sites, grocery stores, and restaurants.

The study includes data on moms’ Facebook habits and attitudes, direct feedback from moms in open-ended questions, and a strategic “playbook” to guide marketers who wish to connect with moms on Facebook.

The Marketing to Moms on Facebook report is available at www.momreports.com, price: $249.

Wrote a story for Happi.com recently. Happi.com covers the Household and Personal Products Industry.

Excerpt:
“Businesses covet these moms who blog because of their influence. Mothers trust other mothers because they’ve walked the walk.When a mom blogs about her opinion on a product or service, other moms respect that opinion and take that sentiment to heart.”

Full story.

From the title,“Baby Einstein’s Refund: Not so Smart?”, Steven Levitt’s story could lead one to surmise that he feels Disney is making a mistake with their recent extended refund offer on Baby Einstein DVDs. It does make a good headline and is very ReTweet-able, but in truth, he doesn’t feel this way. He merely points to the fact that used-DVD eBay sellers have the most to gain from the new policy. In my opinion, that is a myopic view of the situation.

What were seeing here is a ginormous brand do something unusual; compromise. [disclosure, Disney is a client, but not The Baby Einstein company]. They are saying no one wants or needs to fight. As the FTC determined, no laws were violated in the marketing of Baby Einstein products. And from the blog posts and tweets from mothers who purchased these products, none expected their child to be applying for Mensa membership as a result. But there likely is a minority of people who were led to believe these products as giving their babies a head start in cerebral development. In reality they are entertainment and provide parents a moment of rest.

All too often companies are perceived in the extremes of friend or foe. Witness the ongoing Nestle dialog. And, too often, companies just try to sweep things under the rug when things go wrong and hope they go away. It’s encouraging to see a company step up to satisfy all customers, if it is only a minority who need it.

This is a company that understands that Baby Einstein purchasers are their long term Disney customers. They are making an effort at maintaining a positive customer relationships for future gain.