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

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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.

EXCERPT:

Services such as Twitter, YouTube and Blogger have made it easy, oh soooo easy to get started with blogging. There’s no money required, no software to buy. Just start typing and you are out there.

That low barrier to entry can create some problems, however.

Read more…

Mothers addicted to online social networks rate the marketing of “Special Promotions” much more positively than moms who are not on social networks. They are more than twice (123%) as likely to give marketing promotions a positive rating. This is likely because, at times, it gives them something to share with their online network of friends.

It is an important insight for marketers to understand. Fifty-percent of the most active and important (when it comes to spreading word of mouth) mothers on social networks actually love or welcome promotions. Find these moms and communicate a relevant promotional message, and the likelihood for success increases dramatically.

Moms who indicate that they are ‘addicted’ to online social networks are also more likely to:
1.) Go online for amusement purposes
2.) Publish their own blog
3.) Share their comments on blogs
There is a clear and strong connection for moms between participation on blogs and online social networks.

Survey data was gathered from 457 U.S. women with children of various ages randomly recruited on the internet between August 12 and September 12, 2008. As an incentive, $5 for every 10 people who completed the survey was donated by lucid marketing to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

The free report, “Social Media & Moms, ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORKS Edition” can be downloaded at www.lucidmarketing.com

Businesses see the benefits of being able to communicate directly and inexpensively with consumers, but lacking a strategy to do so seems to be a consistent theme. Target, a retailer many moms rate very highly, makes the offer, “Sign up to receive special offers and promotions from Target.” To me, that seems more like an offer that Walmart would make. Target known for their style and design quality, all at affordable prices, should be making a play that is creative and more closely in line with their brand.

The email marketing decline is coupled with the fact that spam filters have improved so much over the past two years that getting only the messages one wants is much better. My point being, if a marketer has a strong email value proposition, today there is a higher likelihood of having their message read and acted on, because there is less consumer inbox clutter.

Now for the kicker. Moms are more receptive to email marketing when compared to all other online marketing tactics, and they are checking personal email throughout their day!

And mom bloggers, the influencers driving conversations and trends online, are checking their email all day long and more often relative to other moms.

The lesson here is obvious; opportunities exist for marketers to make strong connections with moms through email marketing, but fresh and creative approaches are required.