Mom Retail Trends: QR Codes [INFOGRAPHIC] POSTED BY Stacy DeBroff AT 10:04 AM

 

Weekly Social Media Round-Up POSTED BY Stacy DeBroff AT 4:06 PM

Insight
Marketers Like Social Media but Don't Spend Much Time On It; ROI Remains Iffy from MediaPost

One of the main reasons driving adoption of social media is that it’s cheap -- or at least, is perceived that way -- with 49% of respondents saying their marketing costs had remained the same. However, there is still a wide range of opinion about how to handle measuring return on investment, with respondents pointing to metrics including Web traffic, number of conversations, qualified leads, customer retention, brand awareness, and good ol’ revenue.

Social Marketing Drives Higher Value, Revs from MediaPost

The presence of social media in a purchase path drives higher-value orders, in terms of revenue per order ($280), than natural search and paid search combined ($230.07). When display was included in a conversion path, the average revenue per order increased to more than $206 -- almost 65% more revenue than the overall average order size of $135.37, according to Smith.

Q&A: Men Warming Up To Skin Care from MediaPost

New research from the NPD Group finds that while 9 out of 10 men over the age of 18 use some type of grooming product -- whether it’s deodorant, hair gel, shaving cream or fragrance -- only 25% use facial skincare products.

PepsiCo: Marketing Spend Up; Job, Agency Cuts from MediaPost

They’ll increase advertising and marketing, but will cut jobs. They’ll continue to support their “better for you” brands, but will push their core products (Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Lay’s, Gatorade, Tropicana,  7Up/Sierra Mist, Lipton, Doritos, Quaker, Cheetos, Mirinda and Sunchips) even harder. They’ll also launch new products using a new, natural, zero-calorie sweetener (probably stevia) that will represent a “breakthrough,” and a new “dispensing” machine.

Social Commerce Grows, Consumers Still Wary [study] from MediaPost

Consumers still have security concerns about making purchases via social networks. More than half (55%) of social media users aren’t comfortable giving credit card information via social networks, according to a new Harris Interactive survey commissioned by Digitas.

17 ways to discover your brand advocates from SmartBlog on Social Media

Finding brand advocates can be tricky and there’s a lack of resources out there to teach you how to reach out to your advocates, so I’ve created my own list of ideas. There are three primary sources for organizations to discover potential brand advocates: Internal, external and automated tools.

Social media engagement is 'the top priority for digital marketers' from Econsultancy

New research about digital marketing trends shows that social media engagement is rated as both the top priority and most exciting opportunity for companies this year. But while the fourth Quarterly Digital Intelligence Briefing, published by Econsultancy in association with Adobe, shows a huge appetite for social media programmes, there is a worrying lack of commitment to investment in associated analytics and measurement.

Social Media
Klout Has Access To A Ton Of Its Users' Data — Here's What It's Doing With It from Business Insider

Interview with Tim Mahlman, chief revenue officer of Klout: “We wouldn't even introduce P&G to the mommy blogger. We want to make sure who we introduce these influencers to are not professionals. We want to find John Smith from Des Moines, those are the people we really want to reach. They are the true celebrities.”

Study Suggests Content Matters On Twitter ReadWriteWeb

According to a new HP Labs white paper, we can now predict whether or not it will become popular on Twitter.

Blogging Trends for 2012: What You Need to Know from Social Media Explorer

The video covered how Technorati is connecting their bloggers with brands. It also covers:

• Current trends in who is blogging and where there is growth
• How brands are blogging
• How brands are connecting with bloggers
• Why probloggers are approached up to a thousand times a week
• What brands need to know before connecting with bloggers
• The average salary of bloggers
• The additional opportunities brands are offering bloggers to make money

Pinterest: Is It A Facebook Or A Grokster?  From PaidContent.org

Unfortunately for Pinterest, all the hype has also brought attention from another quarter: angry copyright owners. On sites like iStock, photographers are complaining that their pretty pictures are being used without permission in users’ collages.

Pinterest marketing for intermediate pinners from CopyBlogger

Breaks it down into beginner, intermediate and advanced – some clever ideas for working with clients.

3 Ways to Use Pinterest For Marketing Research from Social Media Explorer

…understanding customer perception is important. Pinterest can give you a little insight into that by simply taking a look at the name of the boards that users have pinned content from your web site.

5 ways Facebook Timeline could help your brand tell its story from Smart Blog on Social Media

Companies should still start preparing to make the switch [to the Timeline] and figure out how they’re going to integrate the new format into their social marketing strategies. Here are a few changes brought by Timeline that brands can take advantage of…

Most Google+ Users Are (Still) Men from MediaPost

Google+ is still a mostly male milieu, according to calculations by Website-Monitoring.com, a service of Siteimpulse, based on figures from the Google blog, SocialBakers.com, and elsewhere. Overall the Google+ user base is 67% male and 32% female, with 1% “other,” which can of course mean any number of things.

Marketing to Millenials
I'm With The Band: Music, Marketing, And Millennials from MediaPost

A brand needs to put in the work to understand what moves Millennials at their core. Simply latching on to the latest band, the new It Girl or Guy, or dropping a little slang into a marketing message doesn’t cut it. They can always tell who’s with the band and who’s the hanger-on.

Burt's Bees Launches Gud, Aimed At Gen Y from MediaPost

Güd is aiming for women in the 18-to-24 age range, who are less “crunchy” and “just want to smell good,” Garrett Putman, global marketing manager for Burt’s Bees, tells Marketing Daily. “We wanted to provide something for these women, who are very sensorial. They may make great choices to protect the environment, but they’re not as on the lookout for villain ingredients, or worried about wrinkles, as the Burt’s Bees shopper is.”

Mobile Marketing
Location-based technology will redefine behavioral targeting as we know it, maybe sooner than you think from Adweek

While often accused of not living up to its promise, we likely will see the day, and soon, when location-based technology redefines behavioral targeting as we know it, when a consumer packaged-goods company recognizes that a shopper is in the cereal aisle and sends a Wheaties coupon to her phone.

Social Media Campaigns
Case Study: Rickshaw Bagworks's Clever Approach to Turning Online Transactions Into Social Experiences

How one company used Twitter and landing pages to boost sales and deepen engagement and why creating personalized social experiences around purchases can be a powerful approach.

Moms and the Rise of Casual Gaming POSTED BY Stacy DeBroff AT 10:50 AM

For so long, the mere mention of online or video games conjured up images of teens battling for gaming superiority in their family basement or 20-something men creating elaborate role-playing scenarios over the hottest new gaming releases.

 But today, the gaming demographic has morphed considerably, with Moms representing the new face of gaming. A new Mom Central survey of 1,200 Moms reveals that approximately 70% of women are casual gamers.

• Moms play computer, online, mobile, and video games by themselves an average of 5 hours a week
• Moms spend an additional 3 hours a week playing computer, video, online, mobile, and video games with their kids
• 52% of Moms play games at home
• 34% of Moms play on gaming consoles such as PlayStation, Xbox 360, etc., by themselves
• 34% of Moms regularly play games on their cell phones
• 29% of Moms turn to games while waiting for kids or in line at a store

The reason for the shift? Increasingly, Moms have discovered that casual games fit easily into their busy lives. Most Moms juggle childcare, household responsibilities, family healthcare duties, work and volunteer obligations, pet care, financial management, care of aging parents, and much more. Because these games can be quickly launched from an app or Facebook, they offer Moms an easy way to unwind and play a fast game while in the midst of a chaotic day – even if it’s a respite of 5 to 15 minutes.

Moms, too, have discovered that their ever-present Smartphones, iPads, laptops, and computers serve as the ideal vehicle for a break in the action with such games as the New Orleans-themed Bayou Blast, the numbers-focused Drop 7, and the interactive word-building game, Words with Friends.

With 56% of Moms playing on gaming consoles with their kids, Moms have also realized an added benefit of casual games – the opportunity to interact with their digital natives in their world. Today, kids appear increasingly ensconced in an electronic cocoon – spending on average 12 hours a week engaged with technology and 8 hours on the weekend. By joining kids in their gaming passions, parents have the opportunity to break through the cocoon and meet kids in the “digital middle.”

Families can also take advantage of the interactivity, speed, and intensity of online games and put a digital twist on traditional board game activities. In years past, families sat down at the kitchen table on a Friday evening for a game of Monopoly, Clue, or Life. Today, families can gather around a gaming console or laptop and play digital versions of board games such as Apples to Apples, Yahtzee, or Risk; activity-oriented games like Wii bowling or Kinect Adventures; and Facebook games like Bayou Blast.

Regardless of if casual games provide a much-needed break for busy Moms or offer up a weekend family activity, look for Moms to continue dominating this category as they reach for their phones, iPads, laptops, and computers.

For more information on Moms and the Rise of Casual Gaming, check out Stacy’s recent appearance on New England Cable News.

Disclosure: GameHouse, the manufacturer of Bayou Blast, is a client of Mom Central Consulting.

The New Brand-Disloyal Mom POSTED BY Stacy DeBroff AT 10:31 AM

How a challenging economy, social media, and the new online recommendation culture combine to untether Moms from long-held brand loyalties

Back in the day, Moms played favorites. They raised “Crest Kids,” nurtured “Gerber Babies,” and took care of their “Tide Families.” With a host of brands available, they remained loyal to a select few – ones perhaps their mothers used – and simply moved past the rest in the supermarket aisles.

But no longer.

New Mom Central Consulting research reveals that today’s extended economic crisis, coupled with the rise of social media and the new online recommendation culture, compels Moms to move away from long-held purchasing behaviors. Today, just 50% of Moms consider themselves brand loyalists. 

A sluggish economy and stalled recovery have combined to motivate Moms – who make a majority of their family’s purchasing decisions – to shrug off brand loyalties and explore new products, particularly if presented with a financial incentive. For example, 78% of Moms surveyed explain they will gladly switch brands if they have a coupon, and 68% pay attention to brands offering free samples. 

In addition, Mom’s rapid embrace of the social media culture plays a significant role in the untethering of brand loyalties. With 9 out of 10 Moms citing Facebook as their “go-to” social media destination and 3 out of 5 Moms engaging with one another on Twitter, social media becomes the new “picket fence,” where Moms connect with one another to hear trusted recommendations and gain first-person perspective. 

While we’ve always lived in a “recommendation culture,” social media now allows Moms to easily develop a network of trusted advisors and tap into them for their experiences and insights. As a result, Moms appear more willing than ever to leave brand loyalties behind and try a new product if a trusted friend loves and recommends it. In fact, 65% of Moms surveyed poll their Mom friends when trying a new product to learn about their experience, and 90% trust products more after hearing about them from friends.

But as much as this new brand freedom and flexibility opens Moms to a host of product options, it remains equally unsettling for brand marketers, used to cultivating – and keeping – loyal customers. Brands now must realize that winning over customers proves not a “one and done” effort, but instead an action they need to repeat day in and day out. So what can brands do to win over Mom consumers?

Moms say the traits they most admire in brands center around “honesty,” followed by “affordability” and “transparency.” Moreover, 55% of Moms list “lying,” e.g., making untrue claims, as the worse mistake a brand can make in communicating with Mom consumers.

Ultimately, the Mom marketplace continues to change – with Moms deepening connections with fellow Moms through social media platforms and online conversations that widen their horizons. As we enter a new age of relationship marketing – both Moms and brands – will continue to chart new territory.