Story: Porshae Brown
Sept. 19, 2013
There is a new breed of mothers called “millennial moms” who are digitally connected and highly influential. They are not your average group of mothers juggling a busy schedule. These mothers are between the ages of 18 and 34 years old, are extremely active online, and have a lot of influence among those whom they connect with online.
According to a study titled “Digital Women Influencers” by Weber Shandwick in partnership with KRC Research, approximately nine million mothers are considered a “millennial mom.” When it comes to being digitally connected as a millennial mom it goes beyond having a social media account to keep in touch with old friends. Social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and WordPress are integrated into the way a millennial mom lives her daily life. Compared to the average mom who connects to the internet at least once a week, a millennial mom can spend up to four more hours of their time on multiple social media accounts. During this extended amount of time online, millennial moms seek and share information with others about many different ideas, products or services.
We interviewed Amber Cradduck, vice president at Weber Shandwick, to better understand how this group of moms can influence others through social media:
“The power of influence can be a blessing and a curse – given their highly connected communities, their perceptions of brands can spread far and deep. If they are a fan of your brand, that obviously plays in favor of the brand. But if they have a poor experience with your brand, the first place they’ll share is via social media. Brand perception can be formed quickly and difficult to contain. On the flip side, they have a strong influence on purchasing decisions in and out of the home – clearly an advantage if a brand can tap into, engage with and build relationships with their target millennial moms.”
A millennial mom can make an impact through their activity on social media simply by recommending a product or service through the amount of “likes,” “retweets” or “pins” she shares. With the push of a button, a millennial mom can speak volumes as a consumer to businesses and marketers who find it hard to meet the needs of a specific audience. Millennial moms are constantly sharing information about the things they use. According to the Weber Shandwick study, nine out of 10 millennial moms share information in-person, online or both when it comes to retail and groceries. As Cradduck said, this can potentially make or break a brand’s image and reputation.
According to the study, 42 percent of women feel most advertising and marketing is not geared toward women like them. There are different aspects of motherhood that may not be addressed by marketing efforts. Part of the challenge is that all mothers are not the same. You have mothers who are part of a two-parent home, single-parent home or a home where one parent stays home while the other provides the income. Cradduck acknowledged the challenges faced by businesses trying to reach the millennial moms:
“I think the challenges many brands face, and this is not unique to the millennial mom demographic, is the need to customize their approach and finding the sweet spot – that ‘thing’ or message that entices you to react or take action. Many marketers are lumping millennial moms into one category. One thing that remains the same in any scenario is the mom/child relationship – really where brands should focus campaigns, while acknowledging the vastly different ways in which millennial moms have identified themselves.”
While all women are not the same and should not be categorized and labeled so, “millennial moms” do share some common interests and exhibit some common behaviors. Professionals in the world of online and digital marketing and public relations can benefit from these useful insights into this new segment of social savvy women consumers. Companies should seek to understand this new demographic in order to create opportunities to build relationships with these influential in lieu of relying on traditional approaches.
If you wish to learn more about “millennial moms” you can visit Weber Shandwick’s website to read the full report.
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