Is this you?

• You own an eCommerce business for baby and/or children’s products
• Your main audience is moms
• You want to increase product sales but don’t know where to start

Here’s a question—have you considered marketing to moms on social media?

Sure, content marketing is a sustainable way to increase sales. Social media, on the other hand, is the missing piece to your marketing puzzle.

In this post, I’ll tell you why marketing to moms on social media is essential and 5 ways to get started. I also included a case study of a real-life social media strategy.

Already know the benefits of marketing to moms on social media? You can jump ahead to 5 ways to reach moms on social media.

Why Marketing to Moms on Social Media Will Help Your Business

If you haven’t reached out to moms on social media, you might be wondering how useful it is. I mean… Do moms even use social media?

Here’s what the statistics say:

• 49% of moms check social media multiple times a day
• 80% of moms turn to social media for product recommendations

In conclusion…Yes. Moms go on social media. And they use it multiple times a day.

That’s great and all. But what if you don’t sell children’s products? Is it still worth marketing to moms?

Definitely! Women in the U.S are responsible for 85% of household income spending. Let’s face it, moms are always looking to buy products for their families, homes, and themselves.

If you aren’t in the baby goods industry, this is still great news. With this high percentage of spending, you can sell other online products and STILL market to moms.

Here are some industries, to name a few:

• Women’s clothing
• Women’s hygiene
• Food products
• Household items
• Technology

While I focus on the baby goods industry, you can still apply these teachings to your own products—moms of all stages use social media to buy items.

On another note, this statistic explains why you should market to moms more than dads. Sure, dads are increasingly more proactive in their children’s lives, but moms still dominate household spending.

So you know why marketing to moms will help your business…But how do you do it?

Let’s take a look at my client’s social media strategy below.

Marketing to Moms on Social Media: A Case Study

My client sells online children’s toys. Their products aren’t just any plastic toy you find at Walmart. They create toys to expand a child’s imagination and critical thinking skills.

Pretty awesome, right?

My client’s problem wasn’t their product, but social media. They had trouble reaching out to the right audience and raising their conversion rate. Plus, they came to me with a high cost per purchase (CPA).

After some speculation, I realized their social media strategy was too generic. They didn’t focus enough on advertising these toys. With that, I decided to split their campaign into 3 defined areas—generic, brand-related, and specific products.

You can probably guess who I targeted their specific product campaign to—you got it, moms! I began marketing to moms with Facebook and Instagram.

Sure, splitting their campaign into 3 areas is one small change. But this small change turned into a HUGE improvement.

Let’s look at the results:

• Over 300% increase in conversion rates
• 41% rise in click-through rates
• 67% decrease in cost per purchase

It only took a few changes to increase their conversion rates drastically. This goes to show how social media can boost your sales… as long as you target correctly.

The Takeaway?

When you target a generic audience on social media, you won’t target the optimized user. In this case, optimized users are mothers.

A general demographic is fine if you sell a variety of eCommerce products. But if you sell mom-related products, try marketing to moms (and only moms).

And remember, advertising to moms on social media isn’t only meant for the baby industry. There’s a good chance your business can target moms too.

Now that you have some background about marketing to moms, here’s how to get started.

5 Ways to Start Marketing to Moms on Social Media

Before you create your social media strategy for moms, consider these 5 strategies. Each strategy will define your social media campaign.

1. Known What Moms Want
2. Analyze Ongoing and Current Trends
3. Consider Fathers
4. Choose Facebook or Instagram
5. Audit Your Social Media Ads

 

1. Know What Moms Want

If there’s one thing you should know about marketing, it’s this:

Know your audience. And know them well.

Moms on social media feel misunderstood by marketers, but why?

Well, it’s common for businesses to target moms with stereotypical behaviors and demographics. Moms are often portrayed as “super mom” in ads.

Source

Maybe you’re thinking… “But ‘super mom’ is a compliment, why don’t they like it?”

Studies show that moms often feel pressured to be a perfect mom: the mom who works, takes care of the kids and their marriage, stress-free.

Here’s the thing—moms come in all shapes and sizes. There are working moms, stay-at-home moms, older moms, young moms… you get it. Not to mention, most moms don’t take care of their children 24/7. They hang out with friends, have hobbies, and spend time with their partner.

Moral of the story: When you reach out to moms on social media, don’t put them in a box. Instead, figure out their wants, needs, and desires.

So what are moms like these days?

Moms like sustainable brands – Moms on social media look for brands who support their values. They especially care about brands who give back to their community.

Moms want simplicity – There are more working moms than there has ever been. With this change comes busy days and not enough time to figure out difficult items. They like seamless and simple products. The less hands-on, the better.

Safety is their priority – This is especially important if you sell baby products. Mothers look for safe and non-toxic children’s products.

If you sell baby food or formula, for example, keep in mind of organic and natural food.

As you begin marketing to moms, you’ll soon realize the difference between millennial moms and generation z moms.

Wait… generation z are moms now?

That’s right! The oldest of generation z are about 24-25 years old. Generation z is now in the mom industry.

On that note, here are some common behaviors for both millenial and gen z moms.

What Are Millennial Moms Like?

Half of the millennial moms out there like companies who align with their values. This is similar to what I mentioned earlier. A lot of mothers don’t care for brand names—they focus on the company’s ‘why.’

Millennial moms also enjoy sharing experiences on social media. Social media opened a door for mothers to build a community with other moms. They love posting photos and stories on Facebook and mommy blogs.

So what about generation Z moms?

What Are Generation Z Moms Like?

While there isn’t a ton of info on gen z mothers yet, here’s what we do know:

Like millennial moms, gen z moms care about a brand’s values. They specifically care about eco-friendly and sustainable brands.

In addition, you’ll find gen z moms using more technology-based products. Remember, this generation was introduced to technology early in life. They’ve adapted to fast tech and expect their brands to do the same.

Keep these differences in mind as you reach out to moms on social media.

The Takeaway?

Use these behaviors to create relevant marketing messages on social media. You can get started in a few ways:

Use keywords in your ad copy – Moms are busy and want things done fast. Use keywords like “free delivery” and “user-friendly” to target this want. You can add these keywords to your Facebook or Instagram ad copy.

Target behaviors – Consider what behaviors you should target with social media. For example, there are more working moms these days—you can target job interests and income.

Create a seamless experience – Your eCommerce store should be easy to navigate for all mothers. Make sure they can get in and out quickly. If your audience is tailored to millennial moms, it might be best to add a mommy blog to it.

If you have trouble defining your audience, you can reach out to me with a free strategy call.

 

2. Analyze the Ongoing and Current Product Trends

Before we dive into this step, I want to define ongoing and current products.

Ongoing products are items we always need. Examples include towels, silverware, and soap. These products don’t go out of style because they’re practical—we use them all the time.

Current products, on the other hand, go in and out of style. These types of products are trendy, like clothing.

Okay…so how will this help you reach out to moms?

For starters, you can use ongoing and current trends to pivot your advertising. Advertising your products from a different perspective helps you stand out.

Need a couple of examples?

My client from the case study above sells wooden toys. Wooden toys don’t represent a current trend, like a children’s tv show or movie. In fact, children have played with wooden toys for generations.

In this case, my client’s products are an ongoing trend. Wooden toys don’t go out of style—kids will always like them.

With social media, my client markets their toys with keywords like “classic” and “simple.” They reach out to moms who want reliable and purposeful toys.

To sum up, ongoing product trends can help secure high sales.

Now let’s talk about current product trends. Yes, current product trends go out of style at some point—but you can take advantage of this.

A current example is COVID-19. COVID-19 has disrupted all of our lives in one way or another. Moms, specifically, have had to adjust to working from home and taking care of their children at the same time.

From the graph above, you can see the U.S parent’s new set of challenges, like distance learning.

Working and managing ‘distance learning’ has paved a new set of challenges for mothers. As an eCommerce business, consider this question—how can you help moms overcome these times?

Here are a couple of ideas to start:

Offer a limited-time discount – Find ways your products can relate to these new challenges.

For example, if you sell food or beverages, offer a discount to encourage moms to take a break with their favorite drink. You can get creative here.

Relate to moms – Use your ad copy to sympathize with the moms out there. Don’t use overused terms like “unprecedented times” or “the new normal.” Instead, write genuine and supportive copy.

The Takeaway?

Ongoing and current product trends will help you position your social media ads for mothers. One of the best (and free) ways to do this is with Google Trends.

Google Trends show how popular search terms are on Google. I typed in ‘baby clothes’ in the example below.

As you can see, baby clothes are trending throughout the year—this is because it’s an ongoing product trend. There are always young parents who need baby clothes.

Now let’s look at a current product trend. I’ll use ‘children’s apps’ for this example.

It looks like ‘children’s apps’ spiked at the end of March. This was about the time when many schools closed down due to COVID-19. Children needed entertainment, so this product raised its importance.

As you use Google Trends, define what are ongoing product trends and what are current. From here, you can pivot your social media ads to reach out to moms accordingly.

 

3. Consider the Fathers

Marketing to moms is a given, but what about the dads out there?

Interestingly enough, fathers are taking a more proactive approach with their children. But what kind of approaches, exactly?

Research—fathers want to know about the best children and baby products. While moms are still at the top of income spending, it won’t be a surprise if this statistic slowly drops over time.

So why are fathers suddenly researching more than ever?

One, single parenting is more common than ever before—single fathers included. As single parents raise their children on their own, they’re bound to do more research than usual.

Two, gender roles are evolving. It’s common to run into households with two working parents or stay-at-home dads.

Overall, dads now have more opinions on what products their little ones should have. While your main priority is marketing to moms, keep this in mind for future trends.

The Takeaway?

As you create your social media campaign, consider the father’s role in your ads. Sure, women are in charge of most household costs right now, but this might change in the long-run.

With that said, it doesn’t hurt to include the father’s role in your social media ads. One way to do this is with lifestyle images. (You can check out my post on lifestyle images if you’re unsure what they are).

Try to include fathers and their roles within your lifestyle images. This will promote your products as mom and dad friendly.

Source: Photo by Picsea on Unsplash

A photo like above should do the trick.

 

4. Know the Difference Between Instagram and Facebook

If you’re new to social media, you might be wondering whether to use Facebook Ads or Instagram Ads.

Facebook and Instagram both have their pros. What really matters is where your audience spends their time. Moms, for example, both spend time on Facebook and Instagram… So which one should you choose?

Let’s dig a little deeper into Facebook and Instagram’s audiences. I’ll start with Instagram.

Notice how 39% of Instagram users are female. This is a good sign, but what about the age demographic?

Ages 13-17 use Instagram the most. As most mothers are over the age of 17, let’s focus on the next age bracket, 18-29 years old. 64% of 18-29 year olds use Instagram…Not too bad.

To sum up, younger moms hang out on Instagram. If you sell products for newborns or new mothers, Instagram is a good spot to start.

Now let’s look at Facebook’s audience.

Facebook is also dominated by females at 74%. And the most popular age range is 13-17 once again! This makes sense— young users use social media much more than older users.

But here’s something interesting: the percentages from ages 30+ are much higher than Instagram. 72% of 30-49 year olds use Facebook while only 40% use Instagram.

What does this mean?

Well, if you want to target millennial moms, Facebook is a good way to go. Instagram, on the other hand, has a much younger audience—you’ll probably find more gen z moms there.

The Takeaway?

To put it simply, Instagram is more popular for young users and Facebook with older users. As you begin marketing to moms, consider their generation. A good practice is targeting millennial moms with Facebook ads and gen z moms with IG ads.

With that said, these are general conclusions from age and gender. I suggest looking at other insights for a more defined audience:

• Income
• Location
• Activity on social media

 

5. Audit Your Social Media Ads

Marketing to moms on social media is a big role in your business. The last thing you want to do is waste your time with useless ads.

So how do you make the most out of your ads?

First, let’s go over what you shouldn’t do.

One, don’t leave your ads unattended. While this is tempting, it’s the worst thing you can do— the best social media ads are constantly updated.

Two, don’t blow your budget at once. Targeting the wrong audience is common for first-time ad users. Give yourself the budget to make and mend your mistakes.

On that note, I highly recommend auditing your social media strategy. When you audit your social media ads, it’ll help you:

Avoid unnecessary spending – As a beginner, you’ll probably allocate your budget throughout the funnel. As your ads run, you’ll notice how some have higher conversion rates than others.

Running an audit will target why you have a low conversion and how to fix it. You’ll learn where your budget should go and save money along the way.

Optimize your ad funnel – Your TOF ads might work great, but what about your MOF and BOF ads? You can use an audit to analyze conversion rates, abandoned carts, and click rate.

Reach out to more moms – As life evolves, so do our hobbies, location, and interests. As you audit your ads, you may notice a change in behavior or demographics. Moms are changing their priorities everyday—keep up with those trends.

Keep up with the algorithm – Both Facebook and Instagram change their algorithm from time to time. Auditing will keep you up to date with these changes and trends.

Marketing to moms can drive traffic to your site… or it can waste your time and energy. Luckily, a social media audit will maintain and scale your business goals.

In the beginning, I suggest running an audit once a week. This may seem like a lot, but it’ll eliminate any long-term problems. If you don’t have time for a weekly audit, you should at least run a deep analysis 2-3 times a year.

The Takeaway?

When you audit your social media ads, start with this quick checklist:

• Is Facebook Pixel running properly?
• Is your budget correctly distributed to your audience?
• What are your worst-performing ad campaigns?
• Are you using multiple creative ad types?
• Is your Facebook or Instagram page updated with interesting content?

From here, you can decide how to optimize your ads and reach moms on social media. I also offer free Facebook Ad audits—I’d be happy to review your Facebook ads with you over live chat.

To Wrap Up

You made it to the end of the post! Let’s go over what you learned about marketing to moms.

All moms are different – This should be an obvious, but many marketers assume moms are the same.

Consider a mom’s hobbies and interests outside of parenting. And look closely at how they spend their time on social media.

The trends are changing – Use a tool like Google Trends to keep track of current trends for mothers and families. This way, you can personalize your ads and stand out from the crowd.

Your ads will need updating – Run a social media audit and see what works and what doesn’t. You can use the checklist I provided above, or contact me for a free Facebook Ad audit.

And as always, reach out to DigiLab Media for any social media ad needs. We’re happy to create your ad campaign and reach out to moms, the right way.