Talk to any mom today, and you’ll find that “me time” is a critical, albeit elusive, fundamental need. You will also find that most moms use the Internet as an important means to fulfill that need. In fact, 90% of moms said they go online regularly for “me time,” and nearly all of their online time is spent on either content or connection with others.
This combination of content and connection offers advertisers a significant opportunity to engage with moms. Today, social networking is about more than just posting personal updates, as consumers share everything from favorite brands to online articles and reviews—and this is especially true for moms. Marketers who can successfully attach their brands to valuable and relevant content can promote further engagement and connection within moms’ networked communities.
In order to help marketers better understand how this can be accomplished, we aggregated data from six Yahoo! studies* to answer the following questions:
- What are moms’ universal needs?
- What content do they crave online?
- What motivates them to share content?
- How can brands become a part of meaningful, shareable content?
1. ONLINE, AN IMPORTANT RELEASE FOR MOM
Moms consider online communication and content an important part of her mental and emotional life. 47% of mom’s time online is spent on communications, and another 50% is spent on content, such as entertainment and news. The top reasons for connecting online is “Care of Self” (83%) followed by “Bargain Hunting” (74%). Interestingly, the fundamental needs of stay-at-home moms and working moms do not vary greatly.
2. CONTENT FOR THE QUEEN
The large majority of moms (~80%) consume online content around news, lifestyle and entertainment at least once a day. Advertising can also be considered a part of moms’ online content experience as 44% get marketing information, such as ads, product reviews and promotions.
3. SHARING CONTENT, A PART OF DAILY LIFE
The prevalence of social media is blending moms’ need for communication and content. 63% stated they read articles or click on links posted by their friends on social networks. Moms share content for a variety of reasons – from humor and entertainment to self-expression and supporting a cause they care about.
4. SOCIAL FEATURES ARE ADDITIVE TO CONTENT
Social features around content drive greater engagement with content, and there is broad appreciation when brands sponsor social engagement. In a case study around Yahoo!’s 2011 Oscars site, we found that sponsorship of social features on an Oscars voting site significantly boosted brand favorability, purchase intent and likelihood to recommend.
Implications
- CREATE MEANINGFUL CONTENT.
- Cater to the fundamental needs of moms by creating content that helps them and provides a sense of community, rather than just focusing on a product or service.
- BE PART OF GREAT CONTENT.
- A large majority of moms consume and share content from news, entertainment and lifestyle sites every day. Be a part of what moms are sharing by sponsoring or partnering with trusted publishers of this type of content.
- THINK OF ADS AS SHAREABLE CONTENT.
- Moms regularly seek out marketing information that helps them in their daily lives. So, develop advertising content that is informative and fun, and make it easy for them to share it with their social circles.
- SPONSOR SOCIAL CONTENT EXPERIENCES.
- By sponsoring content that integrates social features with quality content, brands can see significant lifts in brand favorability, purchase intent, and brand leadership scores.
