When brands or start-ups say they want to target moms, what do they really mean? Focusing on moms as an umbrella category is well and good as a starting point, but when you think about the fact that census.gov estimates more than 85 million moms in the U.S. alone, there’s nothing too targeted about it. What if those 85 million moms aren’t all alike?
- Moms don’t always equal babies
There are so many micro-audiences under the mom umbrella (or under any general population category), and there is no one definition of what or who a mom is. Even the same mom will change over time, and so will her preferences, her needs, and her challenges.
Moms come in all shapes and sizes, and while some are new or new-ish moms of little tikes and in need of witty or informative diaper content – I admit I’ve had a great sponsored content baby poop slideshow bookmarked for several months now (click at your own risk) – many moms have outgrown the new mom phase and are moms to young adults, or have become grandmothers. Moms could also be stepmoms – some reports estimate that 12% of women in the U.S. are stepmothers – around 14 million strong. And moms could inhabit all of these sub-categories at once or different ones altogether.
It’s easy to say “mom” and think of a certain generalization, but if you don’t dig deeper and get to the heart of the types of moms you want to target, your content could be off-base.
TL;DR? Ask: What kind of mom is my brand’s ideal mom?
- “Mom” is just one ingredient
Creating content for a blanket category called “moms” is incredibly broad, and it leaves out other traits or attributes that could help you better define your target audiences and inform your content program.
A mom is never just a mom. Who is your brand’s target mom in addition to that role? Make sure you or your content agency are asking important questions to get to the heart of it. What kind of career does your target mom have, if she has one? Where did she grow up? What’s important to her? What is her biggest daily frustration? Where does she shop? Who does she admire?
From there, you can determine what types of content and messaging to use to engage your audiences. And it may not be all the same message and content all the time.
TL;DR? Ask: What kind of person is my target mom?
- Your mom might actually be a dad
No, this isn’t a Caitlyn Jenner point. It’s a reminder that fathers are a key piece of the parenting equation, and shouldn’t be forgotten when it comes to your content.
Mothers aren’t the only ones buying diapers, or grocery shopping, getting children ready for school in the morning, driving kids to sports, worrying about teenagers, etc. – dads are right there with them.
Pew Research reports trends that moms’ and dads’ roles are converging in the family, and that more fathers than ever – around 7% – are stay-at-home dads. What does this mean for the future of mom-centric marketing content?
Take our family for instance: we’re an Amazon Mom household (oh, the diapers!), but it’s Greg who’s the subscriber, not me. And last time I checked, Greg’s not a mom. I’ve got to believe there are plenty of other households where dad is an Amazon Mom subscriber, too. Is there an opportunity here to create some dad-focused content and messaging as well? Probably.
TL;DR? Ask: Is my marketing content forgetting about dad?
All this is to say that any target audience should be targeted. Challenge yourself (or your team or agency) to delve deeper and get to know your customers on a more micro level. This way you’ll be able to craft content that speaks the language of your customers and engages them in a more meaningful way.
