Marketing to Women Online

Was The Motrin Moms Campaign Really A Failure?

Like a lot of other folks, I felt the Motrin Mom "sling baby" campaign really missed the mark.  It was yet another example of good strategy, but poor execution.

Or was it?

In her article, Using Social Media to Listen to Consumers, Abbey Klaussen had this to say about the campaign:

Last fall, Johnson & Johnson's Motrin broke creative of a mom complaining that wearing your baby "in fashion," via a sling, can cause back and neck pain. It offended some in the social-media sphere, and an army of Twittering moms got the brand to yank the ad and issue a mea culpa on its site. But, according to a Lightspeed Research survey, almost 90% of women had never seen the ad. Once they saw it, about 45% liked the video, 41% had no feelings about it, and 15% didn't like it. Even fewer, 8%, said it negatively affected their feelings of the brand, compared with the 32% who said it made them like the brand more. Was Motrin's decision to yank the ad and apologize the right one -- even if it made the problem go away?

Wow - what's going on here?  How could the Lightspeed Research survey produce such a different response from the moms in the social media hemisphere?

Using The Power of Video to Connect with Women

I'm a long time fan of using video online to communicate and connect with women. 

Marti Barletta recently tweeted about a video by Queen Rania of Jordan.  She is using video to reach out to people around the world.

Video is especially powerful because it allows a personal connection that sometimes plain text cannot provide. 

How community sites are using video

Myworkbutterfly.com is a community site for mothers returning to the work force.  They have found that their community members enjoy engaging with video interviews of other celebrity and high profile moms struggling with the same issues they are.

Terry Starr and Bradi Nathan, Co-Founders of MyWorkButterfly.com set out to bring to life the journeys of a diversified group of Celebrity Moms and Corporate executive moms who share their “work/life” stories.  Butterfly utilizes reality-based, 3 minute; 5-part series webisodes to ensure its members are fully engaged, inspired and mentored.

In turn, these videos aid in building awareness and driving traffic to MyWorkButterfly.com. Along with the Butterfly site, all videos are housed on YouTube!, with links on Twitter and Facebook to name a few.

It's a smart, powerful strategy.  The analytics show women are engaging with videos from moms like Kathie Lee Gifford and Z100's Danielle Monaro.

If you have an online presence and you are targeting women, make sure video is a part of your strategy. 

Here are some more examples of how companies are using video to reach women online.

What Women Can Learn From Men

I write often about what men can learn from women.  But today I want to focus on what women can learn from men. 

I was recently at my sister's apartment and picked up a book she was using to "research an article."  (Wink - Sure thing sis)

The book was called The Manual: A True Bad Boy Explains How Men Think, Date, and Mate--and What Women Can Do to Come Out on Top.   Now, I picked it up thinking I'd have a few laughs, then toss it aside.  Well, four hours later, I was finishing the last chapter.

Now, I research the differences in men and women for a living, so this book was probably far more interesting to me than to most of my readers, so I'll share what I found to be one of the best tips.

People can hear your inner duologue.   The author was talking about the thoughts that run through his mind when he walks into a bar.  He thinks along the lines of  "I am a catch.  I've got it going on. Every woman in here wants me."  (not his exact words, but you get the gist).      His body language sends out a message of confidence. 

What women can learn from men tip #1

Think confident thoughts.  Women - we need to remember that people can hear our inner duologue.  If we are uncertain, nervous, - it shows.  When you walk into a meeting or situation, focus on confident thoughts.  Whether you're playing your inner theme song (my favorite is Aha's Take On Me) or focusing on the fact that you know your stuff, you're a good communicator and you know you're good at closing sales.   

Startup Princess Marketing to Women Online Event

If you are in the California area, and you're interested in learning how to market to women online, you need to be at the Startup Princess event - The Magic of Marketing to women Online at Disneyland April 17 and 18. 

You can still get early bird pricing through April 1st.

I had the privilege of speaking at the Startup Princess marketing to women online event in the fall, and all I can say is, Kelly Anderson knows how to put together awesome events.  

I'm so jealous I can't be there so I'm hoping you'll attend and share all the great learnings with me.

Find out more now.

The "She's Just Not That Into You" Marketing Phenomena

Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should.

This is an important thought to keep in mind as companies start to tap into the power of Web 2.0 and social media   Yes, brands are now able to create wonderful interactive experiences online. But the "if we build it, they will come" mentality doesn't always work.

All of your efforts with Web 2.0, social media, etc. should be based on one thing - what your customers want/care about.

Sometimes brands are so caught up inside their own bottle they forget - sometimes she's just not that into you. 

A perfect example of that is a recent marketing campaign by Comcast.  

Seth Stevenson at Slate has a great article - Would You Like Your Cable Company More if It Were Quirky and Hip?

He points out that, while the TV commercial has some cool artistic attributes, it doesn't change people's attitudes about Comcast.

As for Comcast's interactive website, Seth has this to say:

The campaign Web site lets you download Comcast wallpaper and ring tones and create your own "room" in Comcast Town, complete with virtual furniture and accessories. You can also see the lyrics for the Comcast Town songs and even open PDFs of the sheet music. The site is meant to be a sort of interactive playground for Comcast enthusiasts.

Which brings me to the problem with this campaign. Who on earth would become a Comcast enthusiast? Who hangs out at a Comcast Web site and rearranges pretend furniture? Or, put more broadly: What sane person forms a loving attachment to a cable behemoth?

Couldn't have said it better myself. 

If you are marketing to women, keep something in mind - her new "inbox" includes her email (sometimes a work and personal account), Facebook, Twitter, probably several communities she belongs to and blogs she reads and interacts with on a regular basis. 

The competition for her attention online is fierce.  If you're going to create a Web 2.0 experience, start with what your customers want and care about (instead of with your products).  Focus more on her, and less on you.   And beware of the "she's just not that into you" phenomena. 

How to overcome the "she's just not into you" phenomena.

Why Email Marketing Is More Important Than Ever

There is a consistent mantra among marketers right now - do more with less.

Marketing budgets are being slashed, or are simply non-existent.  Yet, even with anemic budgets, marketers are still expected to deliver results.

Email is one of the cheapest ways to drive sales.  And, according to Marketing Sherpa, people are still reading their email.

I attended Marketing Sherpa's Email Summitthis last week.  Here are some of the top learnings I took away:

5 must-do's - Don't share subscriber's email address with others

                  - Offer special pricing for email subscribers

                  - Allow subscribers to customize frequency 

                  - Allow subscribers to customize information they receive from you

                  - Give subscribers a first look at new products

Segment your list - "Batch and blast" emails are going the way of the dinosaur.  Segment your list and customize messaging and offers for each segment.  The more relevant you make those customized emails, the higher the response you'll get. (examples of segments:  gender, frequency of purchase, amount of activity, area of interest, etc.) 

Test and test some more - Test subject lines, content, calls to action, conversion rates.  Your gut is often wrong.  By testing to see what gets the highest response you can dramatically increase your results.

Scrub your list - get rid of invalid email addresses, inactive addresses and other dead-weight that's hurting your delivery, your response rates and your reputation. 

Bottom line - it's all about being relevant to your audience.   

Coming next - some specific examples. 

                  

The Decline of Men - A Guy's View On Guys

  One of the thing that's been most fascinating about my research is not only the insight I've gained into women, but also the insight I've gained into men.

This is an absolutley fascinating Ad Age inteview with Guy Garcia about his new book, The Decline of Men: How the American Male Is Tuning Out, Giving Up and Flipping Off His Future.

I can't do it justice other than to say - just go read it.

Women and Eye-Fi - A Technology Love Story

 

There were a lot of cool giveaways at the Mom 2.0 Summit, but there was one giveaway that got the ladies all abuzz.  When Kirtsy's Laura Mayes asked who in the room wanted one, every hand in the place shot up into the air.

What was it?

The Eye-Fi.

I have to send some extra love to Eye-Fi for being at a mom conference.  Most tech companies don't think -  "A room full of 30-50 something moms?  My God, we'd do anything to get in front of them. Think of the buzz!"

What is Eye-Fi?

The Eye-Fi Card stores photos & videos like a normal memory card. When you turn your camera on within range of a configured Wi-Fi network, it wirelessly transfers your photos & videos. To your computer. Or to your favorite photo sharing web site. Or both.

How cool is that?  Here's why Eye-Fi is going to get sales from their appearance at the Mom 2.0 Summit:

Social Networking Webinar Worth Attending

Yeah yeah, I know.  There's a lot of advice out there about how to use social networking to build your business.  But this is advice from someone who really knows what he is doing. And he has a real knack for taking technical stuff and explaining it in plain English.

Nhat Pham is the owner of Succeswerks.  He's not some new to the game guru.  He's been using technology and social media tools to grow business for over 8 years. Join him for the webinar - How to Use LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to Grow Your Sales. 

Date:	Thursday, March 19, 2009
Time:	2:30 PM - 3:30 PM EST
Cost:	$47

Just for my readers, you can get a 25% discount with the code "Holly." 

In just 60 minutes you’ll learn:

Truvia - I Have Your Next Marketing Campaign

As many of my fellow marketers know, when you're truly passionate about your subject matter, your marketing brain never turns off.

That's why at the Mom 2.0 Summit, while other people were taking pictures of speakers, attendees and events, I was taking pictures of......trash.

But it was interesting trash.

I've written before about Truvia, a new all natural sweetener on the market.  I'm fascinated by Truvia because it's one of those magical products that can garner natural word of mouth. 

I think the key way to position Truvia is as a healthier, lower calorie substitute than sugar, but without the artificial chemicals of artificial sweeteners.

And there I was in the coffee line at the conference with hundreds of other women, and that's when the trash caught my attention.