Marketing to Women Online - Content-Rich Sites vs. Social Media

A new study finds finds that content-rich sites, not social networks, are the hot ticket for brands marketing to women

Connectonomics, a newly-released research study from Yahoo! and the brand development and marketing insight consultancy, Added Value, details women’s needs and how they relate to the online channels they use on a daily basis.

Qualitative and online quantitative interviews were conducted with more than 3000 women across the country to understand their most prevalent core needs and which online channels, from social media to blogs to special interest sites, best fulfill those needs.

The following slideshow explores the value of content-rich sites and has some interesting research insights.

Connectonomics

View more presentations from The Added Value Group

I am a HUGE believer in content-rich sites.  I've seen the value in my own work with these types of sites.   But it is the combination of content rich sites with social media that is the winning ticket with women.  Social media is is the perfect channel to have the discussions and share information about the rich content women experience on the websites.  

Here are some other important insights from the study for  advertisers who are looking for the most effective means to maximize their engagement with women online.

Key insights

• Need States – the common ground: Despite demographic differences, women share the same core needs which revolve around personal growth and a shared interdependence on others. Companies may be better served by understanding women’s core “needs” or what drives and motivates them rather than subscribing to existing stereotypes about Xers vs. Millenials, moms vs. non moms, stay-at-home moms vs. working moms etc. Understanding women’s need states allows marketers to have more relevant conversations with them.

• Different strokes for different channels, not just different folks: Various online channels cater to different need states. Women receive, share and are receptive to information in varying degrees on each of these channels. Understanding this is key to media and marketing effectiveness.

• Power of Anonymity: The study found that the anonymity that content channels offer can lead to deeper emotional connections for women. Women said these sites offer users access to like-minded women and solutions to problems without the risk of being judged by people they know in real life.

• Social media is not a silver bullet: Also surprising is the insight that social media is less relevant in the context of shopping, brands and purchase decisions. Content channels such as lifestyle and special interest sites offer 3x the impact on purchase decisions compared to other online channels, creating much better opportunities for advertisers to build relationships. Marketing messages resonate more with women when presented in the context of content channels as opposed to social media sites.

Read more about the Connectonomics research study.

About Added Value
Added Value, www.added-value.com, provides consultancy on brand development and marketing insight for iconic brands, both big and small, around the world. They help solve clients’ central marketing questions about market, equity, positioning, innovation and communications.

Many clients are Fortune 500 companies, such as AT&T, Microsoft, Ford, HSBC, Allianz, and P&G, but they work with start-ups and challenger brands too.
The company has 22 offices in 14 countries, yet their experience spreads across 150 markets worldwide and across all industry sectors.

Added Value operates under the business names Added Value, Icon Added Value, Oracle Added Value, Cheskin Added Value, AV-Stratosfera and Added Value Saffron Hill.

Added Value is now one of the largest operations within WPP’s Kantar division www.kantar.com, a wholly-owned subsidiary of WPP plc. WPP is the world leader in marketing communications services, employing 135,000 people (including associates) in 2,400 offices in 107 countries. For more information, visit www.wpp.com.

About Yahoo!
Yahoo! attracts hundreds of millions of users every month through its innovative technology and engaging content and services, making it one of the most visited Internet destinations and a world-class online media company. Yahoo!’s vision is to be the center of people’s online lives by delivering personally relevant, meaningful Internet experiences. Yahoo! is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. For more information, visit pressroom.yahoo.com or the company’s blog, Yodel Anecdotal (yodel.yahoo.com).

Yahoo! is the trademark and/or registered trademark of Yahoo! Inc.

Comments

[Holly Buchanan]

I believe BOTH social media and content rich sites, in combination, deliver the best results.

This is the part of the research that is perhaps the most interesting:
"Content channels such as lifestyle and special interest sites offer 3x the impact on purchase decisions compared to other online channels, creating much better opportunities for advertisers to build relationships. Marketing messages resonate more with women when presented in the context of content channels as opposed to social media sites."

I believe what they are saying is - when she is doing her pre-purchase research, content channels have more information to help her make a decision to purchase. If I am thinking about buying a new dryer, I may visit a social media site to see what people are saying about a particular brand, but I'm likely to spend more time googling content sites for more in-depth information.

But on the "relationship building" front, I think social media, especially post-purchase, is a highly effective channel.

[Holly Buchanan]

FYI - the above comment was in repsonse to a comment that was accidentally deleted. the commenter asked if the report was valid since it did not ring true with their experience.

[Nima]

Hi Holly-

I'm one of the authors of this study from the Added Value side. Thanks for sharing it and talking about it. I'm not sure what the original comment was and so am unable to directly address that. The key thing to note is that women have various Need States - and various channels help in activating them differently. How receptive they are changes across channels as well. Social Media doesn't lend itself very well to traditional advertising because of the mind set that women are in while there.(Note that this is true at this moment, admittedly these things keep evolving.)

Women talked about how it was like an inner social circle that Marketers were intruding upon. However it is a fertile engagement ground. For brands that have been accepted, where women are already willing to have a relationship - social media can be a great place for brands to build on existing affiliation/positive inclination. And yes content is the driving force that makes for deeper connections.

Nima Srinivasan
SVP, Added Value

[Ozio Media]

I, too, think social media and content rich sites should be integrated. Women, more than men, use the internet to find information and conduct their own research. Social media is a great platform to send women to content rich sites filled with the detailed information they are looking for. I also think that different social media sites should be used to share different types of content.

[KeshaSpark @ sites for women]

Yes, I agree with the same. Social Media alone is of very little help. The proper balance comes through with a content rich site alongwith social media.

[Mac Pherson]

Hmmm... both content-rich sites and social media make valid points. It's tough to determine which one is more appealing since both have different variables that affect the verdict significantly. As for me, content-rich sites and social media should be utilized alongside each other to achieve marketing goals.