Marketing to Women Online

Word of Mouth - Conference Highlights

Who knew there were so many smart people in advertising?   I just got back from the WOMMA Word of Mouth vs. Advertising conference in NYC.  There was a lot of word of mouth about this word of mouth – and it lived up to the buzz.   My neck is sore from nodding my head so much.  The rest of the crowd was equally as enthralled.  As two of the last panelists commented “we’re well into cocktail hour and you’re still here….why?”

If there was one overriding message to the conference it was this…..the consumer is in control.    You can lie, manipulate, and coax, but the truth will always come out.  WOMMA CEO Andy Sernovitz pronounced:

Ads will never again be free from real people providing real feedback -- and bringing to light the underlying claims of every campaign. Truth always rises to the surface.

So, with this power shift, who controls WOM?  Do consumers control WOM?   Or do marketers control WOM?  And if marketers can’t control WOM, why has a whole marketing industry grown up around it?   

From the insight I gained, here's how I'd answer that question...

Tips for Marketing to Women Online

What are the most important things to keep in mind when marketing to women online?   What are the best things you can do?  What are the worst things you can do?   There's no simple answer.  Marketing to women online is about creating a relationship with your visitor/customer.  Websites that truly speak to women in their language, addressing their needs are magnetic.   

So, when marketing to women online, how do you create a magnetic website?   Dancing Elephants (one of my all time favorite names for a company) has some of those answers.   

Corperate Internet Branding

Ok Ok…before all you spell check Nazis start bombarding me with pesky little notes “Holly…..It’s ‘corporate Internet branding’ not ‘corperate Internet branding’.  Please make a note of it.”  I KNOW it’s misspelled.    Did it on purpose.   So there.

Here’s the thing – if you do your keyword research you’ll find corperate internet branding gets almost as many hits as corporate internet branding.  Corperate internet branding isn’t some low level term an uneducated person is likely to type in.  Could be just laziness, could be there’s no spell check per say in search boxes (though they are pretty good at suggesting the correct spelling in the results they return).  In any case, it’s a viable search term.

My point?  When you’re choosing your best keywords always check misspellings like corperate internet branding.  Just please include them in your tags instead of in your actual text.   

So to the reason I stumbled on this tasty little tidbit……

Men Like CNET, Women Like iVillage?

While there are several reasons why I like Yvonne DiVita so much, one of the biggest is – she’s not afraid to call it as she sees it.    Yvonne takes on Forrester Media and their report - Men Are From CNET, Women are from iVillage.   (yes – that’s the actual title- no kidding)

And men are beer-drinking, foul-mouthed pigs. Right? NOT! Women from iVillage are looking for recipes, gossip, chocolate, and more...just as men from CNET are really surfing for -- Paris Hilton and Pamela Anderson. Let's drop the stereotypes, please. Men and women are different -- we admit it. However, according to this report women are a majority online that is predicted to continue increasing.

Yvonne – move over.  I’m going to climb out on that branch with you.   (Feeling rather like an oversize squirrel here).

OK.    Wow – nice view from up here.   Let’s explore a few of the findings from the report Men Are From CNET, Women Are From iVillage. 

Danica Patrick and Secret

Which athlete is being called "the top candidate to replace Michael Jordan as the top athlete endorser?"  A high profile NFL player?  The world's number one golfer?  An up and coming NBA all star?  I'll tell you his name.....

Danica Patrick

Do I know how to call 'em or what?  For those of you who have been living either under a rock or with an extreme allergy to sports, Danica Patrick is a 23 year old Indy Racing League driver.   She was the 2005 Indy Racing League Rookie of the Year.   

Danica Patrick has just signed a deal with Proctor and Gamble to promote Secret antiperspirant.   She's previously shunned any beauty or personal-care product endorsements - so why Secret?    

 

Word of Mouth Advertising

It’s a red hot topic right now in marketing and advertising circles – “word of mouth advertis…..”   OUCH – sorry, almost dropped it.  Burning my fingers here.   It’s “word of mouth advertising.”

Word of mouth advertising is a natural fit for women.   Women are more likely to ask opinions from people they know and trust before buying a product or service.   If they have a positive experience, they’re more likely to share it with their friends.  And if they have a negative experience?  You better believe they’re going to share it…with everyone they know.

Unlike men, who may shy away from having to share that they were “scammed” or in any way made a poor decision, women are very upfront about it. 

Don’t believe me?  When was the last time you heard a guy say “Yeah, that used car dealership?  Totally hosed me.  Yeah, I got taken for a real ride.  Fell for the sales pitch hook line and sinker.  Stupidest thing I ever did.”   Chances are he has the car in the garage, hood up, desperately tinkering with it in an attempt to prove that it really was a great deal and his decision to buy it was a perfectly sound one. 

Online Copywriting

One of the most powerful persuasive forces you have when creating your online customer experience is – copy.   Women are communicators; their brains are specifically wired for verbal skills.  Women are all about relationships – you build those relationships through communication. One of the most powerful communication vehicles is –words. That's why online copywriting is so important.

More and more successful companies are recognizing the power of online copywriting.  When they create their websites, they often come to me asking “What makes a good online copywriter?  How will I know when I find one?”

I’ve never really had a good answer.  So I put the question to the most powerful and somewhat large heads I could gather together:  Jeff Eisenberg, Bryan Eisenberg and Lisa Davis.  What resulted are the 12 qualities of a good online copywriter.