Stacy DeBroff, CEO, founder, Mom Central
By Allan Maurer
Moms as a group and women generally rely on first person recommendations and they love to hear from someone with new experiences. That’s why they took to the rise of the easy-to-use platforms such as blogs and social media that allow word-of-mouth to spread at lightening speed, says Stacy DeBroff, CEO and founder of Boston-based Mom Central.
DeBroff is a key figure in the mommy blog revolution affecting brands large and small that sell to women and families. DeBroff’s Mom Central works with about 200 brands a year to reach moms and through them kids and families.
“They not only control the majority of the spend in a family household, they’ve expanded their footprint.” Once, DeBroff points out, moms didn’t make decisions about certain items such as cell phones, cars and appliances. “But now they’re the ones getting the cell phones, booking travel, and making what were once male-dominated purchases. They control 90 percent of the household spend.”
Social media and the digital world of instant communication and viral memes that go global overnight has affected the once staid advertising strategies of brands such as Proctor & Gamble, among others. “Money has shifted from the traditional advertising to this realm of creating enthusiasts and igniting them,” DeBroff says.
What do moms want from brands?
“Moms don’t want brands to summon them, they want conversations,” says DeBroff. “They want businesses to interact with them. They want an opportunity to experience products.”
There are five million mommy bloggers out there now, DeBroff notes and the cadre is growing. They write in the first person about why they like a new cell phone or a movie they saw. Brands want to engage them as ambassadors.
DeBroff’s firm focuses on finding mom influencers, who have considerable reach and can affect a brand’s bottom line because of their numerous platforms can provide feedback, awareness of a new product and affect sales.
It works because other moms like to hear from people who have actually experience the products and have something relevant to say. “They trust it so much more coming from other moms than from brands or celebrity endorsements.”
DeBroff says that successful mommy bloggers are transparent about anything they get for free, whether it is a book or samples. If they write copy that sounds like a brand message or advertorial, their readers tune it out and the blogger will lose influence and traffic, DeBroff says. “So reveal your connection with a company if you are a client, ambassador, or received something,” which she adds, is necessary to meet Federal Communications Commission guidelines.
Mom Central offers smart household and parenting solutions via its blogs and articles. It recently expanded and added Dad Central.
For some of DeBroff’s advice to brands trying to reach moms, see:
Five ways to reach moms, and 10 ways marketers can reach mom consumers
The “insight” blog posts at that link also look at Social media and moms, and other topics.
Join hundreds of Marketing Professionals and Internet Execs at Atlanta’s premier Digital event – Digital Summit 2012
www.digitalsummit.com
Related Stories:
- Mothers are more engaged with social media than other women (infographic)
- Do you know how to reach the five types of digital moms?
- Millennial moms use their phones everywhere, some even during sex
- Social media users love beer, particularly Guinness
- Four tips for marketers on working with women bloggers
© 2011, TechJournal. All rights reserved.
Tags: Dad Central, marketing to moms, Mom Central, mommy blogs, social media and moms, Stacy DeBroff, viral marketing, word of mouth online
