Content marketing for family oriented firms

It is an accepted fact - consumers use the Internet to make purchase decisions. If you work in digital media, you are well acquainted with SEO and how to drive it. You've probably been instructed to "Write me a blog post so I can show up in Google." However, consumers are smarter than that. They don't appreciate an empty string of keywords. Instead, they appreciate usable content, or content marketing.

Attached Media published the below infographic in 2012. 

Attached Media, http://visual.ly/traditional-publicity-vs-content-marketing

As shown, traditional media interrupts consumers while content marketing engages consumers through valuable offerings. Valuable offerings may include educational videos and blogs, guides, lifestyle articles, coupons, or whatever else your target market finds interesting. Valuable offerings do NOT include selling messages or an overwhelming, obvious amount of product information.

Family targeted brands like General Mills, Fisher Price, and Play-Doh implement excellent content marketing strategies.

General Mills' tablespoon.com includes recipes for various occasions.

Hasbro's Play-Doh website includes creation ideas and a sharing platform for other Play-Doh users.

Fisher Price's Laugh and Learn includes play tips and webisodes to help babies learn.

The key? Yes, content marketing may improve your SEO and eventually drive purchase decisions. But your foremost priority must be to create genuine value for your target - learn what they care about and show that you care about them.

Unhealthy food and child-targeted digital

The CDC measures approximately 30% of US children and adolescents are overweight or obese - a measure that has more than doubled in the past 30 years. Obesity presents a host of health detriments including low self esteem and increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Unfortunately, food marketers have contributed to the obesity epidemic. The CDC claims "foods high in total calories, sugars, salt, and fat, and low in nutrients are highly advertised and marketed through media targeted to children and adolescents, while advertising for healthier foods is almost nonexistent in comparison."

In January, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) published "Recommendations for Responsible Food Marketing to Children." The authors argue that marketing standards created by the Council of Better Business Bureaus’ Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI), a self-regulatory effort of large food manufacturers, are insufficient. In effect since January 2014, the standards help ensure messages aimed at children present only foods which meet nutrition requirements. However, the standards fail to include all alternative media and digital marketing. The RWJF suggests wider definitions of child-targeted messages so that CPGs and fast food companies will find it more difficult to market unhealthy foods to children.

Standards set by the RWJF would cover digital marketing platforms such as Sour Patch Kids: Sour Fling app and OREO: Twist, Lick, and Dunk app. 

Sour Patch Kids: Sour Fling

OREO: Twist, Lick, Dunk

Because interactive media is especially appealing to children, it is necessary to ensure messages encourage healthy lifestyles. Companies desiring to be better corporate citizens and better serve their audience should instead use digital marketing - a means they've effectively employed to encourage unhealthy food - to market nutritional products.

Parents want healthy children. The first major CPG to stand up and produce wholesome, nutritious foods (and maybe have games, too), is sure to garner a loyal, generous following.

Spreading awareness of specialized products with social

Jude and his Otteroo

When a close family friend gave birth to an adorable, precious boy with Down's Syndrome about a year ago, I became attuned to the market for specialized products catered to his needs. How could it be so difficult to find a bottle nipple which made it easier for him to feed? Developmental aids for children with disabilities are a niche market, so spreading awareness of your offerings requires creativity. In an expanding digital world, marketing purely to medical professionals and educational magazines isn't sufficient. Otteroo (http://otteroo.com/), a manufacturer of bath floaties which improve muscle tone development, implements a digital marketing strategy which is an excellent case study. 

I began following Otteroo after their images showed up with other ABC Kids Expo 2014 posts on Instagram. Keys to Otteroo's success include:

1. Networking at expos and via social media, increasing following and awareness. Otteroo has been featured on blogs such as Wee Love and Red Tricycle.
2. Regular social media posts of consumers (happy babies!) using the product. Otteroo has an Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. 
3. An accessible, informative website. Because Otteroo is an unusual product, prospective customers need to easily find information after their interest is piqued by a social media post. The website is rich with video content and testimonials, further encouraging a purchase decision.

Companies like Otteroo have truly valuable product offerings which deserve to be shared, and social media provides great potential for increasing awareness of such offerings.

For parents interested in developmental products, Jude's mom offers these recommendations.

Top: Aid with tongue retraction and oral stimulation. Bottom: Tri chew and grabber for speech, available in different scents and textures; Maroon Spoon, which has a flatter bowl to aid tongue placement and mouth closure. For more information, visit http://www.arktherapeutic.com/.

Jude with his halo cap to hold in hearing aid and peanut ball for physical therapy (various manufacturers).

Goldieblox: A company worth sharing

With the Superbowl quickly approaching, commercials and viral marketing are buzz words in every marketing classroom, newsroom, and boardroom. Remember this commercial from last year?

Last year, Goldieblox became a nationally recognized brand. Just two years before, in 2012, Goldieblox was searching for funds on Kickstarter to produce its first batch of girl-empowering engineering toys. How did the Goldieblox gain notoriety so quickly? A study of the company provides a few key lessons for product and brand managers interested in the toy market:

1. Be authentic. Goldieblox has a mission - to increase the number of females in STEM fields. Because Goldieblox stands for something larger than sales revenue, it is company which parents, especially millennial moms, are happy to support. 

2. Use video marketing. To accomplish her goal, Debbie Sterling, CEO and founder of Goldieblox, had to attract attention. The following ad accompanied Sterling's Kickstarter campaign. Videos are affordable for you and enjoyable for your audience. 

3. The combination of authenticity and video - Be shareable. Social networking is the reason for Goldieblox's rise to fame. Kickstarter users genuinely enjoyed watching the initial video, so they shared it with their friends, who shared it with their friends. After 111.5 million viewers tuned into the Superbowl, a Goldieblox video ad circulated through news feeds across social platforms once again. With a unique company mission and excellent video marketing strategy, Goldieblox captured America's attention.

A memo for companies on partnering with blog influencers

Partnering with popular blogs is a great way to communicate with parents about your brand or product. Top blogs have good reach, but, most importantly, they are written by trusted sources. The moms and dads behind popular parenting blogs are influencers, and they are better than traditional advertising platforms. Your audience isn't turned off by a product pushing message. They are intrigued by the influencer - their source of daily entertainment, their friend, their expert on all things parenting - and decide to give your brand or product a try.

However, partnering with an influencer for a sponsored post isn't a submiminal scheme to get your sales revenue up. It's a partnership in communication with your audience. It's a way to encourage communication and spread word of mouth about the helpful, innovative products your company can offer. If your products aren't helpful and innovative, then influencers won't become your advocates. Blogs aren't a platform where you can obscure your product's shortcomings with cartoon characters and jingles. Blogs are a platform where you nudge the writer, say "Hey, here's what my company has to offer. What do you think about it?" and then watch them publish your sponsored post, love the product, and continue to praise and use the product, hence becoming your advocate. The key? With good offerings and a blogging influencer, you can generate new, loyal customers.

Which influencer should you ask to support your company? Cision, a global PR and media company, published a list of the top 50 mommy bloggers in 2014 (http://www.cision.com/us/2014/05/top-50-u-s-mom-bloggers/). However, randomly picking from the top of lists like these won't suffice. Your blogger should speak to your audience - and your audience is likely more defined than "parent." Here are a few suggestions:

• For high end products designed for the stylish, trendy, parent: Jessica Shyba of mommasgonecity.com. Jessica became popular after pictures of Theo and Beau, an adorable toddler and puppy duo, napping together circulated the internet. Brands associated with Jessica include Nordstrom and Orbit Travel Systems. Companies interested in family pets may also find an audience with mommasgonecity.com.

A snapshot of Jessica's post for Orbit Travel Systems. http://www.mommasgonecity.com/

• For products designed for creative, playful kids whose parents prize both quality and value: Angie Keiser of fashionbymayhem.com. Angie and her daughter, known as Mayhem, became popular with pictures of their glamorous handmade paper dresses. Brands associated with Mayhem include Nintendo and J. Crew. Companies catering to food allergies may also find an audience with fashionbymayhem.com.

A snapshot of Mayhem's Mama's post for Nintendo 2DS. http://www.fashionbymayhem.com/

• For daily use products designed for healthy, happy families who also prize value: Melissa Weintraud of the-mommyhood-chronicles.com. The Mommyhood Chronicles features recipes, innovative parent-helper products (like trendier versions of baby gates), and children's activities ideas. Brands associated with the blog include Zum Zum Bikes and Build-a-Bear. Melissa features many product giveaways and boasts an established readership, so her advocacy is highly valued. 

A snapshot of Melissa's post for a safety barrier producer. http://www.the-mommyhood-chronicles.com/

Numerous other parenting blogs exist. Each has a specific tone. The key? Find a popular blogger whose interests match your company mission. Blog influencers can become your top allies as you market better products for happier families. 

Please note: Images belong to the respective blog owners and are protected under copyright.