The Real Deal on Millennial Moms
October 28, 2013 · in
Content Marketing
In the last few months, the term ‘millennial’ has been used more and more frequently in research, surveys, and news article. One particular iteration of term that caught my eye is the millennial mom. What’s interesting about it is we’re narrowing down the overall mom focus to a specific subset of groups. This gets back to my point about marketing to moms based on their stage in life, not her gender. There are many moms that are not considered millennials, but those that are share similar childhood experiences, understanding of technology, cultural reference points, and more.
Let’s start by defining the millennial mom. Who is she? Millennial moms are defined as women born between ‘82 (some definitions say ‘78) and ‘94. They make the majority of the household decisions and many hold a full-time job. They are very active on social media, savvy with new and upcoming technology, and have a disposable budget to spend.
These are moms who don't think of themselves as moms, but as women, and they want marketers to speak to them as adults, not in baby talk. These are women who grew up with technology in elementary, middle, and high school and feel very comfortable with multiple devices and the newest digital trends. In fact, they rely on digital in their everyday life - from the alarm on her smartphone in the morning to driving directions to the next play date to social media for a fun and healthy dinner recipe.
From all that I’ve read about the millennial mom, here are few key characteristics that consumer brands should keep in mind as they target this audience:
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Connected - Moms rarely let their smartphones out of their sight. Literally. According to Edison Research, nearly 90% of moms say their phone is almost always within an arm’s length. With their phones, they’re not just texting and making calls, they’re spending a lot of time on social media. With the millennial mom, it’s rare to be out of touch for too long, which opens up many doors for brands to connect.
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Social - It’s worth noting just how social millennial moms are. They spend almost a full day - over 17 hours - each week on social networks like Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook. These moms don’t simply communicate with friends and family on social, but they’re looking for recommendations from other moms, reviews of products, creative ideas, helpful solutions to everyday problems, and much more. This social presence is powerful, especially knowing that more than 90% of consumers trust recommendations from their peers more than anything else. When it comes to millennial moms, brands will want to take note of their social activity and see how they can make an authentic impact on these networks.
- Influential - Gone are the days where the man chooses the car and manages the family budget. Millennial moms were raised to be independent and self-sufficient. They know how to run a household - from making key buying decisions to coordinating or making repairs to managing the budget. One reason for this could be that about one third of millennial moms are single, according to a reber by Weber Shandwick.
In today’s world, about 1 in 5 moms is a millennial mom. This makes up a substantial market opportunity for brands and many are jumping on this valuable opportunity. Fisher-Price just announced that they will target millennial moms this holiday season, with a particular focus on digital media. Now is the time to assess how many of your customers fall into the millennial mom category and develop key strategies to reach them in the coming months.
Posted by Katie Petrillo