The Motherhood

Client Spotlight: Find Your Holiday Gifts at Barnes & Noble

December 4, 2015 by The Motherhood

Holiday shopping is full steam ahead, with more than 151 million shoppers over Black Friday weekend and $3 billion in sales for Cyber Monday (an increase of 12 percent from last year!). But before you finish your holiday shopping, read on to see the unique and creative holiday gifts found at Barnes & Noble this season!

We’re excited to work with Barnes & Noble to share some of the most unexpected holiday gifts that can be found in their stores nationwide. While the bookstore is well-known for its amazing and broad collection of classic and best-selling reads, there is so much more available beyond the book! Whether you’re searching for the perfect holiday host/hostess gift, toy ideas for your nieces or nephews or last-minute stocking stuffers, Barnes & Noble has it all.

Not only does the bookstore serve as a one-stop shop for your holiday shopping needs, it’s also a great place to enjoy the season with your family through in-store, family-centric events. The events range from book signings and Elf on the Shelf Adoption Days to How the Grinch Stole Christmas Story Time and various other children’s book readings. Check the online store finder to see what exciting events are happening near you!

The Motherhood team is using Barnes & Noble to give creative gifts this year. And to inspire your holiday shopping, here are some of our favorite gift ideas from their online gift guide:

“I’m picking up a couple of the Fair Isle Chunky Cable Knit 100% Cotton Throws. They look so cozy, and will be a perfect gift for several people on my list. I think I may also pick up an extra one as a grab bag gift!”
-Brittnee H.

“I was excited to see Barnes & Noble offered a great selection of vinyl records! I can’t wait to gift my friend with Adele’s newest album, 25.”
-Nicole

“I’d love to gift my cousin and her husband with the “Our Q&A a Day: 3-Year Journal for 2 People.” They were just married in October and I think this would be a fun, creative gift for the newlywed couple to enjoy!”
-Sarah

“After working with Barnes & Noble on our gift guide for the blogger campaign, I was inspired to visit my local store (in downtown Seattle) to kick off my Christmas shopping. I bought several gifts, notably the Buddha Board for a friend of mine who has been stressed at work, so it was a successful trip!”
-Erin

“I love the Buddha Board and already got it for two creative and artistic people on my list!”
-Cooper

“The Star Wars X-Wing Force Awakens Core Set looks like something my husband would love! He’s a Star Wars fanatic (we bought our tickets for opening day two months early) and he could add this to his collection of figurines he keeps in our living room!”
-Kayla

“I would love to gift my nieces The Polar Express and take them to the special reading event! It was one of my favorite books growing up and reading time is one of their favorite activities.”
-Kahlianne

“This Snap Circuits Jr. set is perfect for my nephews! They’re so curious and love to create, so this is the perfect gift to keep them occupied during snow days this winter.”
-Brittney C.

And remember, Barnes & Noble has items that go beyond the gift guide that could still be perfect for your friends and family. Emily of The Motherhood’s team said, “I love the ‘Awesome Gifts for Makers’! My daughter is a maker and loves new tools and gadgets and ways of building things, so this mix of gifts is just perfect for us. Out of all the terrific options, I’m getting her the LittleBits Deluxe Kit. She’s going to adore it. Thank you, Barnes & Noble!”

What’s on your shopping list this year?

Top photo credit: Barnes & Noble

This Giving Tuesday, Dance to Help Eradicate Polio

November 25, 2015 by The Motherhood

On Tuesday, December 1, 2015, The Motherhood will be celebrating the fourth annual Giving Tuesday (#GivingTuesday), a global day designed to support giving and philanthropy.

This year, we are working with United Nations Foundation’s Shot@Life campaign to champion vaccines – specifically, the polio vaccine – as one of the most cost-effective ways to save the lives of children in developing countries.

Did you know that we are 99% of the way to eradicating polio all together? In 1988, there were 350,000 cases of polio in 125 countries. Today there are 51 cases in two countries: Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Eradicating polio will have a long-lasting impact: it will generate savings of $50 billion over the next 20 years, and the expertise, infrastructure and personnel are already being applied to address other health challenges.

Can You Feel The Beat…To Beat Polio?

To support the cause, we’re encouraging you to dance to end polio. Why dancing? Polio is a viral illness that causes paralysis and impedes the ability to move, walk and dance. As long as it exists anywhere, it’s a threat to children everywhere. This Giving Tuesday, let’s join together and dance to raise awareness of the need to end polio once and for all!

It’s easy to get involved on Giving Tuesday:

Dance. Create a fun, short GIF or video involving your kids, other family members and/or friends dancing to create a polio-free world (to create GIFs, check out Boomerang).
Share. Then, share your GIF or video on social media using the hashtags #ShotatLife and #GivingTuesday, and tag your friends to encourage them to do the same.
Donate. Consider donating a small amount to support polio vaccines for children globally. You can donate here: www.ShotatLife.org/Donate.

Won’t you dance with us this Giving Tuesday and help end polio?

Why It’s Important to Know Search Trends for Thanksgiving

November 24, 2015 by The Motherhood

Marketers, especially food brand marketers, should take note that the holiday responsible for the highest number of recipe searches is upon us: Thanksgiving! The Motherhood team was interested in exploring search trends for Thanksgiving and made a number of delicious discoveries.

Updated: November 13th, 2017

Perhaps unsurprisingly for a holiday focused on food, Thanksgiving generates the highest number of online recipe searches compared to every other holiday. But knowing exactly when holiday searches spike can be beneficial for putting your brand in front of users most interested in your content at the most opportune time. For example, in this case, the data reveals a certain amount of procrastination when it comes to meal prep — searches for Thanksgiving recipes peak on Thanksgiving Day! But few advertisers implement marketing tactics for the actual day of the holiday, when doing so could potentially lead to significantly increased visibility and last-minute ingredient purchases.

Suggested Strategy #1: Solicit Evergreen Branded Content

When it comes to holidays like Thanksgiving, evergreen content is key. Creating branded content focused on holiday events will live on in search and social platforms.

According to Google Trends, searches relating to “Thanksgiving side recipes” increase by 400 percent in the month of November, and searches related to Thanksgiving desserts, recipes and easy recipes increase by 250 percent. Unless users filter searches to include specific dates, then branded blog posts, reviews and recipes from previous years will appear in current searches. That is a huge opportunity for brands to be seen again and again, year after year.

Suggested Strategy #2: Use Targeted Tactics

Using the available data and knowing where and when to focus your marketing tactics will help you leverage search trends for Thanksgiving to make your campaigns successful.

Curious what consumers are looking for in different areas of the country? Google has segmented the most popular Thanksgiving preparations by U.S. regions, based on search volume. Brining the turkey is most popular of searches, especially in the Northeast. For the South, it’s frying, and for the Midwest, smoking the turkey methods are most searched.

In the dessert category, it’s no surprise that pumpkin pie holds the title of top searched pie recipe across the country. And the day after Thanksgiving, searches related to desserts and what to do with leftovers spike. In fact, searches for “leftover recipes” hits an all time high three days after Thanksgiving each year!

Social platforms require targeted approaches, as well. For example, Pinterest reported that Thanksgiving pin trends for 2017 include painted pumpkin centerpiece decor and specialty diet (paleo, gluten free, dairy free, etc.) friendly takes on classic Thanksgiving dishes — both trends that brands could piggyback on at the right time for high exposure.

A Look at the Facebook Data

During the weekend before Thanksgiving, The Motherhood tracked the increased Facebook conversation around planning for the holiday, and we found some insights through anonymous topic data:

States most active in Thanksgiving cooking discussions: Texas, California, Florida, Georgia and New York
State with the most men talking about Thanksgiving cooking: California
Most popular topics: Turkey, easy, dinner, recipe, table (as compared to dinner, dessert, turkey, family, and cocktails in 2015)
Images were the most popular media type for posts about recipes and decor (as compared to video for posts about cocktails in 2015)
Most popular links were related to recipes and activities

Is your brand or blog aware of and taking advantage of these search trends for Thanksgiving?

We hope you enjoy a Thanksgiving full of good food (inspired by these great trends), friends and family!

Find Unexpected Gifts This Holiday Season at Barnes & Noble

November 23, 2015 by The Motherhood

We all know and love Barnes & Noble as a bookseller, but it’s also a fantastic one-stop shop for creative holiday shopping. In addition to books, you can find toys, games, technology, music, collectible items and more. Check out this gift guide for inspiration, or visit the online gift guide to search for the perfect items for your friends and family members:

As if you need other reasons to drop into Barnes & Noble, you can also find in-store events through November and December. Click here for specific details in your local area, and see this events calendar for an overview of events the whole family will enjoy:

The Motherhood is working with Barnes & Noble on a blog and social media campaign this holiday season. All thoughts and opinions are our own.

PR News’ Measurement Conference: How to Turn Data into Meaningful Insights

November 20, 2015 by The Motherhood

Earlier this week, The Motherhood team attended PR News’ Measurement Conference in Chicago to dig deeper into the topic of measurement and how to create an effective and accurate strategy that determines campaign successes. A number of prominent speakers from the world’s top brands and agencies shared valuable insights on how they measure PR and social media campaigns and create the case for C-level executive support.

Throughout the day, the biggest recurring theme was: turning data into insights is crucial to a measurement strategy. Here’s a look at some of our key takeaways from the event:

When Your Goals Are Clear, Your Results Are Clear

Before you begin a campaign, spend time discussing the desired results and clearly define goals and performance indicators. Also be sure that standard measurement practices are in place. Ask yourself which target audience you want to reach, what success looks like, and which key performance indicators (KPIs) can be used to measure success. Doing so will lead to shared understanding across the board and better reporting.

Invest in People, Not Software

Each day there is a shiny new platform for social analytics or influencer engagement, and these tools can be great for tracking and reporting success. However, they need to be supplemented with expertise in order to turn facts into insight. Creating or hiring a team that can communicate real analytics and insight from the mounds of data collected will lead to greater success.

Actionable Insights Move the Needle

Create a system of measurement that resonates with your team. Always ask “so what?” when reporting metrics, to move from simply reporting vanity metrics to reporting on outcomes with context. This process will help create informed data, which then leads to more actionable and insightful results.

Check out the #powerofPR hashtag on Twitter for insights and conversation shared during the conference.

Want to find out firsthand how The Motherhood creates valuable insights from campaigns? Let’s work together!