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The Motherhood Research Reveals How Sponsored Content Leads to Purchase

January 28, 2016 by The Motherhood

When researching products and making a purchase, consumers turn to real people whose opinions they value.

There has been a shift in online advertising, and consumers are less receptive to intrusive ads and impersonal brand messaging. Digital ad-blockers are now among the most popular app downloads, and to continue reaching target consumers online, brands are increasingly turning to sponsored content on blogs and social media.

Authentic, high-quality online content, developed by influencers, represents the future of public relations and digital marketing. However, the need to track how these sponsored content campaigns lead to consumers making a purchase is a critical challenge.

To help determine what kinds of messages encourage brand affinity and consumer purchase, The Motherhood asked more than 700 blog readers from across the country to share insights on how they consume online content, including sponsored content – and its impact on what they buy.

Creating Trust

I’m definitely more likely to trust another mom than I am to trust a brand advertisement.

Social media and blogs present the unique opportunity to build a sense of community and trust with others like us, and also for brands to authentically connect with consumers. Online influencers have created tribes of followers, made up of people who have similar interests and who value their opinions.

Blog readers highly value bloggers’ perspectives and recommendations. As a result, readers share those recommendations with their own communities in real life and online, creating a ripple effect. With 86 percent of readers talking to others offline about topics they’ve seen in blogs and on social media, sponsored content not only influences direct readers, but also the readers’ social circle, creating a trust circle with exponential reach.

Readers aren’t Buyers — Yet

Personal stories I’ve read always weigh in my mind when making a decision about a product.

While consumers are reading blog posts and social media, they are just that – readers. A common misconception is that when an individual reads a blog or social post about a product they will immediately click through to purchase. Our study found that the influence of online content extends beyond that initial read.

After reading a blog post, the majority of consumers keep the information in mind for when they’re actively considering making a purchase in the future, and only 13 percent make a purchase right away. When evaluating the effectiveness of social media programs at driving sales, brand marketers need to recognize that there is most often a gap between the initial impression and the time when the consumer is ready to buy.

Making a Purchase

One of the best things about the internet is that you can get all sorts of opinions on all sorts of things. You just have to connect with people who like what you like for the reasons you like.

However, when readers are ready to buy, brands they’ve read about online and those their friends have mentioned rise to the top of their minds. Although The Motherhood’s research found that making a purchase isn’t necessarily an immediate action, future purchases are very often influenced by sponsored content online: the vast majority of consumers stated they are more likely to purchase from a brand they’ve read about on a blog or in social media.

Want to know more? See the entire infographic below for the complete results of The Motherhood’s research!

Three Ways to Get the Most Happiness for Your Dollar

November 5, 2015 by The Motherhood

If you found $20 on the ground what would you spend it on and why? (Get creative.)

Yesterday, members of The Motherhood team were asked this question during an event hosted by the Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence, featuring Michael Norton, an associate professor of business administration at the Harvard Business School. Norton is a widely recognized expert on the behavioral economics of investment: how investing time, money and labor can influence the way people come to value things from products to personal relationships.

Norton shared surprising data on the many ways prosocial spending – or spending money on others, rather than yourself – can help you get the most happiness for your dollar, create happier employees and provide “happier” products for your customers.

Our favorite quote by Michael Norton from the event was: “Rather than collecting people, spend time connecting with people.”

Norton expanded on these concepts and how they can easily be applied in daily life, corporate HR and marketing campaigns:

Buy experiences, not things.

Experiences increase in value over time as we cherish the associated memories. When we personally make things, they become a source of happiness in our lives. This can be applied to marketing tactics as well – creating a great consumer experience leads to a higher perceived value. Norton drove this point home when he said, “It’s easy to compare stuff. It’s not easy to compare experiences. Therefore, with experiences, everybody wins.”

Do not underestimate the value of time.

Often, we value our time even more than money. Using time as currency, such as giving time back to employees as a bonus, can be just as valuable, create big rewards, and improve corporate morale.

Invest in others and in turn you are investing in yourself.

Prosocial spending leads to a a higher perceived value of a dollar. Designate a set amount of money for employees/customers to donate to a charity of their choice on the company’s behalf, rather than the company designating a single blanket donation. This creates a higher sense of philanthropy spread throughout the entire organization.

There has been a shift in purchasing behavior as consumers focus on fulfillment through experiences, not things. In the marketing world, leveraging advertising campaigns to create experiences around products and brands is key in connecting with modern day consumers, which includes more than just millennials.

What are some ways you get more happiness for your dollar?

Survey Findings Uncover Moms’ Most Trusted Brands [Infographic]

October 19, 2015 by The Motherhood

Online reviews and social media word-of-mouth platforms have led to the age of the connected shopper. Consumers turn to friends, family and online reviews for advice prior to purchase, and specifically, more than 63 percent of moms ask other moms for advice and consider them the most credible experts when they have questions. With access to all this information, 76 percent of consumers develop opinions about a brand long before they reach the point of purchase.

So, which brands are getting it right?

In March 2015, The Motherhood asked more than 320 moms in the United States which household brands they most trusted. Unaided questions delivered unprompted and top-of-mind opinions and statements to capture the truest consumer opinions, attitudes and most likely actions. Here’s what we learned:

In northern states, the most trusted makeup brand is CoverGirl, but in southern states, M.A.C. is the most trusted brand.
OshKosh is the most trusted baby/kids’ clothing brand. [The Motherhood has worked with OshKosh on several past sponsored blog tours. Read about our award-winning campaign around back-to-school style here.]
Moms who shop at boutique-style kids’ clothing stores are most likely to name Luvs brand and cloth diapers as their most trusted diapers.
LEGO is the most trusted kids’ toy brand in the Midwest.
Kroger is the most trusted grocery store.
The second most trusted laundry detergent brand, ALL, is most likely to be trusted in conjunction with Lysol cleaning products.
AT&T subscribers are the most likely to list Apple (iPhone) as their top trusted phone brand.

The Motherhood’s clients include a number of the brands moms named as their most trusted, such as: Aveeno, Neutrogena, OshKosh B’gosh, Carter’s, Walmart, Kellogg’s, Clorox, Lysol and Seventh Generation.

Check out the full infographic below to learn more about our survey findings on moms’ most trusted brands:

Did you find any of the survey results interesting or surprising? Let us know in the comments!

Social Media News for the Back-to-School Season

August 24, 2015 by The Motherhood

We can hardly believe that the end of summer is drawing near! As we get acclimated to the fall season and back-to-school routine, it can be easy to miss what’s going on in the social media world. Here are a few important social media news announcements that were made in the last week.

Before last week, Twitter’s API only gave access to 30 days of historical data. But that changed last Tuesday when the company announced it would now be offering Full-Archive Search API. Users now have instant access to every tweet ever—that’s more than 500 billion tweets! We are particularly excited about this update as it will allow brands to better gain insights to their audiences. Agencies can also use this tool to determine the success and effectiveness of past marketing campaigns and strategies, giving them insight to create even more impactful campaigns in the future.

Remember the long-lost Facebook Notes feature? You very well may be see it appear in your newsfeed soon, as the social media giant is revamping its Notes feature. The company is still testing the feature, which has a very Medium-like blog appearance. Facebook told Fast Company that it is looking for easier ways for people to create and read longer-form stories on the platform. New abilities to come with the Notes feature could include tagging people, resizing photos and adding links and hashtags. Take a look at the updated format here, written by one of Facebook’s employees.

This week, Periscope, a live streaming app, announced that it has more than 10 million accounts! This is incredible news, considering that the platform launched just a little over four months ago. Periscope reported that approximately 40 years’ worth of livestreaming footage is being watched every day with their app! If you’re considering using Periscope for your company, here’s an article listing some ways brands are using the app.

Are you pinning back-to-school ideas on Pinterest? If so, your pins are among the 172 million back-to-school pins on Pinterest. This blog post from Pinterest revealed that from July to September, there has been a 290 percent increase in pinning related to the back-to-school season. If you’re looking reach pinners this fall, it might be worth taking a look at this list of back-to-school trending topics.

Now that you’re up to speed on social media news, comment to tell us what you think of these developments!

The Motherhood and The Stork OTC Reach 57 Million with New, At-Home Option for Those Trying to Conceive

April 30, 2015 by The Motherhood

Today, approximately 7.3 million pairs of would-be parents (1 in 6 couples) in the U.S. have difficulty conceiving, and most treatments are slow, invasive and costly. To help address this widespread issue, Rinovum Women’s Health, approached The Motherhood about a partnership to bring attention to the new over-the-counter availability of a product called The Stork OTC conception aid, a less invasive, less expensive treatment option for those trying to conceive (previously only available via prescription).

We engaged a team of 30 bloggers comprised of moms who experienced difficulty conceiving and could offer a personal perspective or had a special interest in writing about fertility and sharing options with their readers. In partnership with the team of talented bloggers, The Motherhood executed a three-phased blog tour that generated a collection of meaningful blog posts and created a robust dialogue about infertility.

The Motherhood also produced and hosted two one-hour Twitter chats: one to help build awareness as soon as The Stork OTC appeared on store shelves and online, and one later in the program to continue momentum.

The program resulted in more than 57 million impressions from 34 blog posts and more than 8,000 social media posts. The final month of the campaign alone generated more than 5,000 unique website visits from one single blogger, with more than 16% of those visitors prompting online retailers to sellout of the devices within 24 hours.