Did you know 20% of US toys are ordered online? In recent times, online marketing by parents has grown broadly. If you are marketing to parents, then by now I am sure that you would have discovered that this group is the greatest revenue generator.
So, in this article, we are going to go all in and talk about how your brand can effectively start marketing and advertising to parents. This blog will cover tips for targeting experienced parents, first-time parents, single parents, millennial parents, and even LGBTQ parents.
It is going to be a fun and informative ride. However, before getting into that, a lot of people always ask me if marketing to parents is easy.
So, let me begin this journey from there. Let’s first understand if marketing to parents is going to be easy or a tough roller-coaster ride. Are you ready? Let’s go.
So, is Marketing to Parents Easy?
The digital revolution has improved parenting skills. The internet age has also made life much more convenient for parents struggling to handle the thousands of activities they need to achieve in one day.
Many are learning parenting lessons from YouTube tutorials. A recent survey by Newsroom showed that parents are much more enthusiastic about the potential of emerging technology like AI, Smart Home devices, drones, and more.
Hence, if you are marketing to parents, they’re waiting to meet you online!
Even though parents are financially secure and constantly searching for goods and services that suit their needs, they can be a difficult group to target as well.
What I mean is, Some parents are proactive for starters and others are reactive.
In addition to this, moms and dads are renowned for having busy schedules and multitasking all the time. This can make gaining their attention and holding it long enough to make a sale very difficult.
Overwhelmed? Don’t worry, We have some points below that can help you with your marketing to parents with young kids and stay focused long enough to grab the attention of your target audience.
4 Effective Marketing Tips to Reach More Parents
The points below could help you stay focused and grab the attention of your target audience – parents.
1. Focus on Brand Authenticity While Marketing to Parents
How do they want to know your brand?
This should be the question you should constantly ask yourself while you are marketing to parents.
Many parents prefer brands they see authenticity in.
Now since they are mainly and mostly shopping for the betterment and well-being of their children, brand authenticity is primary to them.
So you have to make your products and services and market them to the parents, keeping the brand voice and personality real, exclusive, genuine, and easy enough, without moving into slimy marketing.
Related: A Comprehensive Guide to Conversational Marketing
2. Win Their Trust While Marketing to Parents
The trust factor is another one of the most important elements when it comes to marketing to parents.
Since parents with young children are mostly out to get products that serve their children well, they need a brand that ensures trust and safety for their children.
So while you are marketing to parents, begin with focusing on creating and retaining the trust factor.
Because trust with these parents will make your brand their priority and you will gain loyalty.
How’s that for marketing to parents?
3. Adopt Interactive and Responsive Way While Marketing to Parents
The next point to remember while marketing to parents is remembering how important parents are to your brand.
Therefore, you should also look at the community as a whole since the parents are into the same when they’re on social media.
So while you interact with parents on a regular and real-time basis, they will tell the community about the same when they get delighted and other parents will follow suit.
With parents, word of mouth matters because other parents want the tried, tested, and trusted brands for their children too.
So, find ways to help parents get engaged with each other and your company.
Moreover, build support networks online, and more. There are so many ways for your consumers to make social media even social-er.
Related: Warning! Why is Your Digital Advertising Campaign Harming Your Brand?
4. Get Creative While Marketing to Parents
It is imperative in today’s world that we be creative and unique when we are marketing our products and services not just to parents but to the audience as a whole.
As Nicholas Sparks said, “What it’s like to be a parent: It’s one of the hardest things you’ll ever do but in exchange, it teaches you the meaning of unconditional love.”
You need to think ahead about ways to make your brand connect even more with parents and their children.
Come up with online series that keep parents visiting your page constantly, build videos and tutorials that provide support, and most importantly, always strive for ideas that add real value in addition to just highlighting your product.
“A brand must therefore demonstrate its importance, showing parents it nurtures, educates, evokes the creativity of their children, feeds their imaginations, reinforces the positive or helps them develop.”
Parents would happily say ‘yes’ to a brand like this.
6 Tips for Marketing to Millennial Parents
Millennial parents have a different way of parenting.
A ThinkWithGoogle report suggests that 74% of millennial parents involve their children in buying decisions.
Therefore, if you want to practice marketing effectively to millennial parents, then you should be careful about a few things. Look at the pointers below.
Be Authentic
Authenticity always works for any brand. So keep your messaging power genuine and trustworthy. Try to avoid exaggerating things and jargon.
Remember one thing, millennials, and their kids are least focussed on brand. They don’t want to be sold. Genuine information is important for millennial parents.
They have a habit of verifying everything. So you need to be very careful while marketing to them. You can focus on making an emotional connection with them instead of selling to them.
Since today’s world is more focused on virtual grounds, your brand can go for a more authentic approach.
A ThinkWithGoogle report suggests that 3 out of 4 millennial parents prefer watching videos of brands to understand their authenticity.
Therefore, try to develop a connection with them by asking questions and making short videos while answering them. You can use Yay Images as they have a collection of 13.5 million royalty-free stock photos and video clips.
Embrace the Diversity
Diversity is the most attractive and striking feature among millennial parents.
There are many divisions among millennial parents. While some are single parents, new parents of this generation, multi-generational homes, and many more.
So, come up with ideas that cater to the needs of all of them. Your diversity and versatility should speak everything about you and your brand.
Address all of them in a balanced way. Your products may not be able to address the needs of all categories but try to think on all grounds to reach the millennial parents.
Be Direct With Your Approach
For millennial parents, direct touch is more valued in comparison to other marketing efforts.
Moreover, online platforms are more popular among millennial parents than traditional ones. So you have a great opportunity to create a robust digital presence for your brand and target them in a way that they choose you over others.
If you are active on social media handles, you can do a quick audit of it along with your website.
As parents, it is easy for them to know about schools and other relevant grounds through online mediums.
Moreover, the design and format of your website and social media handle also matter a lot. It should be easily accessible and should be messy.
Messy formats might create frustration among millennial parents and they might not reach out to your business. So always be direct of your selling points, value propositions, and brand persona.
Build a Strong Social Media Presence
Social media is a very strong medium these days. As explained in the above point, social media can attract larger audiences. So aim at building a clear, focused, and structured social media presence.
It helps in adding value to millennial parents.
Moreover, social media has helped millennial parents a lot in the process of parenting. They also used these platforms to share pictures of their babies and get greater attention.
So, if you don’t have a strong social media presence, then you are missing on very important grounds.
You can target millennial parents to stay engaged when they are involved in sharing your content with others, searching for parenting trends, parenting advice, and many more.
So keep coming up with such interesting content to get their attraction. Doing this will surely make them try your brand.
Related: The Power of Copywriting for Social Media Success
Related: 3 Rock-Solid Steps To Create Effective Social Media Engagement Strategy
Make Your Brand Experience Easy and Comfortable
Brand experience matters a lot when it comes to accessing online platforms. The same is the situation with millennial parents.
Most of them do not have time to search deep through your website to get information. Rather they want to get important information just in front of their eyes and in an easy manner.
For example: If you have sent a particular mail to these millennial parents citing a giveaway of a coupon, they won’t search it if you put it deep inside your website. Rather they want it to be accessed easily and in a convenient way. So you can put your giveaway offer on the front page of your website. This will surely attract lots of people to try your product.
Invest in E-Commerce Options
This is a very good idea to attract millennial parents. As most of them prefer online platforms for their convenience, your eCommerce business will help you reach out to them easily. If you have international customers, you can use Easyship to make international shipping easy, trackable and convenient for your customers. This will definitely increase their satisfaction with your products.
As per the Invespcro report, 54% of millennials make their purchases online while 81% of millennials shop online at least a month.
So, this is a great opportunity for you to get ahead in the market competition by targeting millennial parents.
When millennials do not have much time, e-commerce offers a seamless experience to their purchases. You connect easily with them and develop an effective brand-customer connection.
So go for investing in the eCommerce platform. This will surely help you in marketing the millennial parents most appropriately.
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6 Tips for Marketing to New Parents
Marketing to new parents can be challenging sometimes. Do you know why? Because they are new to this whole parenting world and they constantly feel like they are walking on eggshells.
So, coming up with ideas to market your product to them, requires extra effort.
We will give you a few tips to effectively market them and grab their attention.
Provide Clear Information
Clear information serves as the best way to market your products to them. New parents are always concerned about getting information that best serves their child’s needs.
Also, make them understand the information you are providing and how it is best for their kid.
For example, if you are a baby skincare brand, then explain how your product is better than others. You can tell that your product is organic with no chemicals in it.
Additionally, you can give them clear directives of how and when to use the product you are offering.
This will give them the information they are seeking and lessen their anxiety.
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Offer Support and Assistance to Them
New parents may be unaware of many things in terms of which products and services best suit their kids. They always remain anxious to avail the best things that they can.
So you have a great opportunity in your hands to market your product to them that solves their anxiety.
Be supportive and provide all assistance to them. For instance, if you are a hygiene product brand and very active on social media, you can regularly post content advising them on how to maintain kids’ hygiene.
Then you can subtly promote your kids’ hygiene products.
This will make new parents relate to their needs and buy from you.
Haven’t tried such a thing yet? Go and try.
Focus on Reviews
New parents always rely on reviews before buying any product for their kids.
I am sure your parents would have done the same but in a traditional way like asking for other parents residing in your neighborhood, or your relatives. Afterall all parents care for their kids.
With changing times, the trend has changed a bit. New parents these days rely on online reviews. They read hundreds of them to choose one product.
So, if you want your brand to be loyal and trustable, then you must gain positive reviews for your products and services.
Research Concerns of New parents
For an effective marketing plan for new parents, you need to have a thorough understanding of what their needs and problems might be. This requires research and study to design your marketing plan.
Do not hurry, but go about step by step. This will let you understand them most efficiently and come up with nest ideas to sell your products to them.
Add an emotional touch to it. This will hit their minds directly.
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Focus on Customer Protection
Customer protection helps you in safeguarding the buyers of your goods and services against unfair practices.
New parents do not want to be misled, so if your brand is really offering them protection, they are all yours.
This will not only help you in retaining your customers but also develop trust in your brand. It also enables them to make the best choices as per their wants without being misled.
For instance, if you are a baby monitor brand powered with AI technology that understands when your baby is about to wake up from a nightmare, you are in a way telling them that the parents can reach their baby before they wake up terrified.
This way, you are protecting them, right?
Give them all information on how your product will protect your kids from unnecessary information. This is going to help your brand for sure.
Make your Brand Interesting
New parents of this age like creative and interesting products or services that assist their kids. So whichever brand it is, add a little creativity to it.
If you aim at giving information to new moms, you can try targeting them on Facebook related to effective child care and growth in terms of your product.
For example, if you deal with blankets and beddings for kids, tell the parents that it is covered with fur that will give ultra comfort to their kids. This is something unique that can help you get the attraction.
6 Tips for Marketing to Single Parents
Marketing to single parents can sound a bit challenging initially but it is not impossible.
It just requires a defined approach and understanding of their challenges to make them attracted to your products. This will make your task simple and help you in easy targeting.
Come let us look at a few tips.
Acknowledge Their Challenges
No matter which brand you are, you need to start by acknowledging the challenges of single parents.
This will make your target audience think that you care for them. Connect with them in the best possible ways and show concern for all their needs.
Acknowledge the challenges that they face regularly. You can also gain customer loyalty through this practice.
Also, remember one thing, your actions speak louder than your words. Prove your point by your action and not just through words.
Make an emotional bonding with them and cater to their needs. Align to your goals and provide the best experience to your customers.
Include Their Kids
When you are marketing to single parents, you need to take extra care of their kids as well.
If you are appealing to their children, chances are single parents will be appealed to you.
Do not forget to include them in your marketing strategy. Just ask one simple question yourself. Is my product child-friendly? This will solve most of your queries.
Make it connect to the children as well even if your product is not for them. This will help single parents to automatically connect to their children and make them try your product.
For example, Ikea is not a store for kids but it showcases a supervised play area that ensures the kids can have fun while their parents show to shop the products.
Similarly, popular fast-food chains can also provide free meals to the kids to attract both parents and their children.
Make Your Brand Service Easy
Put efforts to make your brand’s service effortless. This will help the single parents to put off some burden on their shoulders.
For example, if you’re a restaurant brand, you can give free delivery service to them. Or if you are a home furnishing brand, you can offer flexible setting up slots that are aligned with their schedules.
You can also come up with an app to place orders with interesting deals. Make your website mobile-friendly as single parents might have lots of things to manage.
Build Community
Focus on building a similar community that comprises similar families of varied types. Instead of focusing only on single parents, focus on other parents and kids who share things in common.
You can make an online group and involve both their parents and children in some playful activities while you market your product. This will help in forming a long-lasting impression on your customer’s mind.
Moreover, a community with a large variety of people in it will bring more diversity and excitement to the lives of single parents and their kids.
This will make them more attracted to your brand. As you’ll be focused on more than just selling your products.
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Help Single Parents Save Their Time
Most single parents are time-starved. They need to manage numerous things independently.
So, think of ways to increase speed and convenience. Start capitalizing on them. This will make them attracted to you and stay consistent with purchasing from you.
For instance, if you are a restaurant brand and provide healthy food as fast as fast food, then you are adding a huge benefit to fit in their busy schedule.
Take Part in Philanthropy
When your business takes care of serving a little for human welfare, it is always more attractive than all other brands.
It means that you know the value of humans. You do not only aim at a profit but also care for humankind.
As a single parent, a person is more likely to prefer a brand that is inclined with similar causes.
So, align with the causes that are of concern to your customers. Try to develop a connection, if it makes sense to your business.
If it does, they do not take a backstep. Go ahead and put all your efforts into engaging with the audience.
Moreover, children-centric and family-centric causes are the top choices of single parents. Keep these things in mind and you are good to go with single-parent marketing.
How to Use Social Media for Marketing to Parents?
Social media platforms are widely used all over the globe by all age groups and parents are not an exception.
These days parents are largely engaged on social media to satisfy their needs which relate to their children and family members. Data by Edison Research shows that 92% of moms use social media.
Parents spend a great deal of time researching for appropriate information to buy certain products. It can relate to things such as health, clothing, cooking, food, and many more.
They are also engaged in reading blogs and articles. So the technique to reach out to them is through great content. Understand your audience and their interest to practice effective marketing.
Use Short Content
Use short and crisp content to hit their minds and make a long-lasting impression. Use creative language to interact with them.
Remember parents are probably browsing through social media for a very short time, so that is all you have to gain their attention. Use it wisely.
This will help you in attracting new and new customers. Videos are a good option to practice marketing on social media.
You can also make Instagram reels or stories and advertise your products most engagingly. This will help you garner greater engagement.
Provide information that is both useful and compelling. Do not just focus on selling your product instead be a force that can drive change by way of social media marketing.
Focus on Unique Ideas
Come up with unique and interesting ideas. You can look to your competitors in this respect and see how they are using social media to market their products to parents.
Also, make your social media presence genuine and authentic. Parents usually cross-check everything before they buy a product. So, build trust through social media campaigns. This will add all the value to all parents.
Do not just copy-paste what you see, rather take an idea from it and design your own marketing campaign.
Encourage Your Users
Besides all these encourage engagement. Make social media a bit social and communicate with parents on all platforms.
It is not only for selling your product but also adding fun while they experience your brand. Post things that parents would find interesting.
It can include millennial parents, new parents, single parents, LGBTQ parents, and also older parents. So be diverse and come up with engaging content for all age group parents.
Also do not over-promote your product on social media. Parents do not like an exaggeration.
Instead, build an emotional connection with them to promote your product to them. Do not sell too hard instead create enjoyable content.
Successful Marketing to Parents Examples
While there are many brands that are pro at their game in marketing to parents. There are few that always stood out to the parents more than others.
Let’s look at a few examples of brands that successfully cater to both kids and parents.
While this isn’t obviously an exhaustive list, it will surely give you insight on how to go about when you are marketing your brand to parents.
P and G
It is very important for brands to communicate with parents as they are the ones who look after the needs of their children.
P and G created a different kind of ad where it encouraged cross-cultural communications.
This helped in building emotional trust with the brand.
So, It created a video called “The Talk,” about the discussion black parents have with their kids, particularly with self-esteem and appearance.
The initiative has raised the popularity of the program to its target audience but has delivered an inclusive message that all customers need to hear.
Johnson & Johnson
Who doesn’t love the babies in the advertisements that Johnson & Johnson displays? I can’t help but watch the whole ad, just to look at the kids.
Johnson’s marketing strategies are composed of material, including infographics and video, which illustrate how baby bath time can actually play a major role in improving baby senses and stimulating brain growth.
This attracts the new parents particularly as they want their children to have the best products they can get. Sounds like some connect right?
Lego
Toy brands wouldn’t forget that parents have an important place in toy choice!
Kids can surely pester their parents to buy a particular toy for them, but parents will only pull through when they know the product is safe for their child.
However, you might be surprised, or maybe not so, but parents aren’t the only ones who buy toys for children.
So, who else buys kids’ toys?
Apart from parents, grandparents are ahead in buying toys for their grandchildren and account for mostly 31.5 percent of toy purchases whereas children who buy are just 1.60 percent.
So one of the leading toy companies has also been an ace in marketing to parents, grandparents, and even kids.
There are even two corners on the website of Lego for Kids and Parents. Not only should brands be a corporation, but they should also be partners in advocating for children.
In fact, Lego uses TV violence examples to alert the parents about the risks to the children of the new technologies.
It offers a lot of campaigns to bring together parents and children to share a fun play experience.
Global Game Changers
Apart from the conventional brands that are marketing to parents, It is important that educational institutions should also indulge in marketing to parents and tell them the value they deliver for their children.
One such brand is Global Game Changers.
Partnering with Bizadmark, Global Game Changers initiative, created ads that simultaneously cater to parents and children.
Their emotional appeal to the parents and teachers is what makes their marketing strategy one look up to.
Sharing knowledge through television ads, sponsored ads, and other creative posts about the need to discover and enhance the superpowers that the children have.
Moreover, there is a reassurance that they are not alone in caring for their children and that our brand will always be a trusted partner in their parenting journey.
Key Takeaway: Marketing to Parents
Marketing to parents is tough and tricky, but having a proper understanding of their emotions and perceptions and how they operate is what will get you ahead in the game.
I know It can be difficult to reach parents in today’s fast-paced and busy digital era, but considering their traditional motives and buying methods, you’ll be on your way to gaining parent market share in your company.
The cycle is never-ending and there is a lot to explore. So are you ready for it?
There are a lot of millennial parents these days whose thought process differs from that of baby boomers, To get more information or if you would like to know more about it you can tap onto our Millennial marketing article for more insights.
This post contains affiliate links. Clicking on those won’t cost you anything but we might get a cup of coffee with that which can help us not fall asleep while writing our next article.
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Marketing to Parents FAQs
How do I Know the Right Message is Reaching my Target Parent Audience?
The beauty of advertising lies in creativity and data. Where creativity will help you send the message, data will help you understand how the message is being received. With analytics, you can find how the responses to your message and act accordingly.
How do I Reach Parents Who Aren’t Visiting my Website?
Firstly, you need to find out why. Then you need to carve out a digital marketing strategy tailor-made for parents you want to target. After that, you need to start giving them a reason to visit your website and become loyal to you.
Is Social Media Marketing Really the Endgame in Digital Marketing?
If you have seen Avengers, you will know even after the endgame, there is a long journey. That is the beauty of digital marketing, its a journey of growth and brand loyalty that you will gain, and social media adds the extra stars to it.
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