It's a Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom World

Mother’s Day may be in May, but the blogosphere reminds us that mom is to be cherished—forever and always.

I chatted via e-mail and Twitter with Cat, the creator of the mom blog 3 Kids and Us, which has made its way to #5 on the top 100 Mom Bloggers Club list. That’s quite a feat since the blog really just started (early summer 2008), and we bloggers know, it takes a LONG time to spread word-of-mouth or link-luv about a blog.

In 1999, it was reported that nearly 80-85 percent of women are the primary purchase decision-makers in the home, and Cat is quick to point out, “men just don’t make up that number, because moms are the researchers. As a mom, I want to make sure the products I use are safe for my family. All moms want that,” she said.

The explosion of moms on social networks has lead to some poignant acronyms as well: WAHM, SAHM, FTWM. There’s probably many more but that’s currently what’s out there on TwitterMoms profiles and online clubs such as Mom Bloggers Club, CaféMom, and Cat’s personal favorite, MomDot.com— because the founder Trisha knows how to keep moms connected while also offering a more personable, welcoming atmosphere. MomDot.com via its Ning social network garners a whopping 50,000 unique visitors per month, so according to Cat, “Trisha is doing something right.”

Don’t underestimate moms’ stamina in broadcasting her favorite events, news, or kids’ stories over a blog. Cat informed me she spends a total of 8 hours/day blogging, so it’s really a full-time gig with the added hustle and bustle around the home. The most surprising thing about mom blogs, particularly “3 Kids and Us,” regardless of the Web-click banner ads for monetization purposes: blogs are not a source of income for families. That sure shocked me, as I always figured top mom bloggers with high visitor traffic would be shoe-ins for a start-up entrepreneur contest entitled, “The Next Best Thing.”

As the telescopic lens of company brands has become more zoomed in on moms, so have the criticisms for doing things wrong. Though it’s not a requirement for brand managers to hire a social media mom (Lolita Carrico thinks so), Cat drives this mom message home:

“If a company wants to sell their product to a mom or her children, they need to take the time to speak with the people to whom they are marketing. Moms know what they want and need; we don’t want to be told by a suit why something is beneficial for our families when they themselves have no idea how the product will fit into our lives.”

So here’s to moms like Cat who are working really hard in energizing other moms and companies to do it right, and aren’t getting paid for it.

Updated: Motrin Moms and Why Listening is Important

If you haven't heard about the Motrin Moms commercial that sparked a wave of backlash against Motrin, you can watch the ad below:



This has led Twitter Moms and Dads to turn their commentary into the top trending topic on Twitter. Obviously, this is not something that Motrin wished for. Mothers were offended by the condescending tone that the ad takes towards Mothers who carry their babies, calling them 'fashionable' and an 'official Mom.' You can read more about this from the New York Times Parenting Blog.

How this could have been avoided:

Listening. It's as simple as that. If the people who created the ad had asked Twitter Moms what they thought about carrying their baby on their back, they probably would have created a commercial with a different tone. All of this could have been avoided with a simple sincere question to a group that is probably more than willing to give their opinion.

How Motrin has responded:
Motrins website is currently down and they have issued an apology.

This is what every large company fears about social media. You put your message out there and people rip it apart. This should not discourage companies from engaging in social media, but it likely will. When an agency presents a social media campaign to an executive, they will likely say "well we don't want our company to be the next Motrin, lets just play it safe."

This is not a reason to stay away from social media. It is more so a reminder that you really need to be connected with your audience and know what they are thinking. Social media allows you to directly connect with customers on a personal level. If Motrin was involved in an online community when the ad was released, they could have responded in a much quicker and sincere way. Instead they are left with an email apology. Effective social media is all about listening and caring about what your audience is saying. Motrin has an opportunity to come back with a sincere message to Twitter moms. Will they capitalize on that opportunity?



What are your thoughts?


UPDATE: Motrin.com is back up and they have posted an apology.



Am I the only person who thinks this might actually be good for Motrin? After all, they are criticizing the advertising not the product itself. To some degree this reminds me of when the new Microsoft ads with Jerry Seinfeld came out. People railed against the ads saying how they were pointless and a waste of money. In this case people are finding the advertisement offensive. In both cases they were called bad advertisements. Both advertisements have generated a lot of word of mouth.

Motrin has given a sincere apology. People will eventually forgive them and realize that it was just a poorly worded advertisement. For all the negative feedback this ad has received, it has generated a massive amount of word of mouth (at least on Twitter) which I believe will cancel out any negative feelings against Motrin.

Do you agree or disagree?

Another thought: You know how Motrin could have given the most sincere apology? A YouTube video. Just a short video apology from one of the creators of the video would have been a thousand times more effective than the statement on their website. The statement has no personality to it.