Marketers often dismiss the Mommy segment as a bunch of bored busybodies with nothing better to do than blog about their little child-rearing foibles in a self-obsessed blogosphere. While it might be true that moms (this one included) employ tunnel vision when it comes to thinking about their little ones, the Mommy Blogosphere is ripe with comments that could sink or swim a product before it gets off the ground.
Think about it this way - the connectivity and support offered to moms of my generation far surpass anything my mother could have imagined 30 years ago. When you rewind another 30 years to when my grandmother was having her kids, her mind is understandably blown away by the technology I use to connect with my peers. Add on top of that our traditional way of product panning or endorsement - talking to other moms in the grocery store, in the park or on the street - and you have a powerhouse of consumers who make or break your product.
We all remember the Motrin Moms fiasco, and the backlash from that still plays in our minds nearly two years later. Will you, as a mom, buy Motrin? Probably not. In the UK, Aptamil has had its own issues by trying - unsuccessfully - to entice mothers to follow on from breastmilk. I can't cite a source (except for one of our playgroups), but apparently only 1% of mothers make it to the 6 month mark of exclusive breastfeeding in the UK - perhaps the reason lies somewhere behind the clever Aptamil or Cow and Gate marketing. Hey, there's a lot of money in baby formula.
Even if my blog reaches 100 readers (which would be nice), telling you that John Lewis sleepers are the best, Sudocrem does nothing to help my daughter's rash (we use Bepanthen) and that the Fisher Price Rainforest Jumperoo is the best thing we've bought so far is just another element in our vast network. We belong to playgroups, online forums and baby clubs. 10 girls (and counting) from the LPSS class of 1999 have had babies in the last year, and we've connected on Facebook. We have our traditional ways of communicating, sure - but the reason why Mommy bloggers are such a tour de force online is because when you have a baby, the first thing you want after a good night's sleep are other moms who are dealing with the same things you are.
So, when you're marketing your new, baby-friendly product online, put yourself in the shoes of a Mommy Blogger. We're poised to make or break your effort, so market wisely.
