Around the halls of BSM Media, we call the opportunity Back to College and it begins on May 1^st, the day that most colleges and universities require a commitment for accepted students. According to BSM Media research, an average of $800 worth of dorm- and college-bound products are purchased in the time between the days that acceptance letters go out to the day of high school commencement exercises. Moms and college bound students are both mutually excited about the next phase of life and ready to become part of the college community.

May is a great time for technology, dorm organization and dorm décor companies to launch their Back to Campus marketing and engagement. In 2016, BSM Media created and executed a successful campaign for At Home stores with a signature event called National College Move-In Week. Influencer marketing campaigns, in-store events and guerilla marketing tactics on college campuses were just a few of the online and offline efforts that drove traffic to At Home stores and built brand awareness on social media, to the tune of millions of impressions and engagements for the brand. Here are just a few ideas to take advantage of the money moms are spending getting their students ready for dorm and apartment life.

• Graduation gifting: It’s a great time to use social media to suggest graduation gifts, not only to moms but also grandparents, aunts and siblings. Food providers like Chipotle, Five Guys and Starbucks have the opportunity to push gift card sales.
• Technology: Every mom wants to send her student off to college with the newest technology and those large purchases make sense for gifting around graduation.   If you offer a college student discount, now is the time to communicate and perhaps extend it to students with acceptance letters. Retail sharing tactics are proven tools to reach collegiate consumers and their parents.
• Pinterest Shopping: Time to beef up Pinterest boards. Students are eager to plan the look of their dorm room or apartment. They are searching now for ideas. Create boards that incorporate your product into the dorm or apartment environment.

Moms and their college-bound students are shopping now through move-in week in the fall. There is still time to implement BSM Media tactics. It’s an exciting time for students and parents, and a valuable opportunity for brands.

BSM Media offers several tactics that don’t require a huge spend on ad campaigns or a long lead, including Social Spotters, video reviews, social media tours and Twitter Parties that leverage the speed and flexibility inherent in social media. Social media campaigns also convey a valuable message that resonates with today’s busy moms: brands that understand the “Mom Calendar” are brands that understand moms.

From now through July, start speaking to the circles on moms’ calendars with these opportunities:

1. School Parties and Teacher Gifts: The end of the school year is right around the corner, which means end-of-year celebrations. For brands that offer catering and party supply items, this is a great opportunity to offer easy solutions for moms to organize class parties. Teacher gifts are also a popular topic in the carpool line. Brand alignments in this category are abundant. Think pampering gifts, pool or beach items, gift cards for restaurants and clothing brands, etc. BSM Media’s Social Spotters program drives traffic to retail locations where mom influencers will highlight party and gift ideas for almost any product imaginable.
2. Kindergarten graduation: Millennial Moms celebrate everything and this is certainly a big milestone. This youngest generation of moms is spending on gifts, photo items, clothing and food for celebrations around this special day.
3. Back to Campus: May and June are busy months as many high school seniors commit to their colleges of choice. It’s an exciting time for both college-bound millennials and their parents. The excitement leads to college dorm and apartment shopping, to the tune of $800 average per student based on a survey by BSM Media. Research also shows that 48% of all college décor items are purchased in May and June by parents and students eager to prepare for their new home away from home. If you are a brand with an interest in Back to Campus sales, BSM Media can help you reach college-bound millennials.
4. Summer Stockpiling: Every mom is looking forward to warmer weather and many are now preparing for summer activities. Moms in Florida typically fill Easter baskets with bathing suits and beach towels along with chocolate bunnies. Having known this last week would have opened the door to unique marketing opportunities. It’s not too late as northern moms are just ramping up their summer spending now looking for spring attire, bathing suits and flip flops for their families. They are also looking for organizational items to store winter coats and warm clothing.
5. Outdoor Dining: Moms change their cooking habits when the weather warms up and school ends for summer break. Families turn to the grill and outdoor dining. If you are a food brand that lends itself to grilling, share recipes on your Facebook page and engage moms to share with other followers.
6. Mother’s Day and Father’s Day: These are not exactly non-peak holidays, considering that US spending on Mother’s Day reached $24.6 billion and Father’s Day topped $14.3 billion (National Retail Federation) in 2016. Brand opportunities are too lengthy to list; you know who you are if your brand appeals to moms and dads.

It’s all about knowing what moms are doing in their day-to-day lives. While peak holidays are critical, taking a good look at moms’ calendars is an excellent way to capitalize on non-peak but equally important holidays that can boost brand awareness and the bottom line.

For information on nimble and effective programs with BSM Media, please email LauraMotsett@bsmmedia.com.

The MomSelect Swag Suite is traveling to Orlando, Florida this year! Headlined by HP and MyPrintly, the MomSelect event will gather more than 200 top Social Media Mom Influencers. Attendees of the invitation-only event, which takes place during BlogHer*, will receive an exclusive MomSelect Swag Bag which can feature YOUR product.

Whether you represent snacks, toys or tech, it’s a great way to gain visibility at one of the most highly anticipated events of the season:

• 200+ attendees expected
• Non-perishable packaged goods, coupons and accompanying collateral are welcome
• Ability to contribute one product or vary to include several items across a product line

FAQ’s about the MomSelect Swag Suite:

Where and when does the MomSelect Swag Suite take place?
The MomSelect Swag Suite will be open on Friday, June 23rd from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort Bonnet Creek located at 14651 Chelonia Pkwy, Orlando, FL 32821.

Who attends the Swag Suite*?
BSM Media invites members of MomSelect who are attending the popular blogger conference to visit the MomSelect Swag Suite. Due to demand, we have to cap participants at 200 mom bloggers.

What is the requirement necessary to participate?
It’s simple and turn-key. It only requires paying a small fee, the cost of shipping** and a minimum of 200 samples for moms.

Can you offer exclusivity by category
Yes, we can give brands category exclusivity, however, participation is first-come, first-serve.

Contact BSM Media today for additional information: Laura@bsmmedia.com or call (954) 943-2322 Ext 3# and speak to Laura. Please note that space is limited and BSM Media reserves the right to approve your inclusion.

Additional Sampling Opportunity: Email ElizaBeth@bsmmedia.com about Beaches Resorts Social Media on the Sand 2017 conference sponsorships and sampling opportunities.

*The MomSelect Swag Suite is not an official conference event, nor is BSM Media affiliated with BlogHer.
**All items must be sent directly to the event venue in Orlando. Detailed shipping instructions will be provided.

Your product has finally hit the shelves of Target, Walmart, CVS or other retailers. After months spent in development, packaging and buyer meetings, you’re faced with the biggest challenge yet; driving consumers to stores to buy your product. Meet BSM Media’s Social Spotters, a diverse network of social influencers who seek out a brand’s product on the shelf and post a selfie with the product on Instagram, ultimately creating the “Retail Shelfie.” BSM Media’s Social Spotters network is made up of moms, dads, Millennials, and Gen Z influencers!

“Retail Shelfies” are successful for many reasons:

• Brands engage with top Instagrammers AND promote the retail locations that carry the product
• Social Spotters programs can be customized to geographic markets across the U.S.
• Brands can select influencers by demographic profile
• Social Spotters programs can be targeted to a specific retailer or retailers
• Brands also see how their product is displayed on store shelves.

BSM Media has launched dozens of Social Spotter campaigns over recent months producing exceptional results for brands representing everything from toys to foods to electronics. A typical campaign can produce more than 500,000 social media impressions on Instagram and other social media platforms.

To learn more about Social Spotters, email ElizaBeth@bsmmedia.com or visit www.socialspotters.com.

Here are a few tips to consider for marketing to moms that work for orthodontists, health care practitioners and any business or brand that works with moms. These tips are from my latest book, “Millennial Moms: 202 Facts Marketers Need to Know to Build Brands and Drive Sales” (Wyatt-MacKenzie, 2015):

• Upgrade Appointment Options: Moms don’t want to talk on the phone. Only 19% of GenX mothers want to speak with a customer service agent (i.e., scheduling rep or office manager). Explore options for online appointment software and appointment reminders via text or email. Make it easy for moms to calendar appointment days and times on their phones. While live phone conversations are not going away, especially in healthcare offices, moms will appreciate any time they gain back by avoiding long telephone calls.
• Social Media Presence: Today’s moms (and their tweens and teens) will look for social media presence if only as a reflection of a progressive practice. If you and your staff can manage a social media account or two, start with Facebook and Instagram and start practicing social listening. Moms appreciate relevant, informative content, and they really love to be “liked” and followed on social media. Respond to comments when appropriate. Including this kind of engagement in your social strategy is imperative. On the flip side, if regular posting, maintenance and social listening is not an option, wait until resources are available to start and maintain a healthy and social media presence.
• Social Listening and Audits: Every company and brand with a social media presence should be practicing social listening and conducting regular social media audits. Listen to what moms are saying. Search relevant keywords, hashtags, company and brand names to see what moms are talking about and respond when appropriate. Search your practice name and hashtags related to the industry on a regular basis to determine see what moms are talking about, then comment when appropriate. Perform an online audit by checking online search sites to check for accuracy of company contact information. Speaking from recent experience, nothing is more frustrating to busy moms than searching for a phone number or information that is incorrect.
• Powerful Word of Mom: Finally, regardless of the many social media tactics that I consider a must for practices, good old-fashioned word of mouth, or “word of Mom” is invaluable in gaining new patients. Moms love to socialize and share their latest finds on the playground, in the carpool line and anywhere they gather with friends and family. Consider outreach at community events, sponsoring school activities and underwriting school sports teams (apparel, equipment, etc.) as just of the few ways to show moms that you are involved in the community.

As I wrote earlier, the power of moms in the marketplace is widespread. In writing this article about a specific niche, I can’t think of one consumer category where moms are not relevant. To continue the conversation, tweet me @momtalkradio.

There was once a time when most of us were listening to music on cassette tapes, when brands interacted with consumers only in focus group facilities and information was gathered via phone surveys. Today, the options to engage with customers are boundless. Technology’s rapid growth birthed a new wave of advancement. Everything from our dog’s collar to our refrigerator is “smart” and while technology continues to advance, it begs the question, “Are brands any smarter in the way they are growing their bottom line?” The truth might hurt some.

When it comes to today’s mothers, the tactic for engagement with the greatest return on investment can be found in consumer communities. These groups may conjure up images of brand ambassadors or in-house research panels, however, what I am referring to is a community of moms with each one screened for influence, brand enthusiasm, social reach and interest in contributing to the growth of the brand. Its members socialize with each other as well as brand representatives in a private online community and provide more than just insights or sales support. These women are an extension of the brand. They are available for insights whether the request for input is coming from engineers, retail designers or product development teams. They earn exclusive sneak-peeks and product previews and some even receive flowers from the brand on their birthdays.

Moms in the consumer community actively support the goals of the brand by posting about new products, bringing PR opportunities to the company and most importantly defending the brand among their peers if crisis management is needed. Brands such as Chick-fil-A, HP, Disney, LeapFrog, Children’s Claritin and Medtronic have benefited from consumer communities created and managed by BSM Media.

HP, for example, has seen such overwhelmingly positive results that they currently have consumer communities to engage with Millennials, Moms and Gen Z influencers. During the 2016 holiday season, the HP Sprocket Photo Printer sold out after tweens and moms in their communities contributed ideas and feedback on the handheld photo printer and then promoted it to friends and peers when it launched.

Here are five ways a consumer community can boost your bottom line:

• Increase speed to market: A consumer community allows engineers and product developers to obtain quick user input and reduce the time and money loss in generation two modifications. HP was able to cut 6-8 months of development time off of two recent products- HP Sprocket Photo Printer and HP Social Media Snapshots. Moms in their HP Smart Mom Panel provided design input to engineers and eliminated the need for timely focus groups and revisions.

• Expand innovation to include consumer product ideation: Let’s face it, no one knows more about a product than the end user and having access to an entire pool of end users can produce ideas at a lower cost to the development process.

• Amplify product marketing: With a committed team of brand enthusiasts who feel vested in your product’s success, your marketing dollars stretch a whole lot further. Chick-fil-A uses their Chick-fil-A Mom’s Panel of 1,000 influencers for input on their Kid’s Meal prizes each year. The benefit is not only do they learn what moms and their children want but when the prizes appear in the Kid’s Meal a year later, the Moms feel a sense of ownership to the process and are happy to share the news with family and friends.

• Higher engagement with social media influencers: Because you screened moms for reach and influence, you eliminate the cost of re-engagement with influencers each time you need them for marketing programs. LeapFrog was paying high agency fees every time they wanted to execute a blogger outreach campaign for a new product. By creating a panel of moms who loved the LeapFrog brand, they were able to engage with these women over and over again. Posts were authentic because their relationship with the brand was long term.

• Deeper insights about your products and brands: Allowing consumers to have conversations among themselves in a safe community gives you and your team a “fly on the wall” perspective on their opinions. HP learned so much about the user experience associated with their HP Instant Ink subscription program and printers, that they inserted a customer service representative into their HP Instant Ink community and later used the process to enhance customer support on a wider level.

As brand leadership continues to look for ways to get more out of their investment, we will see an increase in brands creating consumer communities. When done right, it provides easy and direct access to insights, deeper relationships with social influencers and cost-savings to bringing innovative products to market.

BSM Media designs and manages consumer communities for brands based on your goals and objectives. All community members are screened and recruited for influence, brand enthusiasm and channels of communication with peers. For more information, please email Maria Bailey at maria@bsmmedia.com or call BSM Media at 954-943-2322, ext.1. Additional information can be found at www.bsmmedia.com.

Yesterday’s mom blogger has extended her reach to Instagram where she showcases her favorite brands. She’s also come out from behind her laptop in order to share her opinions with peers on Facebook Live. All of this has changed the marketing-to-moms landscape and how brands can use these influencers to connect with mothers. Here are four tactics important to success in 2017 and a few examples of moms who are effectively using them.

1. Facebook Live: Before the commercials aired, moms had already discovered the fun (and effectiveness) of Facebook Live. From at-home unboxings and lifestyle segments to product reviews and in-store peeks, moms like Joey Fortman of Reality Moms have embraced Facebook Live. For her #CoffeeConvoWednesdays, Cindy Simmons (Surviving Mommy) attracts thousands of viewers per video by picking three topics and weaving them into a casual conversation.

2. Instagram: Moms love posting pictures of family life, and of course the craziness that is parenthood. Ilana Wiles of MommyShorts shares snippets of her NYC life, incorporating brands that resonate with her personally, for authentic content. Naomi Davis of LoveTaza boasts almost a half-million followers by sharing colorful life stories through photos. Watching these instagrammers’ posts will give brands a good idea of what attracts their followers, particularly fellow moms.

3. Ambassador Programs: As I watch ambassador groups evolve, it’s sometimes easier to convey what is not a good example. Mom ambassador groups are not about paying a group of mom influencers to post a required number of times each month on your behalf. It’s not gathering up a bunch of bloggers and asking them to put a button on their blog with your logo on it.

An effective ambassador group is gathering a group of moms who truly love your brand through thick and thin. They are super fans and will defend your brand in a time of crisis. They will go to bat for you no matter what because they are loyal. You probably already know a few of these customers. Find them on social media and cultivate them in a group. Give them a name and solidify the relationship with them to make it beneficial for them as well as you.

4. Influencer Insights: Researchers tend to hire what I call professional focus group participants for their survey. Behind two-way glass, they watch and wait for insights. In 2017, try doing more social listening. Watch for hashtags about your brand, specifically targeted to it or through keywords and topics related to it. Conversations between moms are rich in ideas, potential product changes and great ideas for marketing and social media campaigns.

I hope your 2017 is off to a great start and that you’ll utilize these tactics before January is over! It’s going to be another fun year working with moms and brands, experiencing the lightning fast growth of social media playgrounds and the mom influencers who play in them.

Contribute to the conversation with me here or on Twitter @momtalkradio.

Ask anyone last February if they would be talking about Facebook Live for live-streaming videos and I will bet they would have told you to put your money on Periscope. The platforms that moms are using move as fast as a toddler in a ball pit. Marketing to moms has become a fluid environment and those who are not flexible in their marketing plans miss the full potential of the market. So what are some of the most effective new marketing tactics for the 2016 season?

• Facebook Live: There’s a reason I mention this platform first. I choose Facebook Live over a single blog post for most product reviews. A picture (in this case video) is worth a thousand words and a Facebook Live video can attract thousands of viewers to your product.

• YouTube videos: Millennials shop with the advice of videos. YouTube is their search engine of choice and it’s where they look when researching a product and for product comparisons (features and price). There are very affordable YouTubers who are willing to review product and now is the perfect time to add this to marketing tests.

• Amazon Video Reviews: I’ve never been a fan of inauthentic product reviews and neither are consumers. This is perhaps why Amazon recently clamped down on brands paying bloggers to post reviews on product pages. There are several approved video providers for Amazon who will review your product and post video reviews on your product page and social media.

• Instagram: it’s not new but its influence has grown since last year, particularly with young consumers (i.e., millennial moms). It’s a must for products and brands, and, of course, the video options make Instagram even more effective. Perhaps even more effective than blog posts.

Regardless of the social media platform du jour, the overriding lesson I have learned and always convey to clients is flexibility. Be willing to allocate or shift resources on the fly to leverage last-minute opportunities, to test programs on emerging platforms, or to capitalize on a program or campaign that’s showing excellent results. For many brands, the holiday season can represent 30% or more of annual sales, a number that makes holiday marketing and social media campaigns so important.

Are you using the social media platforms listed above? I’d love to hear your experiences here or tweet me at @momtalkradio to continue the conversation.

“Childless Women to Marketers: We Buy Things, Too” noted that nearly half of all women between 15 and 44 do not have children. There’s no debating the numbers; however, there is a reason for the increase in childless numbers today. Allow me to peel back the layers for you. Millennials are now the largest generation in our country at approximately 80 million. However, only one-third of all millennial women have had children. Multiple resources, including our own research done in conjunction with the release of Millennial Moms: 202 Facts Marketers Need to Know to Build Brands and Drive Sales illustrate that Millennial women are delaying motherhood.

What all this means is that there is a huge wave of new moms coming in the next three to five years; at least half of those women ages 15 to 35 will become moms in the future. This means that marketers need to be preparing today for the opportunities of tomorrow. As technology changes, it will be necessary for marketers to change their tactics to gain the results they desire.

I’m not going to take on the debate as to whether brands should add childless women to their menu of target consumers. I will leave that to CMOs and brand managers.

The 2016 presidential campaign has been a good source of data surrounding millennials. The media has lumped all millennial voters together, characterizing their behaviors as one giant, homogenized cohort. Just last night, I heard a political talking head declare that 80% of millennials get their news from Twitter, which means that more political messages have to be delivered via Twitter. Any seasoned marketer can tell that same commentator that there is a distinct difference between older millennials (30+) and younger millennials (18+).

I agree that you are likely to find older millennials combing for news on Twitter; however, Snapchat is where younger millennials dwell. Millennials shouldn’t be lumped together in a pool of data because it doesn’t tell the whole story. The same can be said for women with or without children.

Millennial moms spend an average of four hours on their phones each day (rarely using it to talk) and 81% form an opinion of a brand based on social media presence. Their constant use and reliance on social media means that brands that implement and cultivate an active online community are gaining valuable resources for research and information while cultivating loyal relationships with their very influential mom consumers.

It’s a win-win for moms and brands for these five reasons:

1. Cost/Savings: Compared to traditional research tools, online communities are a cost effective way to reach consumers. In the days before online groups, research through focus groups, for instance, was either limited to local/regional groups or required extensive travel costs and time. Online communities save time and money.

2. Immediate Feedback: In this digital age of instant access to information, this fact is a marketer’s dream. Product research and development can be cut in half and consumer insights and opinions are a quick post away.

3. 24/7 Engagement: Moms check their phones anytime and anywhere, from the dinner table or during a midnight feeding. Most millennial moms aren’t constrained by the idea of brands posting during “business hours.” Online hours offer flexibility for both parties; brands post any time and moms can respond any time.

4. Long-term Relationships With Your Best Advocates: Marketers who tap in to the moms who are already talking about their brand on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram (to name a few) are capitalizing on their love of communication and engagement with a brand. Online groups build brand loyalty with these moms.

5. Consumer-Generated Content and Ideas: Social listening is critical for any brand, and online communities are an excellent source of information. Organic conversations that develop in a group can offer important feedback, positive and negative. Conversations can also evolve in to an idea that comes from, in my opinion, the best source of solutions: moms.

In my recent experience, the best example of online mom communities comes from ambassador groups. These groups hit on all five points above, validating moms’ expectations of the brand, while the brand leverages relationships with moms to gauge opinions on new products, test package designs, rebranding strategies and much more.