Marketers going after moms on social networks such as Facebook know by now that users rarely embrace ads in environments where they are focused on socializing with friends.
Data from lucid marketing and Lisa Finn shows that most mom Facebook users feel neutral about ads on the social network, compared with about 36% who actively disliked them. Only a tiny percentage of respondents reported liking ads on Facebook.
Moms were much more receptive to marketing in general, however—at least when done on their terms. Though most moms used Facebook primarily to keep in touch with friends and family, and only 10.4% said they focused on checking out companies or products, three-quarters were fans of at least one company or brand.
Further, some 16% of mom Facebook users followed more than 10 companies’ fan pages. Respondents named parenting-specific pages as their favorites, along with restaurant, grocery and entertainment pages—especially kid-oriented ones.
The survey found mothers on Facebook savvy about marketing and skeptical of offers that seemed to good to be true. They expected companies to be straightforward and respectful of their time, and indicated a great interest in special offers and deals exclusive to Facebook, such as coupons they could send to their friends on the site.
“Facebook is fertile ground for marketers to engage mothers and drive sales, but it needs to be done on their terms,” said Kevin Burke, president of lucid marketing, in a statement. “They have no time for brands that don’t ‘get it,’ but they do embrace brands that play by their rules.”
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Check out today’s other article, “At Container Store, Mothers Get Royal Treatment.”