Marketing to Women Online

Campaign Strategy: Marketing to Women Online

Women influence more than 80 percent of all purchases in the U.S., so learning how to effectively market to them online could be critical to your business’s survival.   When marketing a product or service to women, it is important to remember that women operate under a different set of rules than men.  They take longer to make a decision, need more input, expect more attentive service and require more follow-up. Women are consummate searchers and surfers,  doing a hybrid of surfing and searching within a number of their
favorite sites.

Real Women, Digital World, a research brief on how women shop, work and play on the web, by Yahoo and Starcom Mediavest Group, reports “Today’s women are busier than ever. Thirty-six percent of working women are spending more time working than they were one year ago. The good news is that one-quarter of women are spending more time with their family than they were a year ago. One reason that work-life balance seems to be shifting in a positive direction is the efficiency and empowerment that the Internet affords to women. While usage of traditional media is declining, almost half of all online women state that they are spending more time on the Internet than they were one year ago.”  While online, women are faced with a wide range of activities vying for their attention, as well as a seemingly endless array of media choices, so learning how to reach women through all of the clutter is critical.

Learning how to Communicate

Here are some tips for engaging with women online:

• Tell stories. All people respond to stories, but women especially respond to this type of communication.
• Be authentic.  Women have an uncanny ability to see through marketing promotions and sales techniques.  Gain their trust my being transparent and truthful.  It will be much appreciated.
• Show them how you can make their life easier.  Today’s women are running at 100 mph. Their schedules are jammed packed, so the last thing they want is to make their life more complicated. Show them how your product/service can make their life easier, and you will find a loyal friend and customer.

Joining Conversations

Now that you have a little better of an understanding of how to communicate with women, you need to know where to find them.  Here is a list of the Top 10 Social Networking sites for Women, compiled by Mashable.

1. iVillage – iVillage, started in 1995, is one of the oldest sites among this lot. It is today one of the best destinations for women providing content on health, pregnancy, beauty, style, among others. You can create your profile, blog, group, and share pictures, videos, and messages among your friends on this site. There are thousands of message boards on varied topics available. You will also find a section on weddings complete with bridal fashion, style, reception and planning, etc. Finally, there are also sections on dating, online courses, and shopping.
2. CafeMom – CafeMom is another popular social networking site for moms to discuss parenting issues. The site has done really well since its launch in 2006, having attracted more than a million members and 6 million visits a month. There are more than 35,000 groups on the site including those of pregnancy, kitchen recipes, marriage, and relationships, among others.  You can create your journals to share your stories with other members, participate in polls, surveys, or share pictures with other members. There is a section that displays birthday moms, expecting moms, new arrivals, new members, top contributors, photo of the day, theme of the day, post of the day, and group of the day.
3. Glam – Glam is a pink-color editorial-driven site from Glam Media, a leading media network with 43 million unique monthly visitors. Within the site, you’ll find sections on fashion, beauty, celebrities, entertainment, living, health, wellness, and shopping, photos, videos, quizzes, and a variety of blogs. The social networking channel called Glam Space allows you to create your profile, check out the profiles of other users, and voice your opinion on a variety of topics. For women with style and glamour, this site is a must see.
4. ParentsConnect – ParentsConnect is a leading parenting site providing daily tips, recipes, activities, product recommendations, and other parenting informations. You can also share your parenting tips, local activities, crafts, recipes, photos, war stories, and comment and rate on other’s posts.
5. Kaboose – Kaboose is another premier site targeting families and providing tips on pregnancy and parenting, recipes, health, craft, and a section called ‘Just for Moms’. You can create your profile, create a blog, join the discussion forums, and share pictures with other community members.
6. AOL Women – AOL Women is a premier women’s section on AOL providing content on a variety of topics like beauty, fashion, well being, and horoscope. This UK version has a chat & community section where there are various all-women discussion boards where members can discuss on a lot of topics. You can also create your AOL profile and blog.
7. TeamSugar – TeamSugar is a social networking site for the young women where they can discuss the latest gossip, play games, and share tips on shopping, fashion, beauty secrets, recipes, photos, videos, bookmarks, blogs, and more. You can create your homepage and a blog, or chat with other users. Doing various things on the site, like posting a comment, creating a group, posting a blog, creating a sales alert, or doing a review gives you points which you can redeem to earn Sugar points.
8. ClubMom – ClubMom has been present since 1999 and is a place for moms to connect with other moms. They can ask questions and get answers from other moms on which they can rate and comment on. Topics range from pregnancy to teenagers, and from cooking to relationships. They can also also share photos, and win prizes. There is also a ClubMom Rewards program where moms can earn ClubMom Points that they can redeem for rewards at the ClubMom online mall.
9. MayasMom - MayasMom is another place for parents to connect with others parents and share stories. They can also join groups, create their own, and seek advice from other members. They can also create their journals and share picture of their kids.
10. Minti – Minti is a nice site where you can connect with other parents and discuss parenting issues. They called themselves ‘the world’s largest parent to parent adviceopedia’. You can create content in the form of articles that can be rated and commented on by other members. Topics include pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, babies, early childhood, schooling, tweens, and teenage years. By registering, you get your own family page, a blog and a photo album. There is Minti ranking system where you can go up by contributing parenting advice, blogging and by commenting. There are also more than 600 interest groups you can join.

Conclusions

Remember, before you begin reaching out to women online, ask yourself the folllowing two questions.

“Is my messaging transparent to my audience?”  and “How can I make my customer’s life easier?”

By answering these two questions correctly, you are showing that you have a solid understanding of how to communicate with women, and develop a long-lasting, prosperous relationship.  Now you are ready to begin building relationships and communicating online.

If you have any questions or tips about marketing to women, please leave me a comment.  I would love to feature your ideas in my next post.