Historians attribute Bill Clinton’s successful run for the White House to “soccer moms.” Today, these mothers of influence can be found online on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram. With mothers numbering over 82 million in the U.S., it’s no surprise that both Ann Romney and Michelle Obama made an effort to appeal to voting mothers during their national convention speeches. We recently polled over 1,000 mom influencers about their thoughts on the election, candidates and issues.

Social Media Moms

How often do moms discuss the election, candidates or political issues with other moms? More importantly, where and how are the conversations taking place? While traditional media remain a top choice as a source of information, Facebook and social media are the top choices for discussing politics and sharing opinions. The survey responses point to the increasing influence of social media on moms who love to communicate with each other.

• Moms mainly communicate via Facebook; an overwhelming 56% of moms ranked Facebook as the top choice, followed by blogs at 30% and Twitter at 25%.
• Forty-six percent of moms say they talk about politics on the phone, with another 44% of moms saying they talk politics at offline events, such as children’s birthday parties, sporting events and other group activities.
• Almost 41% of moms “Like” a candidate or political organization on Facebook.
• Most moms talk politics with their peers on a weekly basis (41%).
• To educate themselves on candidates and issues, moms like television over other media outlets. Over 74% of moms surveyed rely on television, followed by newspapers (66%) and online forums/websites (56%) as sources of information.
• More than 61% of moms responded yes when asked if they encourage another person to get involved or educate themselves on the issues of the November election

Issues Important to Moms

Whether on Facebook or on the playground, Moms have specific issues that resonate with them when deciding who gets their votes. Not surprisingly, the majority of moms – 53% – responded that once they have children, they start paying more attention to issues that affect their families.

• Ranking issues that resonate with moms, education and health care tie for the top spot. Almost 45% of moms rank each as their most important issue
• Jobs rank a close second with 43% with women’s health issues at 37%
• The choice of running mate ranks higher in importance (4 out of 5) than the choice of First Lady (3 out of 5)
• Close to 58% of moms appreciated the references that Ann Romney and Michelle Obama made to their roles as mothers during their convention speeches

For Better or Worse

What do Moms think about current politics, their personal situation and the future?

• In the current administration, moms ranked gay marriage and health care as the top areas of improvement.
• A majority of survey respondents ranked “jobs” as the area needing the most improvement during the next administration.
• When asked about the last four years, 19% of moms responded that they are faring better, 37% about the same and 44% worse for their families.

With an almost even split of Democrat and Republican moms (31% each), 20% Independent and 18% swing voters who vote across party lines, most moms already know their November choice. Over 88% of moms surveyed intend to vote in the election, with 74% indicating that they have decided who will receive their vote.

And, finally, on the lighter side of the issues, the attire of Michelle Obama and Ann Romney became the much-talked-about topic after the convention speeches. Just over 52% of moms would choose to wear Obama’s dress and 48% would wear Romney’s dress. Almost 37% of moms relate more to Michelle Obama, while 22% relate to Ann Romney.

No one can accurately predict the outcome of November’s election however one thing is for sure, U.S. moms will play a major part in who wins the campaign.

Add another item to your list of what not to do when marketing to moms – compiling and publishing a list of the top influential mommy bloggers, complete with a link to your Marketing to Mom agency website.

This weekend, the buzz in the social media mom playground was not a hot new product or clever advertising campaign. It was centered on a new list titled, “Global Top 100 Mommy Bloggers to Treat and Pamper In 2012”. It was published by a marketing firm that, very obviously, is trying to establish its expertise in the world of moms. I am not going to link to the list or the firm’s website intentionally, and you’ll understand why in the next few paragraphs. I became aware of the list when I suddenly began receiving “please take me off the list” messages across my Facebook feed. Curiosity got the best of me, and I discovered that I was one of the anointed on the list. Now don’t get me wrong; I appreciate it when someone recognizes my sphere of influence among other mothers. It has taken many years to build the relationships that I have with moms, and I hold these women and their best interests close to my heart.

My immediate response was not one of jubilation. Instead, it hit me like a bite into a bubble gum filled with a sour gel. I twitched, I cringed and then I did what most influential moms do when something hits them wrong. I turned to my friends on Facebook, posted my feelings and asked them to share theirs.  It didn’t take long to gain validation from other moms, many of whom were also on the list, that this was absolutely the wrong approach to connecting with influential mommy bloggers.

Here’s why:

1) We are not mommy bloggers. At least to people who are taller than 3 feet 5 inches, don’t eat chicken nuggets for breakfast and are old enough to vote. Particularly if we have never met each other or communicated in any way. I’ve written on this subject before on this blog- if you missed it – you can click here. Bottom line is that research supports that moms involved in social media and who own a blog don’t really want marketers to call them “mommy.”

2) Influential Moms are not asking to be pampered or “treated” by brands. They are asking to be paid.  Most work very hard to build their communities of influence. They sacrifice time with their families, they give up sleep at night and they tolerate the prostitution of their name by companies like the one who published this list. Most moms aren’t in this game to be pampered by a strange brand that has no established relationship with them. They are trying to run a business. And in the off chance that they would love your offer for a little time off from the family, I assure you that if they are indeed one of the top influencers, they have piles of invitations on their desks. If your brand strategy is to “out-pamper” other brands, here’s my advice. Save the airline tickets, spa fees and fancy dinners, because you will ultimately fail. Moms want real relationships. The best “treat” you can give one of these moms is to be transparent, sincere and find a common benefit for both her and your brand.

3) Some of the names on the list weren’t even moms. They were websites with a collection of mothers who author blogs. This little detail alone makes me believe that the author did little research into the people behind the names.

4) It was very clear to the women on the list (see the discussion on my Facebook page) that this was an SEO and link strategy for the company that published the list. It was clear that its intent was for each of the 100 “mommy bloggers” to post the link to their site in celebration of sharing their new accolade. Oh, they got links and buzz alright. No fewer than 30 of the top 100 posted thoughts of disgust and negative opinions about the company. Many even posted blogs about it such as Kelby Carr, who I proudly personally know and would indeed call an influencer. But that’s the important difference. I know Kelby and I can describe her reach outside of her KLOUT score.

Why companies feel that they have to fabricate relationships with social media moms is beyond me. It’s so simple. Establish a relationship that is mutually beneficial to both parties. Don’t expect them to work for free and respect them as business women as much as power moms.

More and more we are reading articles and blog posts about the changing roles of fathers in today’s family. Recently our own Engage Mom! Blog focused on dads. Everyone seems to agree that today’s fathers are more involved and active in their role as parent and caregiver. Last month, BSM Media in cooperation with the Marketing to Moms Coalition fielded a survey of 100 social media savvy dads to get a sense of how technology played a part in daily fatherhood. Here’s some of the results.

Smartphones Rule
Close to 70% of Dads indicate that they own a smart phone and use it for shopping, with the most popular use listed as “looking up store locations and hours”. Guess this dispels the myth that men don’t ask for directions. Other popular smartphone uses include keeping family and work schedules (48%) and managing grocery lists and using online coupons (37%).

Social Media in the Spotlight
More Dads than ever are using online tools and social media to get information, communicate with others and save money.

• Online coupons are very popular, with almost 79% of Dads admitting tehey use email coupons, email offers, blog/deal sites and search engines for specific coupons
• Ninety-three percent use Facebook and 72% use Twitter to communicate with friends and family
• Almost 40% of these Dads “like” over 20 brands on Facebook, with 85% liking a brand “whose products/services (they) prefer.”  In a close second, 81% of Dads like a brand that offers deals, discounts and coupons
• 62% post on Facebook when they want to share with family and friends, most often posting pictures of family/friends or reposting news

Dad’s social media and technology use closely reflects what we know of Moms use – both are rapidly increasing as parents seek time- and money-saving solutions, information and ways to share news.  As marketers looking for a connection with your consumer, we suggest using technology to create a relevant and meaningful dialogue to turn your Followers and Friends into loyal customers regardless is they are mom or DAD.