Motherhood triggers immense changes in influential media

If John Key and Phil Goff are serious in their attempts to woo working mothers, then research out today reveals they should be spending more time targeting them online. There’s no shortage of statistics detailing the rate that modern mums have taken to the Internet but more recent findings now show that this has been to the detriment of other mediums.

If John Key and Phil Goff are serious in their attempts to woo working mothers, then research out today reveals they should be spending more time targeting them online. There’s no shortage of statistics detailing the rate that modern mums have taken to the Internet but more recent findings now show that this has been to the detriment of other mediums.

Supporting previous media consumption studies, the research released today from the pregnancy and parenting site www.kidspot.co.nz definitively shows that pregnancy and then motherhood triggers an accelerated migration towards online, leaving usage of other mediums behind. When asked how their media consumption had changed since becoming a mother, the majority of respondents had increased their Internet usage but had reduced consumption of magazines and newspapers.

Q. How has your consumption of the following media sources changed since becoming a parent? (Refer Attached Image1)

The survey, which questioned 711 mums and mums-to-be, found that the Internet is now a fundamental step in a mum’s purchase decision making journey – providing a quick and trustworthy resource for product research and information. 79.3% of mums seek opinions online to help them make a purchasing decision, while 77% regularly research products online (‘regularly’ defined as more often than once a month).

But mums don’t believe everything they read in the digital world. When asked to rank various websites by the level of trust they place in them, specialist sites that understand and engage their audience with a unique, non-commercial relationship are trusted twice as much by mums as a brand’s own website. For marketers this means that they should still continue to invest in their own website - given that over 1/3 of mums put some level of trust in the product information available there. The brands that partner with specialist editors that are experts in the audience’s subject matter however, enjoy far greater cut through in user engagement. Editorial content on specialist sites is also considered more trustworthy by mothers than content on portal websites, with 88% of mums feeling some level of trust in specialist sites v 57% in portals. As one mother explained “Kidspot is like a friend I can trust. It’s written by mums for mums – they speak to me as a mother and understand exactly what I’m going through.”

Studies have shown pregnancy and motherhood to be a time of hyper-communication. Questions are asked and information is sought as the mum-to-be enters unfamiliar territory. To most mums, social media is a lifeline. A place to go at any time of the day or night where instant connections can be made with mums around the world. Although mums have been quick to embrace sites like Facebook, online forums continue to win the majority of mums trust. 79% of respondents said they either somewhat trusted or completely trusted mum’s opinions posted on a forum while only 44% trusted opinions shared on social networking sites like Facebook. One survey respondent said “Facebook is great for keeping in touch with friends, but if you don’t have a lot of friends with kids, then it’s not very helpful to you as a mum. Kidspot is a great way to find mums with kids the same age as yours who are facing the same challenges that you face daily.”

Kidspot General Manager Heidi Ivory, herself a mother understands the strong relationship that mums have with specialist sites:

“Kidspot’s entire business is built on mums’ universal needs and preferences. Her penchant for online is triggered by a persistent hunger for information and advice during pregnancy that shows her the merit of the medium in a whole new way. She quickly learns the value of specialist editors plus online forums full of mums that have done it all before. Her fondness grows, her dependence deepens and the trust she puts in an environment like Kidspot and other parenting websites exceeds any other option – online or offline.”

It’s imperative that Marketers consider these factors when buying digital media, much the same way that they would look to allocate a television media schedule. Just as the type of television show best determines when and where a mum might be actively engaged, so too the choice of website will determine the best online environment for brand context and cut through.