Reb Carlson is an award-winning strategist, social media expert, and an expecting mother! We caught up with her to understand how she’s getting inspired, and what she’s been noticing in the mommy influencer space. Additionally, with over 10 years of experience in marketing, Reb has keen expertise on how to engage moms in a culturally relevant way. This Q&A explores the mommy space, tackles the “mompreneur” phenomenon, and shares insights for brands to plan their next parenting campaign.
Q: For years, the quintessential ‘mommy blogger’ was all about tips & tricks and frugal living–how has social media helped the vertical transcending the cliché? What does the modern mommy influencer look like?
A: I think the rise of these types of influencers was due to the fact that women have been underserved by traditional media on information that is valuable, such as the realities of pregnancy and birth, finances related to maintaining a home, along with a look into parenthood that was more realistic and authentic. Social media and blogging allowed actual moms to connect online, have an outlet, and be the ones to dictate the content they wanted to share, which was and still is very powerful. I think initially influencers weren’t taken very seriously by brands and marketers because a majority of them were (and still are) female. Today, there is a big debate around influencers about who gets taken more seriously based on their gender. You’ll also find that more women are referred to as influencers and men are referred to as content creators. When it comes to the “modern mommy influencer”, we need to acknowledge that to be a successful influencer includes maintaining a business, that there is a wide range of parents to consider, and being a parent is just one facet of what an individual influencer represents.
Q: By the nature of the vertical, mommy influencers have been sharing pictures and stories of their kids–with or without the kids’ permission–often for monetary gain. What do you think about this, and what do you think marketers need to consider when working with moms and involving their families?
A: Every parent is different in how much they want to include their children on their own social media presence. There are also different considerations to be made on whether existing influencers are talking about their family life on their channels and get brand partnerships based on the family dynamic, versus others launching their own child’s channel and seeking partnerships from brands looking to reach children. My point of view for my own kid is likely biased because I work in marketing and have witnessed the seedier sides of the Internet. I think influencers need to consider that talking about their families publicly exposes a vulnerability and leaves them open for public scrutiny on how they are raising their children. Marketers also need to be prepared for that, and consider whether the values of a particular parenting influencer are ones they want to align with.
Q: What is a "mompreneur"? Why is this phenomenon happening now?
A: Due to the access to social media, the economic need for dual-income households, and “stay at home parents” also wanting some form of fulfillment, there has been a rise over the last decade of parental influencers, multi-level marketing structures (ie. Tupperware), and the moms-turned-entrepreneurs. Some businesses have been inspired by an entrepreneur’s own experience of childbirth and early parenthood, like Courtney Klein of Storq who wanted more functional maternity and nursing wear, or seeking out resources and services that didn’t exist, like Kimberly Bryant’s Black Girls Code, which was inspired by her daughter’s interest in tech but being the only African-American girl at a summer coding camp.
There is also the fact that childcare is incredibly expensive, and more often than not it’s the mom who has to give up a traditional career to stay at home with her children. I also think that pre-COVID, corporations had only just started to become more flexible for working moms and parents in general, which leads parents desiring a more balanced lifestyle where they can be there for their children and gain financial independence by launching their own businesses. With permanent remote work likely being a possibility for a majority of working professionals, I think we’ll only start to see a rise of more parents-turned-entrepreneurs.
Q: How can brands inspire, enable, and celebrate the "mompreneur"? Have you seen any solid examples of this?
A: The unfortunate statistic is that a lot of female-owned businesses do not get the financial support or funding they need in the early stages, and it’s incredibly dismal for women of color. With the current cultural and political climate due to the murder of George Floyd and growing support for the Black Lives Matter movement, brands are searching for ways to show their direct support for black people. For brands wanting to reach the “mompreneurs”, a good first step today is to support not only women-owned businesses (which includes moms!), but black women-owned businesses (that also include moms!) Aurora James (Creative Director of Brother Vellies) recently launched a campaign called The 15 Percent Pledge, calling for retailers to promise that at least 15% of their brands on their shelves or ecommerce sites represent black-owned businesses (Sephora has accepted that pledge). Glossier launched a new grant initiative for black-owned beauty businesses. According to an AMEX study, 1,817 new women-owned businesses launched every day in the U.S. in 2019, and 42% of them were started by black women. There are many women-owned businesses out there, and within that mompreneurs, and brands just need to dive deeper to find the right ones to collaborate with.
Q: Why do you think some mommy influencers have such loyal followers? What can influencers from other verticals learn from them?
A: Becoming a parent is truly life-changing. Talking about it openly puts you in a vulnerable place, and I think audiences connect with that on a deep, emotional level. Other influencers can learn from that by getting personal about what matters most to them versus just posting nice visual content.
Q: What makes the mommy community unique? What do marketers need to know as they plan their next campaign?
A: Parents are going to be very particular about the products they use for their children, so you need to get a good gauge of whether the values of the influencer match your brand’s values. For instance, if there is a parent who chooses only hand-made toys made from organic materials, you are not going to sell them on toys made from plastic. I also think parents are becoming wary of baby and personal products that make claims about safety, being organic and green, etc., because we’ve seen multiple examples in the past of large brands (Johnson & Johnson and The Honest Company) being caught for not addressing claims related to their products or being misleading with their packaging. Brands need to remember that for a successful campaign, the product needs to be integrated into the existing routine / lifestyle of the influencer, versus trying to convince influencers to change their habits or pretend to be something they’re not.
| Reb Carlson is a Marketing & Business Consultant at Mad Focused. For more from Reb, follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and visit her website www.rebcarlson.com |
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