Smartphone-Addicted, App-Happy & Social – How Should Your Brand Reach Mobile Moms?

The 21st Century Mobile Mom Report published last week by BabyCenter sheds some light on smartphone usage among mothers — and to marketers looking to reach mom on her mobile device, that light is bright and shiny.

Moms are 18% more likely than the average consumer to have a smartphone and more than half (51%) of moms surveyed for the report identified themselves as “addicted” to their smartphones. Moms are constantly on-the-go, and a smartphone provides a handy way to help them stay organized and connected.

Image via Geek.com

Some of mom’s key mobile habits highlighted in the report are:

She users her smartphone at the point of sale: 68% of moms with smartphones use shopping apps to research or compare prices and nearly half say that the most convenient time to receive product information is while she is in-store.

She loves apps: More than half of moms with smartphones have ten or more apps downloaded.

She’s social: Moms are 40% more likely than the average consumer to use their smartphone for social networking.

Her priorities are changing: While she still texts (a lot…She’s 246% more likely than the average person to text a friend instead of call), the top three most important features on her phone are her camera, video camera and applications.

Mobile advertising doesn’t turn her off: 46% of moms have taken action after seeing a mobile ad.

To sum it up: Mom’s smartphone usage is rapidly rising across the board and she’s using that smartphone to help her make purchase decisions. That sentence alone should be enough to make marketers beef up their mobile presence.

So what does this mean for marketers? For marketers in general, mobile can play a vital role in your marketing plan, especially as media consumption habits change and the marketing landscape becomes increasingly fragmented.  If you are targeting moms, take a look at your options in SMS, mobile advertising, and application-based programs to evaluate which platforms make most sense in helping you reach your marketing goals. Tying any of these mobile tactics into your overall marketing plan can be an effective way to ensure your messages are reaching and engaging mom wherever she may be.

For retail and CPG companies, it’s more important than ever to reach mom at the point of sale.  Engaging her in-store is key, and there are a variety of opportunities available to do so. Through mobile applications like shopkick and Checkpoints, marketers can reward users for interacting with their products in-store by scanning products and receiving points to redeem for things like gift cards and airline miles.  Providing mom with mobile coupons (see 360i’s POV on Digital Couponing) could also be an effective way to activate her in-store purchases.

As mom is now spending more than a third (37%) of her daily media time with her smartphone (double that spent on TV), media and entertainment companies can reach mom through a second screen experience on her smartphone. Marketers like Bravo TV have begun to do this through mobile applications like Bravo Now, bringing in features like real-time chat with television personalities and additional video content. Shazam, one of the most popular mobile applications in the world, has also started integrating television programming into the application so consumers can unlock additional related content.

As the world becomes more and more mobile-addicted, the opportunities to reach consumers on their mobile devices will only continue to grow across all industries. Keep an eye out as more mobile marketing opportunities become available to help your brand reach consumers on their mobile phones.

- Kyle Hoedl, Social Marketing Strategist, 360i