• by Patti Minglin , January 11, 2012

Happy New Year! If you are like most people, you spent a great deal of time during those final hours of 2011 making personal plans for 2012. You resolved to add more exercise into your daily routine or to get more organized. But, what did you resolve to do about your brand? This year, we challenge you with 3 must-do marketing to mom resolutions for 2012.

This year, I resolve to…

Look Outside the Social Media Box

Sending a once-a-week tweet or occasionally posting on your brand’s Facebook page does not a social media strategy make. This year, step up your social media efforts by truly engaging mom with your brand and building relevant conversations. More importantly, resolve to look beyond just Twitter and Facebook. Marketing to mom expert Maria Bailey recently shared a list of places a brand needs to be in order to engage with moms that included YouTube, iTunes and Pinterest.

Change My Definition of ‘First Time Moms’

Say the phrase “First Time Moms” and you immediately think of the young mom caring for her new infant, but new research found in the book Tuning Into Mom is challenging that thought process. “We think about ‘First Time Moms,’ but somehow the idea that mom is experiencing all the age groups for the ‘first time’ is not recognized after the child moves on from being an infant,” says Michal Clements, co-author of the book. The book suggests that mom’s focus changes as her first child ages and this ultimately affects how she makes decisions and purchases. Discover new ways your brand can help mom with the challenges she faces for all her motherhood ‘firsts’ such as planning for college or purchasing more advanced sports equipment.

Help Mom Unplug

With the average American spending at least eight and a half hours a day in front of a screen and the average American teenager sending or receiving at least 75 text messages a day, moms are craving quiet and fear all this technology may be interfering with real life family connections. “Journalist friends of mine observe an ‘Internet sabbath’ every week, turning off their online connections from Friday night to Monday morning, so as to try to revive those ancient customs known as family meals and conversations,” says a recent New York Times article. Look towards brands such as Stouffer’s, which provides “Mealtime Conversation Starters” on its site or the National Wildlife Federation’s “Be Out There” campaign for inspirational ideas.