Real Moms Text! (Or, if you can’t reach ‘em, text ‘em)
April 17th, 2009 by Randee Gannon
We’re into social media here at Dobies. But unlike the cobbler’s kids who have no shoes, our kids are social media gurus. That’s why recently when we dove into the world of moms and will-be-moms to research and write a marketing plan for a hospital client’s obstetrics department, I was able to passionately endorse the strategy that we reach new, Gen Y moms via text messaging. Because younger moms text. Heck, now even old moms text. Of course, I’m an old mom – my kids are teenagers and ‘young adults’ (it’s hard not to smirk at that description, but that’s another blog).
I’ve come a long way from the short, one-syllable words that beginners use like yes, no, huh? I’m even able to have complete arguments by text, a necessary line of communication with teenagers. I even have actual conversations with other grown adults about important stuff. For example, last week, Kelley (who works here at Dobies) and I discussed via text what newspaper ad to run for a client. I happened to be having lunch with this client at the time, so Kelley sent a text asking me to discuss this particular topic while we ate our chips and salsa. So, I did. Thirty seconds later, we were all content because we had checked something quickly and efficiently off our lists.
But compared to Generation Y women (those aged 9-31), my accomplishment is mundane. Our next generation of moms has been raised in a world of instant information and connection. To effectively reach these young women, we need to join their world, because they’ve left ours way behind. In this case, ‘joining’ means offering pregnancy and parenting information via opt-in text messaging. I haven’t felt this good about a communication strategy since I texted my daughter to ask her to text a friend to text her mother to ask if she was interested in car pooling. It worked.
April 29th, 2009 at 8:33 am
Good post, Randee. I’m even able to converse with my 6th grader via text. As you say, this is how Gen Y is communicating, so we have to be on board or get passed by.
April 29th, 2009 at 9:03 am
I agree with implementing these types of new strategies to reach the “expecting Gen Y’er”. I just saw a report about those moms also tweeting in the delivery room (to which I say “r u kidn me?”). Great post.
April 29th, 2009 at 11:13 am
Twitter me this…can you really see yourself tweeting during labor? Nice post, Randee.
April 29th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Speaking of Twitter, there was a news story this morning about how an expecting mother wore a device and every time her baby kicked, the device would pick it up and send a tweet to the father. So he was able to experience every moment of his wife’s pregnancy. Isn’t technology amazing! Nice job Randee!
April 30th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
I hadn’t heard about opt-in texting. I hope you’ll publish more on this topic in the future. Are there general opt-in lists that marketers can buy?
By the way, a friend of mine (a Gen X-er) gave regular updates on Facebook during her labor. I have noticed, and she has commented, that she’s finding much less time for Facebook now that the baby’s here.
November 23rd, 2009 at 10:55 am
[...] Thankfully, however, some have discovered ways to harness the positive power of the text message. For example, researchers in New York have discovered that sending medication reminders via text message to young liver transplant patients can improve the rate of adherence thus reducing the chance of organ rejection. Another study found that people were more likely to wear sunscreen if they received a daily text message reminding them to do so. And public health programs in California are using text messages to educate teens and young adults about STDs and sexual health. We’ve even recommended the use of texting to help our clients reach out to Gen Y moms-to-be. [...]