The arrival of a new baby is one of life’s greatest joys…full of wonder, excitement and love you didn’t think was possible. Oh and becoming a parent means that you constantly need to buy stuff. Lots and lots of stuff… New parents are joyful and emotional, eager to capture every moment and savor every milestone.  They are also confused, overwhelmed, sleep-deprived, and willing to reach out for any new piece of advice or gadget that makes life a little easier. Making them the most desired and easiest to target consumers for brands that align with the parenting industry. This also explains the rise of valuable mom, dad and parenting blogs in the digital realm and why brands are so eager to partner with them. This report from 2014 claims the average family will spend more than $12,000 on child-related expenses the first year, and the number tends to move up. Wow! Brands love partnering with parent bloggers because they tend to be extremely active on all channels, share advice in online forums and meticulously scour reviews of each and every piece of gear from pacifiers and strollers to the best smoke detectors and the safest cars.

What Can Parenting Bloggers do for Your Brand?

What does this all mean? If your brand can somehow align with the parenting vertical, it means that there is an immense opportunity for your brand to tap into a massive and steady market using all things digital. Strategic plans are best understood and brainstormed via examples so let’s say you own a business that makes baby monitors. Gone are the days of the open-channel scratchy audio monitor that would occasionally pick up police bands or other random chatter on the same frequency. Today’s monitors are on the cutting edge of technology and safety with crystal clear audio, video and even night vision lenses streams that allow you to check on your baby on your smartphone from anywhere. This is the monitor you are selling, and you were able to offer it at a very competitive price point. Sounds like a great product right? But, how do you jump into a very crowded and saturated market and make an impact? Way back when (read: 10 years ago!), you would take out an expensive print ad in Parenting magazine and pay the local big-box chain store to put your product on an eye-level shelf and hope Consumer Report reviews your product in the next few years.

How Brands Are Making Giant Digital Impacts with Parenting Affiliate Partners

Now, you tap into the powerful world of influencer and affiliate marketing, get the buzz out and equip hundreds of parent bloggers (with thousands of followers) with the ability to spread and recommend your brand, review your product, and sell it directly from their website. That’s guaranteed return on your marketing investment and organic, natural brand promotion. Let’s see how this works:
  1. understand how parents shop. According to this post, 81% of women buy items they see on social media or blogs, and 72% use reviews and recommendations found in the same spot to inform which item they’ll buy. Whether that advice is used online at home or with a mobile device at the store, the results are the same.
 
  1. A savvy, content-based affiliate marketing strategy puts your product front and center on dozens of established and trusted blogs and websites, possibly in review form, engages those thousands of readers, and gives them a one-click option to buy it right then and there.
 
  1. Got a deal or promotion to offer with that great price point you have? The same study says that 92% of those same shoppers will consistently pass along great deals to all their friends, and will undoubtedly take to social media to talk to other parents about their purchase. This now amplifies that original message and ever widens the circle of who puts eyes on that baby monitor, as well as offering social proof and reassurance about your purchase…very valuable assets, indeed.
 
  1. allow your carefully curated content to work its magic. Gift guides, mom must-have lists, even scary stories about hacked monitors can all point those readers toward your product. Mom bloggers in particular, actively seek out advice from each other and trade stories, meaning your original content can stay evergreen and be republished and linked back to for a long time.
 
  1. With an affiliate program in place, you can constantly update and tweak your content, promotions and compensation packages, as well as steer your brand towards effective channels and away from underperforming ones based on easy to access and impactful data.

Sold on Affiliate Marketing? What Should Your Brand do Next?

This can be a fair amount of work for a business owner, but it’s definitely necessary. Many marketing professionals wisely turn to an affiliate marketing agency to handle these challenges, tap into a network of influencers already in place and have an expert that knows how to comply with FTC guidelines. Expertise and experience in any aspect of a business count for a lot, and an established agency with extensive and trusted relationships and insight can put you miles ahead of the competition from the get-go. At the end of the day, it’s most important for brands to understand that both the writers and their readers are loyal, engaged and constantly trading information and advice regarding their most important asset: their children. If your baby monitor, or any other related product, falls into this market space, investigate the possibilities that this sort of marketing can offer. You should feel good about your product, and how it can help parents and kids be safer, smarter and happier.  Let everyone else spread the word for you. Have you tried affiliate marketing strategies for your brand? If so share your experience or let us know if you have any questions or comments below!