Using Social Media to Effectively Reach the New Shoppers-in-Chief: Women

 

Today, most of the in-store purchases- including automotive products- are made by women. The car industry is one of the old-world, male dominated domains that exemplify the lack of understanding marketers have in making an emotional connection with women. Toyota did quite well and will continue to survive and strive again given its cultural attachment to women.

Most importantly, women just don’t look at cars in the same way as men. “Women were all over the interior of the car, whereas the men looked at the exterior and talked about the sleek styling and the horsepower of the great engine.”

A great way to reach women is through social media. Women are the majority in the social media sphere. Women want a dialogue and a connection with others and bond with brands. It is something we often forget with social networks, the fact that it is a leadership game were the most followed people are elected by others for their advice, observations or thinking. 

Market research has proven time and again that the primary thing that women want, as people and as consumers, is relationships. Women prefer personal, one-to-one networking as a way of finding solutions to business problems, and this is often how they discover products as consumers. Women are also largely holistic in their approach to relationships, meaning that they are less likely than men to compartmentalize a brand or company solely according to what it has to offer them in a specific situation. They want to understand the big picture: What the brand stands for on the whole, if the brand’s image, philosophy, and/or ethics are in sync with their own… They want to feel a deeper, more layered connection.

The 5 most important elements of an emotional branding program for women are:

• ·         Respect: Women are well-informed. They research products well before buying. They read ingredients much more closely than men to make sure there are no harmful elements, and they are very careful about their decisions. Acknowledge that they are intelligent and informed, and they will respect your brand.

• ·         Individuality: Women play multiple roles today and don’t want to be talked to from only one perspective. They are feminine, powerful, nurturing moms or caregivers, independent, sexy, smart and so on. Recognize their diversity as much as possible, and resist any and all temptation to stereotype.

• ·         Stress-relief: Stress has been shown to be women’s number one enemy. Women today feel overwhelmed by taking an equal role as breadwinner and primary nurture to the family. Offer solutions, or at least understanding, of the tensions that prey on them daily.

• ·         Connection: Women base most of their decision-making on emotions as opposed to rational elements. Studies have shown that they don’t like reading lists of numbers, specifications and statistics. They want to know what the product will do for them. Find out what makes “your” woman tick!

• ·         Relationship: Women want dialogue, not just a transaction. Women are looking for brands to trust and will often remain extremely loyal to a brand that has built on their trust consistently even beyond price. Part of the relationship a woman has with a brand has to do with that brand representing something important to her in her life. Brands that take a sincere stand for something and demonstrate it in real, concrete terms will do well with women.