This week team Approach attended Buy Yorkshire for a very interesting talk by the co-founder of Mumsnet, Carrie Longton.

Speaking at the annual Buy Yorkshire event at the Royal Armouries, Carrie gave us a run-down of the birth of the country’s busiest online network for parents, which included tales of dial up internet, life without Google and the power of word-of-mouth.

Since its conception in 2000, Mumsnet has grown massively and now receives over 14 million visits per month, works with big brands on advertising campaigns and is the go-to source for parenting market research.

So who better to give us an insight into speaking to ‘mums’ on behalf of brands? As a PR agency which works across interiors, healthcare and business, sharing our clients’ services with parents, families and the online community is often key.

We’ve rounded up Carrie’s tips below and included some of the things we’ve learnt along the way too:

  • “Never underestimate the power of good PR.” The Approach team had a ‘look-at-each-other-and-nod’ moment as Carrie shared this golden line. Obviously we’re absolute advocates for PR and the power it can have in catapulting a business into the realms of success, but it was great to hear this reiterated.
  • Remember, mums are people too. While it’s great to have a key target audience in mind when planning a campaign, be it in print or online, recognising that a ‘mum’ is also a business woman, a chemist or a police officer is integral to truly connecting with them as well as ensuring the product or service is genuinely useful to family life.
  • Do your research. This is especially important when working with bloggers. Building relationships is part of our day jobs, and speaking to the blogging community is no different – what can you help them with?
  • Don’t forget about social media. Whether you’re targeting parents with household products or busy women with the latest gadgets, social media is firmly at the top of any communications plan. Creating a page on Facebook, working on a Twitter strategy or growing LinkedIn contacts can be a whirlwind to sort, but has become absolutely key to reaching audiences. If you’re confused on where to find your audience online and how to speak to them, take a look at our Approachability training courses and get in touch to book.