If there’s ever a time for your brand to show its human side, it’s a holiday like Mother’s Day. More than 60 percent of social conversations that happen on Mother’s Day are inherently positive, and they’re filled with relatable messages about gratitude and appreciation.
With Mother’s Day quickly approaching (Sunday, May 8 – call your mom!), we dug into the social conversation from last year to see which campaigns, topics and influencers resonated most with consumers. These insights, detailed below, can help brands make informed decisions about how and when to reach customers with Mother’s Day messages during this home stretch.
Let your brand name take the back seat.
On a personal holiday like Mother’s Day, brands should step back and let the people driving their success take the spotlight. For proof, just look at the data – in 2015, ESPN was the leading influencer in Mother’s Day social conversations. The network released a video that featured top Major League Baseball (MLB) players speaking openly about their appreciation for their moms. As a brand, ESPN was only mentioned in a subtle way – and for audiences, the message hit home.
In honor of Mother's Day, here's five awesome examples of athletes giving back to their moms: http://t.co/b8MFdKx4YQ pic.twitter.com/KGfygCJKyg
— ESPN (@espn) May 10, 2015
The market is loud this week – don’t be afraid to make more noise.
Social chatter often starts days, weeks or even months before a major event – but for a holiday like Mother’s Day, conversation volume grows most rapidly two to three days before (see last year’s pre-Mother’s Day conversation below for reference). In other words, while your campaign may have been seeding the Mother’s Day market for some time now, this coming Thursday, Friday and Saturday will be prime time for customer engagement.
Prepare for last-minute shoppers.
In the week leading up Mother’s Day last year, gift-giving was front and central in the social conversation. In other words, consumers are currently on the lookout for last-minute gift ideas and offers. With this in mind, you can ride the trend if your brand finds a way to own it. For example, Amazon hosted a bouquet giveaway in 2015, which drove brand awareness and consumer engagement at the same time.
Let your audience’s voices be heard.
Holidays bring people together – and your campaign will succeed if it follows suit. The majority of shared social content relating to Mother’s Day last year included photos and videos of family, which gives any brand an opportunity to launch a campaign that invites users to share content using a hashtag.
Some of the trending hashtags from 2015 included #OnlyMomCan and #Mommism, with which users shared personal stories about their mothers. Samsung’s #TextsFromMom campaign featured its flagship Galaxy S6 phone with humorous text messages from mothers, giving its audience a chance to relate to the brand – and enter to win a new phone if they shared their own mother’s texts. Hallmark’s #PutYourHeartToPaper campaign included a series of videos where adults shared their impressions of their mothers without using the words “thank you” or “I love you,” which helped the brand capture genuine sentiments.
If you don’t have something nice to say…
Moms are a personal topic. The majority of social conversations about Mother’s Day focus on those who have lost their mothers or are separated from them, and brands need to be highly sensitive about that community. Set high standards for your own campaign to ensure its messages appear inclusive, and avoid any points that could be construed as tone-deaf.
Do you know how the public perceives your brand? Use social data to find out, and messages your customers want to hear.
