​Exquisite self-pleasing, reverse parenting, has the marketing strategy of maternal and infant brands changed?

Maternal and infant brands have introduced Internet thinking and carried out marketing activities such as online shopping, WeChat marketing, and e-commerce promotions, allowing consumers to enjoy a more convenient, fast, and efficient shopping experience. This article describes the relevant content and hopes it will be helpful to you.

Social media has gradually become an important battlefield in brand digital marketing. Brand owners' investment in social marketing has gradually increased. How to improve marketing effectiveness and serve product sales conversion has become a core issue of concern to brands.

Clour will focus on multiple industries such as fast-moving consumer goods beverages, digital 3C, maternal and child care, beauty and skin care, and conduct in-depth exploration of consumer preferences, brand marketing, and new consumption trends. It will combine platform selection, influencer layout, content strategy and other dimensions to analyze the logic behind brand social marketing and gain insights into development trends.

As the consumption concepts of the new generation of mothers and babies shift towards scientific parenting, rational consumption, and exquisite self-satisfaction, the effectiveness of more professional mother and baby experts and influencers in recommending products has begun to increase, and the marketing focus of mother and baby brands has gradually evolved from "functional satisfaction" to "emotional satisfaction."

1. Overview of the development of the maternal and infant products market

At present, the number of newborns in my country is decreasing year by year. The decline in birth rate has led to a slowdown in the growth rate of the maternal and infant market. The focus of maternal and infant consumption has shifted from one-child to two-child and three-child families following the demographic dividend.

In this context, scientific parenting, rational consumption, and exquisite self-satisfaction have become the parenting consumption concepts of the new generation of parents.

Parents born in the 2000s advocate "exquisite parenting", while parents born in the 1980s and 1990s pursue cost-effectiveness and are more rational in child-rearing consumption. When choosing maternal and infant products, practicality and texture are the primary considerations. In terms of acceptance of technological and youthful maternal and infant products, parents born in the 1990s and 2000s are more willing to try new things, free their hands, and raise children intelligently. As women in the new era, traditional parenting concepts are gradually being abandoned. The new generation of mothers advocate "exquisite self-pleasing", loving their babies while loving themselves more. The market space for maternity products is huge.

The consumption structure is significantly different for infants and young children at different stages of their upbringing. According to Crawley's survey data, the average monthly consumption of infants and young children accounts for about 10%-20% of the total household expenditure, with milk powder and wet wipes and diapers being the two core expenditure items. In addition, babies under one year old spend more on bed travel and babies aged 1-3 spend more on nutritional supplementary food.

Social media + short video content is the key channel for users to obtain information about maternal and infant products. Online shopping has become the main way for mothers to buy maternal and infant products. Due to the importance of product quality and experience, offline channels are equally important when purchasing maternal and infant products.

In general, the number of newborns is decreasing, the demographic dividend of the maternal and infant market is disappearing, and the trust of existing users in brands (the dividend of people's hearts) is becoming more and more important. Brand competition is becoming more and more fierce, and the quality route that fits the consumption concept of "exquisite parenting" of post-00 parents will become the foundation for maternal and infant brands to seek long-term development.

2. Differences between the three major platforms for social marketing of maternal and infant products

The impact of social marketing on maternal and infant user consumption is gradually increasing, and the differences in the marketing talents and content of the maternal and infant industry on various platforms are becoming more prominent.

Content drives consumption, and PGC+UGC content on social platforms work together to promote maternal and infant users. Under the situation dominated by influencers, different types of influencers have different influences on users' purchase of maternal and infant products. The influence of influencers is positively correlated with the expertise of influencers. The more professional the influencers, such as doctors, experts, and senior maternal and infant influencers, are, the stronger their influence is.

Looking at the core battlefields of maternal and infant social marketing - Douyin, Xiaohongshu, and Weibo, the maternal and infant marketing content of each platform is unique and different: Douyin promotes products through entertainment, Xiaohongshu promotes products through teaching, and Weibo focuses on brand building. The maternal and infant content marketing of the three major platforms has its own focus, forming a differentiated competitive segmentation.

1. TikTok

According to Crawley data, male mother and baby parenting influencers account for 27% of Douyin, which is higher than other platforms. "Dads taking care of babies" has become a highlight of Douyin's mother and baby influencers. The humor and contrast of dads taking care of babies have become an important factor in attracting fans, and also add freshness and fun to brand placements.

On the marketing topic side, Douyin’s maternal and infant users have a relatively high level of interaction on the topics of “parent-child interaction and infant education,” which makes it suitable for brands to “cater to their tastes” and guide the direction of public opinion.

2. Xiaohongshu

Overall, female mother and baby experts account for as high as 91% of Xiaohongshu's parenting experts. Mothers have transformed themselves into experts to personally share knowledge and strategies about pregnancy, childbirth and parenting, and provide quality parenting guides. KOC has become a major feature of Xiaohongshu's mother and baby authors.

The experts who create maternal and child content on Xiaohongshu have the highest verticality . The maternal and child content created by experts in humor, fashion, and life records has a high average playback volume. The maternal and child content released by experts in handmade, medical health, and sports and fitness is highly interactive. Based on women's content consumption preferences, Xiaohongshu has formed a differentiated maternal and child content matrix.

3. Weibo

Unlike Douyin and Hong Kong, Weibo is the platform where celebrities gather most. At the same time, there are a large number of well-known and professional experts sharing relevant knowledge. The celebrity expansion effect and expert endorsement power form a maternal and infant big V matrix, which jointly help maternal and infant brands to convey their value and increase user trust.

It is precisely because of the influence of celebrities and experts that Weibo maternal and infant users have a high degree of interaction on topics such as "brand marketing, parenting experience, and seeding". Therefore, unlike other platforms, Weibo has become a social marketing platform suitable for maternal and infant brands to interact with fans and accumulate private domain assets.

3. In-depth case analysis - marketing differences in maternal and infant product segments

At present, the maternal and infant consumer market is vast. Milk powder, wet wipes and diapers, and maternity products are the three key consumer categories in the maternal and infant market, and user consumption demands are becoming more and more segmented and diversified.

1. Milk powder category

Nutritional value is the factor that mothers pay most attention to when choosing milk powder, followed by formula ingredients, safety qualifications, brand awareness, etc. Among them, mothers of babies aged 0-1 years old primarily consider the formula ingredients when choosing milk powder.

According to Clour’s observation, the marketing strategy of milk powder brands is gradually expanding from “popularizing science about efficacy” to “scenarios and scenarios”, and expanding marketing circles step by step. Jinlingguan conducts scenario marketing around the theme of “parent-child camping” to launch new products. Jinlingguan Sennamu’s new product uses the celebrity effect and launches a national celebrity tour with Fu Longfei to enhance regional users’ awareness of new products and user reputation. At the same time, Jinlingguan and @汐汐妈妈@黄太Joan@若菡不留在夜 and other parent-child experts customized “parent-child camping” videos to promote products, and created a micro-variety show “Go Camping with Dad” to expand the brand’s user base by leveraging the Douyin traffic pool.

2. Wet wipes and diapers

When buying diapers, users focus on basic performance indicators such as breathability and comfort, and are relatively less sensitive to price. "Quality" is the primary consideration. As a fast-moving consumer product, the marketing of wet wipes and diapers brands focuses on opening up the "cognition-conversion" link and quickly promoting conversion.

During the 618 promotion, Pampers attracted users through recommendations and guides from mid-level influencers on Xiaohongshu, and ultimately achieved sales conversion on Douyin and Taobao by combining direct broadcasting with self-broadcasting.

3. Maternity products

The female pregnancy and childbirth market is highly differentiated, and four sub-markets have gradually formed. Innovative consumption of "self-pleasing" products such as maternity cosmetics, maternal and child appliances, etc. has formed a blue ocean market, driving the consumption of pregnant and childbirth users to expand from "practical" to "self-pleasing" consumption.

In terms of marketing, the combination of "practicality + high appearance" is the best way to impress pregnant mothers to consume. Starting from the concept of "love yourself", Manxi impresses pregnant mothers through high emotional value and seizes the trend of "her economy".

In general, in a market where the "efficacy difference" of maternal and infant products is decreasing, adhering to quality and seeking to satisfy "emotional value" has become a marketing breakthrough point for maternal and infant brands to capture people's hearts and achieve sales growth.

4. Brand Marketing Trends in the Maternal and Infant Industry

Through user consumption analysis and social marketing content insights in the maternal and infant market, Clour believes that maternal and infant social marketing will show four development trends in the future. Product differentiation and innovation form a segmented track. In the face of a reduced competition market, maternal and infant brands will continue to explore new categories, highlight their own differentiated advantages, and stand out from fierce competitors.

User segmentation and refined operation: Segment the market according to consumer groups, solve the pain points of different consumer groups, and amplify the value of selling points.

"Men" as a new role in parenting has stimulated the vitality of the maternal and infant market. Brands are gradually releasing the product potential in the "dad taking care of the baby" scenario, attracting the attention of more potential people.

The popularity of new parenting styles brings new value recognition. As the number of parents migrates to those born in the 1990s and 2000s, new ways of raising children, such as reverse parenting, lazy parenting, and online parenting, are emerging one after another. New value recognition is formed with young parents, helping brands to achieve interesting and resonant planting.

At present, the maternal and infant market is flourishing, and various marketing contents are releasing vigorous vitality. Under the new marketing trend, what kind of innovation and surprises can the future maternal and infant market bring? Let us wait and see.

Author: Aries

Source: WeChat public account "TopKlout (ID: TopKlout)"