It’s complicated trying to market a product in the 21st century. In the past, marketers had to choose from a limited set of tools, such as radio ads or mailers. Now, online marketing has completely rewritten the script. Marketers can use everything from emails to search engines, website content, and social media.

As if that wasn’t enough, if you want to market a children’s toy or a kids’ product, the task only becomes that much more challenging.

The Difficulty of Marketing Kid-Friendly Products Online

The chief task of a marketer is to identify demographics, analyze trends, create content, and ultimately promote a company’s products or services. It’s that first responsibility that can cause difficulties when it comes to marketing products for kids. 

In most cases, the core demographic for the marketing and product development teams will line up. For instance, if an R&D team develops a luxury sports car, marketers are going to naturally aim to promote it to an affluent demographic.

In the specific case of kid products, though, the target demographic is different. Research and development will focus on how to make a product appealing, applicable, and usable by children. When marketers go to promote the product, though, they need to consider the parents as much — if not more so — than the children. After all, it’s the parents that will be approving of and paying for the product.

When assembling a marketing strategy, a key part of it is marketing to the parents rather than their children.

Marketing Kids Products on Social Media

One of the most powerful modern marketing tools is social media. You can target your audience’s age, location, gender, and interests by using analytics tools. 

From there, you can push both paid and organic content toward your intended audience through paid ads, influencers, and setting up your own online community. As you do so, remember that you’re trying to sell kids’ products to an adult demographic. Here are a few tips to help guide your efforts.

1. Educate and Inform

If you want to win over the hearts of prospective parents on social media, you have to provide them with the information that they’re looking for. In other words, you have to win them over with facts rather than traditional sales pitches. 

Authenticity is important to 90% of millennials — a demographic that happens to stand at the heart of parenthood at the moment. If you want your product to resonate with parents online, it’s important that you avoid weak or shallow sales pitches. Instead, take the time to educate them. Provide them with the information they need to make an informed decision.

For example, if you’re trying to get parents to purchase a phone for kids, develop resources that help parents understand why they should show interest in the gadget. Address pain points like when kids should get their first phone, how they can keep their kids safe, and how to avoid smartphone addiction. This fosters a sense of authority on your part. It also generates a sense of trust from the potential customer.

2. Focus on Safety

Safety is a huge concern for most parents. This applies to any scenario, from wondering if a three-year-old can choke on a LEGO set to worrying about the safety rating of a teenager’s first car.

If you want your kids’ product to pop in the social media sphere, put safety first. This doesn’t just apply to your products. It should also be evident in your marketing collateral, as well. This can include a variety of different emphases, such as highlighting:

• Cybersecurity for an electronic device like a phone or tablet.
• Safety features that might make a toy or tool easier for a child to use.
• Certifications, such as goods manufacturing practice (GMP) or food and drug administration (FDA) stamps of approval.

Emphasizing safety in your marketing appeals to one of the most important priorities parents have in mind when considering a product for their child.

3. Work with Influencers

Influencer marketing is a powerful way to promote your products through popular social media personalities. These can be both celebrities with millions of fans as well as micro-influencers with no more than a few thousand followers.

In either case, using influencers can help your product appeal to a large audience of receptive consumers. For instance, if you are selling family products, you can use influencers to portray your brand in a storytelling manner. By doing so through an influencer, you can engage with parents in a relatable manner that promotes your products in a favorable light. 

4. Highlight User-Generated Content

User-generated content (UGC) is another powerful way to use social media. In fact, 84% of millennials claimed that UGC significantly influences their purchase decisions. 

In other words, nothing sells a kids’ product as well as parents seeing other parents endorsing it. By allowing users of your product to create content on your social media, it can encourage others to consider purchasing it as well.

UGC can consist of anything from requesting satisfied customers to leave text feedback to posting videos or images of a product in use. By having users create content, you generate organically appealing pieces of information. These will help promote your kid-friendly product to potential parents.

5. Be Responsive

If you want your social media marketing efforts to pay off, you must be responsive. Don’t treat it like a commercial or advertisement that is created and then left to “do its thing.” 

A healthy social media marketing strategy requires constant attention. You must always be ready to post, respond to comments, and generally cultivate your social media community. Quick responses indicate to customers that you’re a responsible brand that takes your products seriously.

6. Gather Feedback

Social media is one of the best customer service platforms available. Businesses great and small can use social media accounts to field questions and answer customer complaints. They can also use their social media communities to gather feedback and suggestions. 

While most of your social media marketing is focused on generating leads, don’t forget the power of feedback, too. Ask for suggestions regarding how you can improve your products in the future. Use customer recommendations to brainstorm future R&D efforts, as well.

From feedback and UGC to things like education, safety, influencers, and responsiveness, there are many ways to promote kid-friendly products on social media. The crucial element is remembering that it’s parents, not kids, that you’re trying to appeal to. If you can maintain that mindset, everything else will fall into place.