Creating Content Parents will Love

If you run a swim school, health club, theme park or other type of business that counts on families as the backbone of your clientele, you might wonder how to use content to attract, convert and retain this audience as customers. Families all have their own dynamics and stories, and definitely cannot be approached with a one-size-fits-all mentality in marketing. But despite these differences, we have discovered a few consistent threads woven into the majority of parents’ wants and needs through working with countless family-focused businesses over the years.

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So, what does it take to draw parents in with your content, inform them, pique their interest and keep them coming back for more? Here are the five key things your content needs to nail in order to make all this happen.

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1. Easy Viewing

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If there’s one thing we hear from our parents (who make up many of our clients’ customers), it’s this: “We are so busy.” As marketers, we’ve learned that this means most parents aren’t interested in spending time or effort reading or viewing content if it’s not easy to consume in a snap.

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If you’re writing a blog post, put it in a list format so they can quickly skim the key points or pull out a couple especially significant quotes into a text box. If you’re using videos, keep them short (we recommend two minutes or less) and add in subtitles in case the baby is sleeping and they want to watch it on mute. The shorter and easier to read or watch it is, the better the odds the parent you’re trying to reach will actually finish consuming it.

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2. Appeal to their Aspirations

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The other big theme we always hear when talking with parents is how much they love their kids and want to be their heroes. When you’re creating content for this group, keep this top of mind. Instead of making an e-book about the benefits of cardiovascular exercise in children, focus the e-book around how involving the whole family in exercise together can boost the parent-child bond and establish cherished family activities that could last a lifetime.

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Of course you can weave in all the other important things of the services or products you provide (like improvements in physical health), but remember that - first and foremost - parents want to be their best for their children and give the best to their children.

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3. Engaging Formats

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There are endless stats online that demonstrate the power of video in marketing - and we encourage you to explore video and beyond. Many parents today are tech-savvy, and expect for marketers to engage them and reach them where they already spend their time.

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Use social media to hold a contest to get your audience engaged, post a compelling video to your website’s homepage or consider using SMS to invite parents to an upcoming open house. Blog posts and written content can be incredibly useful - just don’t stop there. Remember that families like to be engaged - and entertained.

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4. Clear Expertise

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In all of your content, it’s crucial you paint yourself as the expert you are. Especially if parents are entrusting you with their children in some way, they need to feel confident that you’re worthy of their trust before they’ll give your business a second thought.

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If your staff has certain certifications that show credibility, make sure to reinforce those messages in your content. Or if your business has won awards for a particular service, don’t let that fade to the background of your website. Your expertise should be clear for all to see, and repeated (tastefully and not excessively) throughout the content you share.

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5. A Hint of More to Come

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You can produce great content once or twice, but the best way to keep parents coming back is by teasing something valuable that’s yet to arrive. If you have an exciting new cooking class for kids you’ll be launching over the summer, don’t put out all the details right away. Maybe give a small glimpse of the program at the end of your latest Instagram video, along with saying something like, “We have a surprise in store for kids who like to cook! Check back next week to find out the details!”

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You can also do this with longer-form content (like a white paper) you’re working on, especially if it’s around a topic that is time-sensitive and relevant. Drop hints of your “yet-to-be-released complete guide” on whatever the trending topic is on your social media channels, and you’ll be sure to intrigue the parents who are paying attention to your brand.

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Families can be some of the most loyal (and fun!) customers. Remember to give them content they can quickly consume and learn something from, positions them as the hero to their children, is engaging, demonstrates your expertise and teases something coming down the road. If your content strategy hits on all these points, it’ll be no time before you start attracting, converting and retaining more and more of this oh-so-coveted target market.

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If creating content isn’t your thing, we’d be happy to help! Feel free to content us to learn more about how we can create content for you that reaches moms, dads and families.