NextConnect ’14: National Marketing Summit

Activating Influencer Parents

@coopermunroe @themotherhood

Pioneering social media

Why Parents Online?• 1 in 3 bloggers are moms

• Mom bloggers reach millions of followers who know them and trust their opinions

• Half of all bloggers are parents with kids under 18 in their household

• Influencers online often can tell the story about why to use a product better than the brand can

Social Media is a Matriarchy

Source: BabyCenter.com

Moms are each other’s trusted sources for information on brands

The Motherhood’s network of thousands of mom bloggers reaches nearly half a billion moms online every month

It Works

Why Scouting?The top two reasons families told us they join Scouting:

1. Confidence and character building2. Scouting encourages leadership and exposes

kids to a broad range of hobbies and skills

The least likely variable in deciding to join scouting: academic benefits

Why Not?Awareness, access and knowing how to get involvedStrapped for time and too busyConcerned about organizational policies

“It seems like such a great thing. But the time commitment is what stops us. Our local one expects dads to be there and my husband often can't.”

“If more parents were aware if the benefits and life lessons from scouting, I think it would help enrollment.” “I think it can be a good

program, but it needs to be more inclusive of everyone.”

Influencer feedbackHow to Reach Local Communities• Social media combined with hands-on, real life

community outreach are, by far, the preferred option over traditional media marketing.

“Use Social Media!”

“Have a community ‘Get To Know Scouts’ day.”

“Hold events at local schools, like game nights to introduce families to scouting.”

“Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram!”

“Send leaders into schools and classrooms, talk about the fun and experiences. Kids are more likely to go home and be excited to share the info rather than just bring home a flyer about it.”

ChallengesEffectively communicating your storyAwareness and exposure RelevanceFlexibility

“I think it is an undervalued organization these days. It used to be so commonplace when I was a kid. I wonder how they are staying relevant?”

“We love scouting. My husband was an Eagle Scout and it was one of the deciding factors that landed him the first job in his field of employment.”

“As a Cub Master, I cannot fathom why any child wouldn't be a Scout. The level of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math programs are increasing, and Scouting is no longer just about camping.”

“If the Boy Scouts change their policy we will enroll my oldest tomorrow and our whole family will be involved.”

OpportunitiesEducate, empower, engage your communities

Use social media on a local level to elevate councils & engage the community for events, enrollment, etc.

Educate the community in fun, engaging ways, including images & video

Tap into your area Alums; create allies, tell their story, use them

Identify localized interests, motivators, issues and concerns; customize & deliver content locally that speaks to each of these

Opportunities

Case Study: National Wildlife Federation The Motherhood and National Wildlife Federation’s Be Out There movement published a crowd-sourced e-Book written by 15 bloggers on getting kids outside.

Crowd-sourced tips include: •Balancing Screen Time with Green Time•Cool Activities for Hot Summer Days•Outdoor Time in Everyday Life.

Downloaded by over 20,000 people to date.

How this works for Boy Scouts? Engage influential parents in a national campaign that drives conversation at both a local & national level, educating parents on how & why to get involved with Boy Scouts

Case Study: OshKosh Virtual Blogger Briefing

Results: OshKosh Virtual Blogger BriefingSTAT SNAPSHOT

•40 bloggers in attendance•284 comments in chat box•277 live tweets•44 unique Twitter contributors•3.6 million Twitter impressions•OshKosh mentioned 193 times on Twitter

All during the 45 minutes of the virtual briefing.

How this works for Boy Scouts? Host webinars to educate influencers on the Scouting story, invite them to share what they learn.

Case Study: Hershey’s “Camp Bondfire”

30 bloggers created content (tips and photos) for the Hershey’s Facebook page. Two bloggers were featured each week through the summer and published blog posts to direct people to the Facebook page during their week.

Results: Hershey’s “Camp Bondfire”

32,415 Tweets 32,684,757 Twitter Impressions

108 Blog Posts 1,068,000 Unique Monthly Views

How this works for Boy Scouts? Engage councils to help create content for national and local channels, and work together to cross promote. Invite local councils to “run” the national social media channels for a day.

Actionable Next StepsTHE BASICS

1) Consistency: Create a nationwide Boy Scouts hashtag and encourage your communities to use the hashtag when they publish social content about their local troop or activities.

2) Tap your existing community: The people most likely to be tweeting, pinning, Facebooking and sharing photos of scouting are the Scout moms. Encourage social sharing; empower them to be local "ambassadors" to help promote scouting events, activities and participation.

3) Focus on local: People join at the local level, so local troops should have a Facebook page, Twitter feed and other regularly updated social channels where interested parents and kids can connect and ask questions.

Actionable Next StepsTACTICS

1) Troop spotlights on Facebook / "Get to Know Troop 123": Invite troop leaders to share photos from meetings and activities that the Boy Scouts national FB page will highlight each week.

2) Campagrams: Encourage troop leaders to share photos of classic Boy Scout activities (like camping) via photos on Instagram.

3) Live-tweeted troop meetings: Pair up troops in different states and encourage them to live tweet during simultaneous troop meetings or do a virtual competition (knot tying, anyone?). Host Twitter workshop to brainstorm ideas to generate interest in scouting and expose troops to new people/ideas.

4) Live #BoyScouts Q&A: On a national level, the Boy Scouts could hold live events on Twitter or Facebook and invite people for a Q&A to learn more about the benefits of scouting.

“A company’s most valuable customers are customers who are both excellent buyers and marketers.”

— Harvard Business Review

Thank You!