built for females
bff
intro
BFF aims to enlighten brands that are not yet maximizing their potential with the female demographic by helping them navigate their way through the ever-evolving media landscape. BFF is a lovely practice area at beautiful CloudRaker.
why sell to
women?
brands not taking women’s purchase power into account isn’t a feminist issue, it’s a business issue. not that there’s anything wrong with feminism.
Globally, women control $20 trillion in annual spending. It could reach $28 trillion in the next 5 years. Women are on the brink of surpassing men in the US job market.
Current page source: The Female Economy, 2009 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation.
women as a growth market represent a bigger oppor tunity than China and India combined. we see digital dollar signs.
Why Sell To Women?
Women are not a niche market.
Opposite sources: http://smallbiztrends.com/2009/09/ marketing-to-women.html
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Why Sell To Women?
charlotte’s
web
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Charlotte’s Web
the digital space is proving to be one of the most fer tile grounds for brands to reach women. the internet is the next oprah.
The internet hasn’t shaped women’s behaviour. Women are helping shape the internet. People don’t change, technology does. To understand how women behave online, you must first understand how they behave offline. It’s the same, it’s the very same. We rate, we relay, we recommend, we dissuade, we discuss, we delight, we council, we confer, we communicate. We talk a lot.
Source: The Female Economy, 2009 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation.
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Charlotte’s Web
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Charlotte’s Web
men use the internet to transact, women use it to connect. hm. sounds familiar.
Source: The Female Economy, 2009 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation.
don’t just put it in pink. what distinguishes women from men goes way beyond cosmetics.
the chat
factor
For a while, social media looked like a blip or a trend. It is now giving us a good idea of what the internet is going to look like going forward. Facebook, twitter, myspace, youtube, vimeo, user rankings, user comments, blogs. Everybody is getting their 15 minutes. The digital space allows women to express themselves freely and consult with one another in a fast paced, highly updatable venue, 24 hours a day, and it’s measurable. That online conversation between women can convert to real dollars.
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The Chat Factor
it’s what we call the ‘chat factor’: women become your brand ambassadors.
if they like your product, they will sell it for you. But, you can’t buy their affection with GRPs, you have to earn it. Ain’t love a bitch?
you have to put yourself
out there.
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You Have To Put Yourself Out There
The single greatest dif ference in the digital space is relinquishing total control over your brand. Dialogue, people, dialogue.
The digital era is spurning a major socio-economic shift. You can no longer sell crap and not get called on it. Its time for a little tough love. If your product or service isn’t good enough, you’ll hear about it. The good news is, you can do something about it. Make it better. Listen to your consumers, they will tell you in great detail what you are doing right and what you need to fix.
how to build a beautiful
website for women
Women-friendly websites don’t need to look like they are for women. Remember what we said about putting it in pink?
While men prefer fast download speed to usability. Women prefer easy, accessible navigation. Men like it fast, women like it good. Also women will work hard to find the content they need. They are patient web users. Though they prefer bold navigational articulations to complex detailed designs.
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How To Build A Beautiful Website For Women
be unique and
useful
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Be Unique And Useful
T V ads keep reminding women how busy they are while wasting their time. Putting your ads up on a facebook page does not make it content. Most people ignore most ads. To qualify as content, you have to provide something people want. The gestures brands make online do not have to be bold and grand but they do have to be unique and useful.
This isn’t about blowing their minds in 30 seconds, it’s about connecting. You don’t know a person after one conversation. It is a collection of interactions that create a real relationship. If your brand can actually give a consumer something useful before she’s purchased your product, she will like you. Behave like you value her time. If your brand continues to give the consumer something after she’s purchased your product, she will love you. Continue to behave like you value her time. If she trusts you enough to give you her email address, use it wisely. When you do contact her, make it count.
sending her content that is of no value to her isn’t called a newsletter. It’s called spam.
beautiful blogs for
broads
Write a mini manifesto that gives readers a snapshot of what your brand stands for. Keep it shor t and sweet. Blogs are not static like websites: your blog will bring people to other blogs and visa versa. The web roadtrip, you may be a detour, but you can still be memorable. Socialize with other blogs: tell them when you love a post, comment as much as possible and always sign with your URL. Don’t be shy, the blogosphere is nothing like highschool.
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Beautiful Blogs For Broads
blogs can humanize your business: so give your blog a personality, preferably your own. mom was right: be yourself.
Even when things start going great for you and your blog, don’t become selfobsessed: keep up with all the new up and coming blogs or you will become irrelevant and a little lonely. No blog is an island. Offline promotion can’t hurt: give people an excuse to visit you online with exclusive promotions, sneak peeks and great content. But ultimately, the web drives the web.
the new
rules
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The New Rules
It is only by understanding the behaviors of the people you target that you can assess what will work best for your brand. Some of the most popular new tools out there are not right for ever yone. Get down from your podium. People don’t like being spoken at. It’s obnoxious. Engaging in the online conversation is not about being perfect, it’s about knowing who you are and never pretending to be something you aren’t. You’ll get found out. Conversations about your brand online are already happening. You cannot stop it. You can, however, steer the conversation. If your brand reputation is in crisis on line, be honest, authentic and transparent. Even if your every last instinct tells you to lie.
while new rules apply to marketing to women today and the process may seem complex, at 20 trillion dollars strong, we’re worth it.
credits
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BFF was founded by Christina, VP creative director Isabelle, Strategic Planner With the enthusiastic guidance and invaluable support of Thane and Jean-SĂŠbastien and designed by Edmund. Because boys rock too. Finally, enormous thanks to the people who created the beautiful images in this book: pages 6-7: page 11: page 14: page 17: page 18: page 20-21: page 25: page 26-27: page 30: page 35: page 38: pages 40-41: page 45: page 46-47: page 50: page 52-53:
by Alfred T. Palmer. c/o Library of Congress by CloudRaker by Hans Vink c/o Flickr creative commons by Kristof Borkowski c/o Flickr creative commons by baboon™ c/o Flickr creative commons by stacy michelle c/o Flickr creative commons by John & Mel Kots c/o Flickr creative commons by bricolage.108 c/o Flickr creative commons by riccardoce c/o Flickr creative commons by Nickolas Muray c/o George Eastman House Collection by jmacphoto.com c/o Flickr creative commons by The Rocketeer c/o Flickr creative commons by lepiaf.geo c/o Flickr creative commons by the russians are here c/o Flickr creative commons by Esparta c/o Flickr creative commons by Marina(im.back) c/o Flickr creative commons
The End
bff © 2010 CloudRaker