6 Ways to Attract More Parent Followers & Customers Online by Saskia Crawley

You’ve probably heard it before... When it comes to getting your business or social platform off the ground, it’s really not all about the numbers. Nope. A huge follower count doesn’t guarantee success! The trouble is: we all love recognition. Let’s face it, online, the more followers and customers who ‘get us’ and love what we do, the better - right? As a copywriter and brand strategist for kids and family focused brands, I keep my eye out for online marketing doing well among the mum crowd. What’s connecting, what’s converting, what’s attracting fellow busy parents and diverting attention from a sea of competitors... Whether you’re a blogger, an Insta influencer or you run a kids/family focused business, here’s what to do to attract other parents to your online presence and how to make them fall in love with you:

Be a mind reader
Relatability is the easiest way to make connection online. Feeling heard and understood is LIFE GIVING, especially for the parent who’s spent the day only having conversations with little people! We all want to connect with others who ‘get it’. Get our lives. Get our struggles. Get our dreams. An understanding of who you’re creating content for will help you come up with relevant topics and ideas and help guide on when and where to post - boosting the chances of engagement from those who your content will resonate with.

You’ll know you’re on the right track when you’re getting comments like: “It’s like you read my mind!”, “I really needed this today” and “I was talking about this yesterday!”.


Be honest
We all know those social media squares aren't truly a reflection of life. They're highlight reels. Glimpses of how we wish we’d see our life all the time, shared as a reminder of good times amongst life's true ups and down. But even though we all know this at the back of our minds, it's so easy to get sucked into comparisonsitis and find ourselves longing for unattainable and unrealistic lives.

Finding snippets of REALITY online is always a huge relief as a social media using parent. To see or read of other's imperfections and struggles is not only liberating, it's key to staying sane while digitally connected.

Next time you're not sure if you should reveal truths, share those opinions or tell that story because it reveals that actually life isn't always glossy, think about the followers who might need to know they're not alone and DO IT! Vulnerability is powerful. It lets others closer and helps empower those who also want to speak openly about their lives without the fear of judgement.

Be an encourager
Speaking of empowering others, if you want to attract more followers and have a more positive experience online - be someone who empowers and encourages with your words. Be someone who shows others what's possible. Who approaches things with positivity, kindness and hope! There's so much negativity in this world as it is, online and off. Stand out as the creator of a space people want to be part of and focus on uplifting others with everything from your content to your comments. A sense of enthusiasm and love is irresistible.

Remember though, this doesn't mean you need to write everything with rose tinted glasses. Be honest, with a focus on overcoming or asking for help when you face your struggles. Who wouldn’t want to see more of this in their lives?!

Be silly
Dance parties. Singalongs. Instagram filters. Behind the scenes playfulness... Whatever fits with your brand or life, do more of the stuff that makes you feel great. Us parents have enough responsibility going on, it's always refreshing to have a laugh as we scroll! And you know how it works, when we see something funny online it's natural to want to share it on.

Be of service
It doesn’t matter if you're ‘in business’ or ‘in the business of growing a social media following’, being a helper is a great way to build a reputation. Think about what your parent followers need and make their life easier with what you do. Plan content that helps solve their problems or be of service through the advice and encouragement you give in comments; if you put being of service as a focus, recognition will follow.

Be an inviter
Business owners, this one’s for you. The biggest obstacle I hear when it comes to business growth is the fear of... wait for it - making sales! Online success relies on strategically prompting and directing your parent browsers and presenting invitations to actually BUY.  I get it. I’ve never been a fan of directly asking for money (shudder) and yes, I’ve felt the fear of coming across as spammy, salesy, money-grabbing. But ladies, we’ve got to remember the reason we’re doing this in the first place. For our children, for our families, for our own personal sense of achievement - making more sales is a must if you want to keep your business alive, and hoping people are going to find their way to the checkout doesn’t cut it if you want your business to fulfil its maximum potential.

The most helpful ‘reframer’ for me was to think of sales as invitations. There’s no forcing, no persuading... Just confident invitations to enjoy some of what you’ve got. Be that baby sleep coaching services or smart design kids swimwear, don't forget to invite your followers to take a closer look. They could just be desperate to hear more!

Saskia Crawley is a copywriter and brand strategist for kids/family focused brands, a mum of 2 young boys, and the creator of The Parent-Magnet Process. Get ready to see more parents fall in love with your business with her free 20-minute masterclass ‘6 Parent-Attracting Steps to Take Before You Launch Your Kids/Family Focused Business’.