MediaVision Blog : Search Engine Marketing

Not only are women consumers, they are intelligent consumers. Their brains are wired differently to men, and they think and process information differently. Very few marketers, online and off, recognise this and tailor their campaigns to suit women, or create campaigns that are gender neutral.

Think of all of the adverts out there, especially for cars and beer. Do any of them really take female consumption into account? As a woman, I’m going to go with No.

In the case of beer, do you think that linking the beverage to male dominated sports and bonding activities is going to entice any female drinkers? Do marketers think that women don’t drink beer? I’m a woman and I love beer. What I don’t love are all the adverts that pander to men and male stereotypes. There are brands of beer that I won’t drink purely because I think their advertisements are sexist and demeaning to women.

The power of female consumers lies in our decision and whether we choose to support a particular brand or not. We make up more than half of the consumer market and we base a lot of our decisions on the way things make us feel. If we are alienated, however unintentionally, we will take our business elsewhere and we won’t come back.

Michelle Miller and Holly Buchanan have recently published a book called “The Soccer Mom Myth” (http://www.thesoccermommyth.com/) that looks at how and why female consumers make decisions. In it they discuss the composition of the female brain and how our brains differ from men. Scientists have proven that the left and right sides of women’s brains are connected by four times as many neurons as men’s brains. This affects the way that we process information. While men are logical and linear, women augment information with emotion, imagination, and experience. The extra neurons enable a quicker data transfer rate; information moves rapidly from one side of their brains to the other.
How does this affect SEO and SEO marketing? Firstly, website design is extremely important. Because women are subjective, sites have to appeal to them visually. Research has shown that women prefer softer colours to men, who prefer brighter, primary colours. Use of pictures is important. The kind, size, and placement of images all play a role in attracting female users to websites, and keeping them there.

Content is very important. Content is where most marketing campaigns fall apart as far as women are concerned. All we need is the injudicious use of one word and we’re out of there. One chapter in the “The Soccer Mom Myth” states that it’s possible to lose a sale in two words – Dear Sir.

In the past (like the 70s) campaigns played on female insecurities – if you want to be perfect and keep your man, use product X. Or, women who don’t use product X are less than perfect and their men go elsewhere to meet their needs – avoid being as lonely as these women – use product X.

This was obviously cruel, demeaning and manipulative. Has anything changed? Not really. Our insecurities are still targeted: just look at cereal adverts that claim if you eat their product you can drop 2 dress sizes in 2 weeks. Adverts for men make products look fun and adventurous. Adverts for women make them think that they need products to lead perfect and fulfilled lives. The difference is enormous.

SEO marketers need to be aware of the buying power of women. One hopes that with the increasing number of female SEO experts on the scene, online marketing campaigns will start to show gender sensitivity and that the mighty female market will finally be shown the respect and dignity it deserves.

“The Soccer Mom Myth” goes a long way towards demystifying the feminine psyche. It contends that all SEO marketers need to do is a bit of research into current trends and interests, then use their findings to enable women to identify with their sites. It sounds like a lot of effort, but women reward effort with repeat business and word of mouth advertising.

All women want is to be recognised as the unique individuals they are. They don’t want to be boxed and categorised, and they certainly don’t want more stereotypical washing powder type adverts coming their way. If you’re a marketer, do yourself a favour, target men in your laundry campaigns, and acknowledge that women drink beer, I would thank you, and I don’t think that I would be alone.