Dad, the New King of Influencer Marketing

If your business targets parents as customers, you already know that mothers are super active on social media. However, a new study finds fathers are also highly active on social—and highly influential in convincing others to buy. So it only makes sense to start targeting dads as customers–and harness the power of influencer marketing for your business growth.

A whopping 91 percent of dads in the survey say they use Facebook every week; 60 percent use Twitter weekly and 49 percent use Instagram weekly. That’s not really a surprise, but what’s interesting is that much of the social media use is driven by parenthood. More than six in 10 fathers surveyed say they currently use social media more than they did before becoming parents. Sixty-five percent say they use social media to share content about their kids, and 45 percent say they use it to follow what their children are doing on social media.

More to the point for marketers targeting dads as customers, fathers are connecting with other fathers on social media. About 44 percent use it to connect with other dads, 40 percent share parenting advice with other fathers and 31 percent ask parenting questions of other fathers.

Some of what they’re sharing includes product recommendations: Nearly half of social media-using dads say they’ve gotten a recommendation for a product or service from another dad on social media. It’s not just kids’ products and services, either; 70 percent say they get recommendations on products for the entire family. In addition, 37 percent say they actively look for product and service advice from other dads on social media.

Of course, while they’re on social media, fathers are also connecting with brands on their own. More than three-fourths follow electronics, food or beverage brands; 63 percent follow men’s grooming brands; 40 percent follow automotive brands and 40 percent follow fashion brands.

How can you use this information to attract more dads as customers on social media?

• Provide parenting-related information. Some 61 percent of dads surveyed say they’ve learned something on social media that has made them better parents.

• Offer entertainment value. Six out of 10 dads in the survey say they like to share entertaining things on social media. Funny parenting stories, silly things children say, “dad fails” and, of course, entertaining video will all appeal to social dads and help you get dads as customers. Keep in mind you don’t have to create this content yourself: Sharing content from other sources is just as good a way to get fathers’ attention.

• Think visual. A whopping 91 percent of fathers in the survey say they share photos on social media. Keeping in mind that fathers are more likely to enjoy humorous photos, adding images to your posts will definitely help attract dads.

• Look for influential dads. Dads who regularly blog or post on parenting-related issues and have large followings can become influencers for your brand if you reach out to them.

• Get help. You can make your social media outreach on Facebook easier by using a service that increases your Facebook visibility.