Graco: employees who are parents connect with consumers

Graco noticed lots of parents chatting it up online and realized this was an opportunity to engage with their consumers and future consumers. I wanted to know how a large company like Graco decides to enter the social media space and if they have been able to measure the success of their blogging and tweeting efforts.  Luckily, I had already become Twitter friends with one of the Graco bloggers, Karen Hartzell, and she was happy to share her experience.

How did the Graco parents start blogging? Did one of you suggest it? Or, who knew that it was a good way to tap into moms?

We started first by “listening” to the space knowing that expectant moms often get their information from experienced moms. We

also knew a lot of that conversation was happening online. We wanted to know, more specifically, what the parenting community was talking about. We used an agency to do conversation mining for us for 9 months (funny how we tend to work in trimesters over here J) before we really “jumped in.”

Have any of you blogged on your own?

Not yet but I would like to! (once I get settled)

What blogs do you rea

d (if any) on a regular basis?

I read so many different ones that it’s almost hard to keep track. My favorite part about the blogosphere is actually discovering new blogs, whether it’s parents of special needs children or grandparents or daddy blogs, or

adoptive parents, etc, so I wouldn’t say I read too many on a regular basis though there are a few I subscribe to.

What do you enjoy most about blogging?

It allows me to take the time to appreciate the small things that are happening in my life. It helps me to take notice of things that might go unnoticed so I can share it with my readers.

Has Graco been able to measure the impact of having bloggers who interact with the mom blogging community?

I wouldn’t say we’ve been able to come up with a strict “measurement” of the impact parenting community has had on our business but we’re pretty sure they haven’t “hurt” our business J Social media is definitely difficult to measure but we’re certainly seeing a higher engagement with our consumers and we’ve also had some great success with servicing our customers through this space.

What about Twitter? Love it? Hate it?

Love it. I became addicted over maternity leave because it’s short & quick & I could do it between newborn stuff. I still find it to be a helpful way to connect with parents for just about anything.

Has Twitter had any measurable effect?

I would say we’ve seen a measurable effect with our customer service but it’s honestly hard to tell- we’re really using social media to connect with the parenting community, first as parents, then as company representatives. Twitter is more a connection point for a longer relationship then an end point to hit a “goal.”

When they decided to start the blog and enter the world of Twitter what was the original goal? Was it for customer service? To spread the word on the brand?

Again, we wanted to build a relationship with the parenting community and social platforms give us, as a company, the ability to do that. We wanted to hear first-hand what experiences, what concerns, what issues parents were having. If we get to know our consumers as deeply as we can, we can create products that serve them best. And… we can service them [after purchase] through these platforms as well thus rounding out their positive experience with Graco. If we did all of that, wouldn’t you tell your friends? We hope so.

How does Graco promote the blog?

I wouldn’t say we “promote” the blog as much as I’d much as I’d say we “share” it. We talk about it on Twitter, we add posts to Facebook, we participate in the blogging community by commenting on others’ posts which is a way to say “Hey, come check us out too” and we host Get-Togethers with regional blogger groups as well. We don’t “advertise” the blog in the traditional sense but word spreads which is what social media is all about.

What are the Graco baby moms real jobs at Graco when they aren’t blogging?

The parents featured on the blogs are from different areas of the organization. For instance, I am in the Supply Chain (Senior Demand Planner) and others are in the marketing department, product development, channel marketing, sales, human resources, and fashion. We try to give a well-rounded representation of our company.

Does Graco work with other bloggers to promote products through reviews or giveaways?

Sometimes. I really wish we could more often because we know how important good reviews are. Unfortunately for us it’s a little difficult to give products to review and/or giveaway for two reasons. 1. because they are expensive and we don’t have a huge budget for samples (boy I wish we did!) 2. because our business isn’t a “loyalty/repeat” business- once someone purchases our products, they don’t usually purchase those same items again. (70% of baby gear purchases are made by a first-time expectant mom and those products are typically used again for a second, third, etc. child).

Janine is a mother of twins by day and a Mamarazzi by night. She writes about raising her twins, her neuroses, and reviews on TwoferMom.com.