When Facebook first began, it was a tool for students to connect with one another, typically within a limited age range of about 20-30.  Later, when Zuckerberg opened up the Facebook forum to people of all ages, more people learned about the value of reaching out to one another using what is now the world’s largest social network.  What was once seen as cool and limited to a select group of people who were “in the know” became open to everyone.  A college student would cringe to open up his friend requests to see, smiling back at him, an image of his own mother.
But these days, it’s the norm for mothers of all types to connect with their children and with other moms using Facebook, Twitter and other popular social networks.  As women are seeing the benefits of technology, more of them are also investing in tablets and smart phones, which provide ways for them to stay connected.

Facebook is a revolutionary tool for mothers, who often post pictures of their children and families to share with friends.  In fact, many young mothers make their living from blogging and working remotely in social fields, as doing so allows them the flexibility to stay home with their children while still allowing them to earn a living.  Older mothers have found the value of using Facebook to help them stay connected to business contacts.

[quote]For advertisers, moms are a highly coveted demographic, as they are often the ones who have the power to make purchasing decisions for items such as diaper brands, video games, and children’s cereals, among other things.  [/quote]It seems like a no-brainer that these mothers would engage in significant social sharing activity – through social networking sites, they stay connected.

At a recent BlogHer conference sponsored by a number of mommy-friendly companies like Diet Pepsi and Johnson & Johnson, hundreds of moms got together to discuss trends in social media and digital networking.  These aren’t your traditional soccer moms – many of these moms were urban professionals who make a living in the digital media industry, networking to reach out to other moms to create and maintain a community.

Sites like Babble.com cater to what they call “a new generation of parents,” writing articles with titles like “18 Ways to Keep Yourself Feeling Sexy During a Dry Spell.”  In essence, this ain’t your mama’s website…. Except actually, it is!

So, back to the core question – how social are moms?  In a word, incredibly.  Neilsen reports that moms are some of the biggest influencers out there, and use social media to stay connected to one another.  They are:

– 81 percent more likely to become a fan of or follow a brand online

– 86 percent more likely to post a status update

– 84 percent more likely to comment or post content than the general population.

Of course, there may be demographic shifts due to the age of the parent, location, household income and a host of other factors.  But, the mother of one four-year-old I know has hundreds of connections on LinkedIn, due at least partially due to her propensity to use LinkedIn as a networking tool to help her grow her small business.

As social media continues to grow and expand, so too will the ways in which mothers reach out to one another through social media.

To learn more about how you can market to moms in order to create brand preference and instill brand loyalty, check out our Florida marketing agency’s recent whitepaper on marketing to moms, which discusses strategies for segmentation, creating appeals and assessing your own brand to determine the right moms for your business.

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