21st Century Mom Report: Social Media Use Has Increased 462%

BabyCenter, a leading online global resource for expectant and new moms, recently released the results of its research study, "The 21st Century Mom™ Report," which revealed that "becoming a mother is a transformative moment that changes purchasing behavior and criteria for a lifetime."

Habit & Behavior Insights of the 21st Century Mom

The report identifies and details seven “faces of the 21st century mom,” which, taken together, collectively represent a group of behaviors and habits that contribute to the overall profile of today’s modern mother.

Here are the key behavioral insights related to marketing, social media, mobile technology & the Internet from the report:

Social Mom: Social Media is Mass Media.

• The number of moms who use social media regularly (e.g. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, BabyCenter Community) has significantly increased from 11% to 63% since 2006; a change of 462%.

• More than four in 10 (44%) percent use social media for word-of-mouth recommendations on brands and products and 73% feel they find trustworthy information about products and services through online communities focused on their specific interests such as parenting.

• Moms tend to use content-rich environments, while using mom-centric communities to get information and advice from other moms going through the same experiences at a given time.

Media Mom: Kids' Naptime is the new Primetime.

• When a woman becomes a mom, marketers lose three hours of available media time to engage with her per day as her criteria for media use changes from a focus on entertainment to a focus on getting answers.

• 39% of moms say their time online is often the most peaceful part of their day.

Gadget Mom: Today’s moms not intimidated by technology.

• Moms are using PDA technology to manage the hectic family schedule, digital cameras to share family life and gaming consoles to connect with their children.

• The vast majority of moms (91%) never leave the house without their cell phones and, compared with three years ago, are 348% more likely to use a cell phone to go online.

• 55% of today’s moms have replaced the traditional family photo album with an online version.

You can read more about the report, including a summary of the other four "faces of the 21st Century mom," over in the BabyCenter Press Room.