BabyCenter® Reveals the Latest Profile of the 21st Century Social Mom: Her World Is Social

SAN FRANCISCO, April 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- BabyCenter®, the #1 pregnancy and parenting mobile and web destination worldwide, today released its 2013 Social Mom Report, an update to a 2010 report and the latest installment of BabyCenter's 21^st Century Mom Insights Series. In a joint partnership with comScore, BabyCenter has revealed new insights surrounding moms' adoption and usage of social platforms across all devices. Today, moms are 20% more likely to use social media than the general population. Ninety-one percent of moms now use social media regularly – a 20% increase since 2010. And they expect their friends and family to use it too. In fact, 22% of moms say that if friends or family don't participate in social media, they are not as much a part of their lives.

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The findings of this study were the result of an in-depth survey of over 1,480 moms and other online adults, social media diaries from 14 new and expectant moms, and a behavioral and secondary analysis with comScore covering e-commerce habits and social analytics.

"Today's mom is the most influential and social consumer you'll meet. Before she clicks to buy, she's posted, pinned, tweeted, and shared," said Mike Fogarty, SVP and Global Publisher at BabyCenter. "In fact, social media is so much a part of a mom's life that checking her various social platforms comes before enjoying her first cup of coffee in the morning. In the three short years since our last report on this topic, social media has become so pervasive, it's now fundamental to the way today's moms live their lives."

Mom Is Addicted to Visual Social

When BabyCenter's 2010 Mom Social Influencer Report was released, Pinterest had only just launched. Today, nearly two-thirds of moms (61%) report they have used the image-centric social network in the last six months, nearly double its 30% usage among the general population. That means Mom is 87% more likely to visit the social network than the general population.

"For Mom, all social is visual and image-driven – a major difference since our last study," said Fogarty. "Just as television progressed from black and white to color – today's moms expect social media to be an incredibly visual experience."

More Social = More Spending

Moms who participate in social media shop online more than other moms.  In fact, moms were responsible for 32% of total online spending in the last quarter, despite making up only 18% of the total internet audience¹. Compared to the general population, moms who are also heavy social networkers are more likely to shop online for clothing (61%), portable devices (91%), baby supplies (63%), and home and garden products (65%).

Moms Are Social On-the-Go

Moms are also early adopters of devices, and mobile enables her social behavior. Eighty-nine percent of moms with smartphones access Facebook on their mobile phones, and Mom is four times more likely to prefer to check social media on her smartphone. Compared to the general population, 49% more moms have smartphones (81% vs. 54%). In a year-over-year comparison, Mom's smartphone ownership is up 25% and her tablet ownership is up 79%.

Social Media Informs, Connects, and Influences

New moms spend an additional 10 hours of their day on parenting responsibilities. As a result, she's time-pressed and seeks ways to get more accomplished in less time.

"Mom is looking for ways to be more efficient and get more done in her day and that is one of the key reasons she is 20% more likely to use social media than the general population," said Fogarty.

Social media enables Mom to do her research, get her shopping done, and share family milestones instantly with friends and family. According to the study, 45% of moms say they are emailing less often and communicating more through social media. Additionally, 61% of moms are using social media to get information quickly, including health and wellness advice.

Ninety-one percent of moms have used Facebook in the past six months, compared to 80% of the general population, to socialize, share pictures or videos, and keep up on the news. In fact, 92% use the social network specifically to share family milestones and 60% of moms feel closer to friends who post regularly. In addition to Facebook, moms have higher reach across all major social media platforms including YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+.

Saving money and keeping up with her favorite brands is important to Mom, too. Seventy-eight percent of moms follow a brand for coupons and discounts, compared to only 55% of the general population. To learn about which brands and products to buy, 73% of moms rely on recommendations from parenting social media. Moms report that posts from a friend are 16% more influential than posts from a brand, and posts from another mom are 55% more influential than posts from a brand.

For more information on the 2013 Social Mom Report, please visit http://www.babycentersolutions.com.

^{1 - comScore eCommerce spending, Q4 2012}

Methodology

The findings in BabyCenter's 2013 Social Mom Report are the result of qualitative research including social media diaries, in-depth survey research among over 1,480 moms and other online adults, and a behavioral and secondary analysis with comScore covering e-commerce habits and social analytics. Fourteen new and expectant moms were recruited from across the United States via Facebook, Twitter, and BabyCenter and asked to keep social media diaries documenting their daily online activities and how much time was spent. BabyCenter also held in-home friendship groups in Chicago and San Francisco. Additionally, BabyCenter partnered with Socratic Forum to field an in-depth survey of more than 1,480 individuals including 928 expectant women or moms with kids up to 8 years old as well as 552 other online adults (referred to as general population) using Socratic's online panel. Finally, comScore analyzed online behaviors of moms 18 to 34 and the top 20% of social moms age 18 to 49 compared to internet users 18+ (general population) in terms of e-commerce online spending by category, as well as social analytics including social brand exposure and referrals.

About BabyCenter®

BabyCenter® is the voice of the 21st Century Mom® and modern motherhood. It's the #1 pregnancy and parenting digital destination worldwide, reaching more than 15 million moms monthly in the United States and more than 34 million moms monthly in 11 languages across 14 owned and operated digital properties from Australia to India to China. In the United States, 7 in 10 babies born last year were BabyCenter babies. BabyCenter is the world's partner in parenting, providing moms everywhere with trusted advice from hundreds of experts around the globe, friendship with other moms like them, and support that's remarkably right at every stage of their child's development. BabyCenter also works with some of the world's most prominent brands and institutions to provide life-stage marketing solutions and a direct line to highly engaged moms. BabyCenter is a member of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies.

SOURCE BabyCenter