Social Networks

Yesterday, I posted the highlights of an intriguing study just out from BabyCenter.  Today, some more details…

The study maintains that there are five unique segments of social moms and that these five are broken down into two categories

Influencers: Field Experts, Lifecasters and Pros

Influenced: Butterflies and the Audience 

According to the study,  these Influencers make up only 18% of social moms, but account for 78% of the influence. The research defined influence based on how often moms post or comment on social networks, along with the size of their networks. The study defined those networks as including “e.g., BabyCenter, Twitter, Facebook or blogs.”

Following is a summary of how BabyCenter breaks down its categories:

Field Expert. A young stay at home mom who uses social media to share parenting advice, typically  focused on a specific topic (e.g.,  raising twins, breastfeeding issues), with a large network of moms who seek her out for advice. She is defined as being most active in “parenting-focused social media environments.” According to the study, Field Experts make up 8% of social moms and have a 33% share of influence overall.

Lifecaster. A Millennial mom  of young children who is very active in social media.  She has a strong need to stay connected and enjoys being recognized as the person to go to on many topics, not just parenting. She has a large number of connections in social media.  Lifecasters make up 8% of social moms and 34% percent of influence overall.

Pros. Gen X mom bloggers who have turned their passion for social media into a profession. “She posts opinions and advice on a wide variety of topics including parenting tips and product reviews and giveaways.” Often, she has been compensated in some way for writing about brands on her blog. Pros represent 2% of moms in social media and have an 11% share of influence overall.  BabyCenter explains: “While they are incredibly influential individually, they account for a lower proportion of the influence overall due to their small size.” Pros are most influential on blogs, where they have an 89% share of influence and on Twitter with 68%.

And who are the Influenced?

Butterflies. Young professionals expecting their first child. She  has a lot of friends online and off, but little time, so  she tends to only post  important updates and primarily uses platforms such as Facebook.  She also seeks advice about her pregnancy on parenting-focused social media networks. She tends to be more on the receiving end of advice and recommendations rather than a dispenser of such information. Butterflies represent 16% of moms in social media but only wield 7% of the influence overall because of their low level of activity.

 The Audience. This, the largest group of social moms, is listening to the other moms. This group ranges from expectant moms to moms of older children. They have fewer online friends and comment less frequently in social media, but are highly influenced by the other segments. “Moms in this group use parenting-focused social media environments…to find useful information, ask questions, get product recommendations or receive support. They use mainstream social sites to keep in touch with friends and for consuming entertainment. They are there to observe and obtain information – not to comment.” At 66% percent of moms who use social media, the audience makes up the largest group but wields little influence relative to their size at 15% overall.

Moms, do you feel these categories make sense? Into which group do you fall? Marketers, what is your reaction?

 For more details on the “2010 Mom Social Influencer Report,” visit here.

BabyCenter just released the results of a fascinating new study that dug deep into the kinds of moms who are involved in social media, how and why they spend their time there, and — most importantly for marketers — their varying levels of influence.  I’d like to share their findings, in two parts.

First, a summary of key messages:

• Motherhood is the #1 reason for social media usage.  According to the research, pregnancy and birth motivated the vast majority of mothers in social media —  94% — to seek out information and share opinions with others online.
• Just 18% of social moms wield an astonishing 78% of the overall influence.
• Mom bloggers — as compared with all moms in social media  — make up 16% of the audience but are responsible for a huge percentage — 67% — of the influence.
• Not surprisingly, moms use different social sites for different reasons, from socializing to gathering information.

Moms, what motivated you to get involved in social media? What do you use it for? Where do you like to go, and why? Marketers, how do these findings impact your plans for reaching moms through social media?

For more on the BabyCenter “2010 Mom Social Influencer Report”  visit here. or check out tomorrow’s post for more on the subject.

No surprise: Blogs, Twitter and Facebook are increasingly popular with moms, as they share experiences and information on all kinds of subjects.

According to a recent Retail Advertising and Marketing Association (RAMA) survey conducted by BIGresearch, women with children at home are more likely to use Facebook (60.3%), MySpace (42.4%) and Twitter (16.5%) than average adults (50.2%, 34.4%, 15.0%, respectively). And 15.3% maintain their own blog.

Research from SheConnected Multimediafound that one-third (36%) of online U.S. and Canadian women would give up chocolate, their Pradas, or their mother-in-law before they gave up their social networks (OK, that last’s one’s a given…). But interestingly, only half would be willing to pay subscription fees to continue using social media channels.

Would subscription fees change social media? If social media outlets were to charge for basic monthly usage, would individuals using these forums for personal rather than business reasons be willing to pay? Most people sign up for social media sites to…well, be social!  Paying to socialize may have a whole different feel. Meanwhile, businesses use social media to make a connection with their audience and pass along information quickly. If people stop visiting those channels, will companies stop using them as well? 

Readers, would you still use social media if it cost you money? Where would you draw the line? What would subscription fees mean for companies trying to reach audiences in a more personal way?

What to do and what not to do when marketing to women was a popular subject last week, with major posts on the subject appearing, among other places, on Mashable. Among the many points made, there were a few that I thought were particularly worth repeating:

From 10 Musts for Marketing to Women on Facebook:

“Create a series of posts that your fans can look forward to on a daily or weekly basis — something they will feel a real connection to and will teach them something they can use. If you run a fashion web site, for example, provide a piece of advice from a designer every Friday –- it will make it much harder for your fans to block your updates if they have something to look forward to.”

“Your Facebook Page is also one of the best “focus groups” on the web. Not sure if you should add a product to your line? Trying to decide which functionality to add to your iPhone app? Just ask your fans.”

“Not only do we like to be heard, we also like to know we’re actually being listened to. If a fan posts a question on your page, answer it. If she compliments your brand, thank her. And if she complains about it, address her concerns and reassure her that you’re working on fixing it. This is a great way to build trust and showcase the great customer service and support your company offers.”

Moms, do you agree? What do companies do on Facebook that you love…or hate? What would drive you to a company’s Facebook page–or make you ignore it completely? Marketers, what have you learned from your Facebook experience? What’s proven effective for you?

Millennial Mom 101, a new study by Mr Youth and RepNation Media, compares moms’ and college students’ use of social media and finds that the two groups are similar in 4 key ways:

• They multitask with multiple technologies. Both groups view technology as a way to easily integrate all the different aspects of their lives. Moms see technology as a solution for managing home life efficiently, and they welcome tech just as much as college students do.
• They build communities to ease transitions. Those communities provide them with support systems, as students in one case and parents in the other. Interestingly, moms are more likely to be on MySpace, Facebook and Twitter than the general population, and the majority are likely to visit social networking sites several times a day.
• They seek peer advice over experts’. According to the report, “Gone are the days when What to Expect When You’re Expecting was the definitive bible. Today, social sites have blown open the doors to more personal parenting advice and niche ideas.”
• They overshare. Though they communicate very different types of information, neither group hesitates to convey very personal information to strangers. The report cites as an example moms’ uproar in response to Facebook’s  effort to ban breastfeeding photos.

Yet along with the similarities between moms and college students come some notable differences which should be of particular interest to marketers. While college students “hardly ever” post a review about products and services, moms are “most likely” to do so “once a week.”

Moms, do these findings describe your experience? Marketers, what surprises you about these results?

For more on this insightful report, visit here.

 Moms, are you addicted to the Internet?

What with Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and the continuing expansion of mom social networking sites,  it can be easy to get caught up in the wild world of the Web. In a recent Motherlode post, Lisa Belkin explored the relationship between moms, specifically new moms, and internet addiction.

In between diaper changes, playing and naptime, moms turn to the web for conversation, advice and interaction with other moms. Whether it is to take a much-needed break from the daily routine or an attempt to locate a great dinner recipe, some moms are finding themselves substituting blog posts for sleep or showers.

It can start with simply checking emails, move on to reading blogs, twittering — and pretty soon the day has passed you by.

It’s something I can certainly understand personally. While monitoring social media is part of my job, it’s not just part of my job. Between sending out tweets, looking up links that others have tweeted, checking profiles on new followers, searching for new people to follow, writing my own blog, looking to see if someone has posted a comment on my blog, reading other blogs, researching Web sites, emailing, reading incoming electronic newsletters, reviewing Google Reader, etc. – surely I’m forgetting something here — well, you get the idea.

Moms are you addicted to the Internet? How many hours a day to you spend online? What do you think the warning signs of Internet addiction are? And what do you do to take a break?