The hottest new social media program around, Pinterest is a “virtual pinboard” that allows users to create online collections of things they love and share those graphics and accompanying content easily with others. Moms can create “boards” on the Pinterest site, then “pin” original graphics they have created or “repin” graphics found on others’ Pinterest boards or elsewhere online.  The program enables them to discover, group and share everything from crafts to home décor to favorite fashions.

TechCrunch recently crowned Pinterest 2011’s “Best New Start Up,” and in February alone, Pinterest saw 16.23 million unique users.  TechCrunch also reported that 80% of Pinterest’s user base is female.

With that as background, at Child’s Play, we decided to go a step further and see exactly how interest in Pinterest played out specifically among moms.  Feedback from 250 moms across the country not only showed that many moms were using the program, but how and why. Key findings:

• 96.7% of moms surveyed (all active bloggers) said they were using Pinterest.
• Top 5 reasons why:
  • It’s just fun (90.0%)
  • I like organizing my interests (67.8%)
  • I like looking at beautiful things (67.0%)
  • Makes my blog, Website, Facebook or Twitter stream more interesting (55.7%)
  • It helps me drive traffic to my blog or Web site (53.5%)
• About the same number (68.0% vs. 65.3%) said they used Pinterest on their blog and on Facebook, respectively.
• The number of Pinterest boards each mom had ran from a low of 1 to a high of 83, averaging out at 18.
• “Food/recipes” was by far (91.4%) the category/subject moms pinned the most. Others in the top 5 were “Crafts” (74.5%), “Home Décor” (55.5%) “How-To” (52.7%), and “Fashion” (39.5%).
• Fewer than half of moms (42.3%) used Pinterest to plan events, with 78.7% of that number planning a child’s birthday party.
• Interestingly, of the moms surveyed, only 4.1% just pinned original graphics, 5.5% only repinned others’ graphics, and the vast majority (94.5%) did a combination of both, with a quarter (25.1%) also creating original graphics specifically for pinning.
• About two-thirds of moms (66.5%) both pinned when they came across something of interest and pro-actively searched for items to pin.
• Moms’ top sources for repins:
  • Blogs of friends (65.5%)
  • Craft sites (49.0%)
  • Foodies (45.0%)
  • Their own blog (40%)

For marketers, Pinterest presents an opportunity to connect with moms by offering tantalizing visuals for them to pin and repin and creating Pinterest-based contests and other interactive activities to further engage this audience. This approach not only develops an additional social media connection but, because pins link back to their source, also drives incoming links to the brand’s online presence, impacting SEO.

Asked who was doing the best job among companies currently engaged on Pinterest, moms mentioned Land’s End, Kraft Foods, Real Simple, Totsy, Home Depot and Disney Family Fun, among others. Kudos were given to those who pinned a variety of topics both from their own sources and others, who offered helpful recipes and who added great photos.

So how was this, my third BlogHer in a row (not counting BlogHer Business and local meetings) different from those in the past? For one, I had the wonderful opportunity to speak on a panel, called Bad Blogger Pitches (The Other Side of the PR-Blogger Relationship). More on that in a future post. In addition, based on the subject of my panel and some similar ones, there seemed to be more of a focus on professionalism — helping bloggers to realize that if they want to go beyond blogging for pleasure, if they want to turn their blogs into a profitable business, they need to understand what brands expect in return. Brands themselves, meanwhile, showed more thoughfulness in their approach to bloggers. Whether that meant offering the chance to settle back in a cozy room and cook up S’mores with Hershey or relax in a spa-like setting with HTC, some companies focused mo

Which brings me to one of my favorite questions: Do moms socialize in real life more as a result of social media, or less?

There’s no doubt that overall socialization, in the broader sense of the term, has improved as a result of social media. A University of Texas, Austin, survey of 900 current and recent college graduates concluded that Facebook provides opportunities for friendship, intimacy and community and in general causes us to be more social.

 But does networking on line make moms more social off line?

One dad — my husband, bless him — was a late convert to social media. His sole connection: Facebook. He started with it to “get up to speed” for work. And now… He spends a lot of his time not only catching up via Facebook but also meeting some of those folks he’s connected with– high school classmates or former work buddies – over lunch. I’d say that, for him, social media has created additional real life sociability.

I, on the other hand, definitely communicate online more regularly with people outside of my day-to-day circle, but don’t necessarily see them in person. While there is only so much time in the day to do anything – work, sleep, eat, take care of the kids – I wonder if that online time could be better spent over dinner or drinks either with those social media friends or others.

Blogging began as a way for women to connect with others virtually – then grew to conference after conference designed to bring them together in real life.

There are even new apps out there designed to take us away from the screens and into more “live” sociability. One called Sonar is said to link with your Facebook, Twitter, and/or Four Square account and send you alerts when you have a friend nearby. The idea behind the app, according to the founder, is to create a personal interaction and perhaps a friendship.

 Sherry Turkle, author of Alone Together, has a skeptical view of the Internet’s impact on real sociability. She believes that technology is dominating our lives to the point that it is causing us to become less human and providing us with a false sense of the real world.

 Moms, what is your take on social media? Does it make you more social in the real sense of the word – or less?

Marketers, what programs do you have to help bring friends together, live and in-person?

There’s a new ad campaign called The Log Off which encourages moms to cut back on all that social media time and shift it instead to something more important — like playing with their kids.

The ad, designed to encourage what  its creator called “online moderation,” features a  lip-synched song  in which children are “pleading with their mommies to get off Facebook and play with them,” according to Social Times, and “really puts the guilt trip on moms who spend too much time on Facebook.”

Whoa.

While the ad was clearly designed to generate as much attention as possible (“Hey, let’s go bash some moms in social media and see if anyone talks about us!”), it does raise a few questions.

Ladies: Are you, in fact, spending way too much time on Facebook? IS it taking away from quality time with your kids? How do you feel about that and what, if anything, have you done in response?

Here at Child’s Play Communications, we knew from our experience connecting companies with moms in social media that the answer was yes, but we wanted to offer greater insight into how and to what degree social media influences what moms buy. Toward that end, we commissioned The NPD Group, a leading market research company, to conduct an in-depth survey of moms across the U.S. based on a series of questions we developed.  The just released  “Social Media Moms: How Networking Impacts Purchasing Behaviors” provides a comprehensive understanding  not only of  what motivates moms’ purchasing decisions but also of moms’ overall use of social media. Following are some key finding:

•  79% of all moms in the U.S. with children under the age of 18 are active in social media
•  Of these moms, about one in four (23%) said they have purchased a children’s product as a result of a recommendation from a social networking site or blog. 
•  Online recommendations have even more impact among the most frequent social media users: 43% of active social media moms who use these sites on a daily basis have purchased a children’s product as the result of a recommendation from these sites.
•  More than half (55%) of these moms said they made their purchase because of a recommendation from a personal review blog.
• 40% of these moms made a purchase because of a  Facebook recommendation.

 The NPD Group fielded an online survey to members of NPD’s online panel and to members of the Child’s Play Communications online panel. The two different sources provided data to create both a holistic view of U.S. moms and their interaction with social media, as well as a deep-dive into the behaviors and preferences of social media moms. The complete survey is available for purchase from NPD.

 Clearly, moms nationwide are making purchasing decisions as a result of the information and advice other moms are providing through social media.

How about you? Have you made a purchase as a result of a social media recommendation? Was it from a blog? What did you buy and why?

1. Seeing so many members of our Team Mom network of review bloggers and of our Parkbench Panel, including Debbie from Mamanista and Bloganthropy, Connie from Brain Foggles, Beth from Plus Size Mommy, Kim from Crafty Mama of 4, Jill from Musings from Me, Jen from One Moms World, Sarah from Real Life and Stacey from Tree, Root and Twig. Some of these wonderful folks I’ve spent much time with at past Child’s Play Bloggers Brunches and client-sponsored trips, others I had the opportunity to (finally!) meet for the first time.
2. Reconnecting with other terrific ladies we’ve worked with in the past including  Jennifer of The Vacation Gals,  Carol of NY City Mama, Katherine of Postpartum Progress–winner of the 2010 Bloganthropy Award, Kimberly of Mom in the City and Leticia from Tech Savvy Mama.
3. Meeting some blogger rock stars for the first time, including Katja of Skimbaco Lifestyle, Jennifer of The Mom Bloggers Club, Janice of 5 Minutes for Mom   and Kim of Hormone Colored Days.
4. Walking the streets of Asheville with a big group of moms I had just met and having a blast.
5. Meeting their kids. Mom bloggers grow THE most adorable children.

More on the Type-A Mom Conference coming soon.

Most importantly, at Dinner’s On Us we are presenting the first annual Bloganthropy Awards, to recognize those who have used social media to help a worthy cause. The event will also feature drinks on the rooftop at a location convenient to BlogHer as well as a lovely meal.

SPACE IS LIMITED. If you have received an invitation and have not yet RSVPd, please do so now. If you have not received an invitation and would like to be on our waiting list, please send your name, the name of your blog and your contact information to childsplay@childsplaypr.com.

Dinner’s On Us will be a very special event, and we look forward to seeing you there!

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.

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.

On  April 13^th, Child’s Play Communications hosted its third annual Bloggers Brunch – and its first on the West Coast.  The Los Angeles event, designed to connect companies with mom bloggers in an intimate atmosphere conducive to conversation and personal connections, featured a panel  presentation by leading West Coast mom bloggers, titled, “Connecting with Moms in Social Media.”

Speakers included Jill Asher, Silicon Valley Moms Blog; Ciaran Blumenfeld, Momfluential; Caryn Bailey, Rockin’ Mama and Maryanne Conlin (MC Milker), The Not Quite Crunchy Parent. I had the opportunity and the distinct pleasure of serving as moderator for this great group of women, all of whom offered terrific, thoughtful and highly useful advice to an audience of corporate representatives mixed with other mom bloggers.

The morning presentation was followed by an elegant brunch in the sun-filled courtyard of the Shade Hotel in Manhattan Beach, where 50 West Coast bloggers enjoyed each other’s company and engaged one:one with top-of-the-line sponsors including Bandai, Cold Stone Creamery, Dyson, Nickelodeon, PajamaJeans, Pottery Barn Kids, Summit Products and Toyota. Temptress, meanwhile, provided makeovers to all our guests. The sponsors offered wonderful giveaways and an amazing array of raffle prizes, from baskets full of toys to shopping and spa gift certificates to vacuum cleaners to a year’s worth of free ice cream. Guests also had the opportunity to test drive cars.

We were so pleased to have such a great turnout of bloggers and sponsors alike, and I would like to take this opportunity to extend our thanks to speakers, sponsors and guests. Based on the numbers of bloggers who attended, the quality of the sponsors and the  feedback from both—in person and on Twitter —  I’d have to say this was our best Brunch ever!

For photos of  the Los Angeles Brunch, please click here. Video coming soon!

We’ve got more Bloggers Brunch events and other great  mom-focused  social media activities planned for 2010. Be sure to get in touch if you’d like to know more about them (sa@childsplaypr.com). Hope to see you there!

Stephanie  Azzarone

President

Child’s Play Communications

135 W. 29th St., Suite 701

NYC NY 10001

Specialists in reaching moms

Phone: (212) 488-2060 x 11

Email: sa@childsplaypr.com

Website: www.childsplaypr.com

Blog: MomMarketTrends.com

Twitter: ChildsPlayComm