Study: Millennial Moms are Highly Connected and Influential on Social Media, But Neglected by Marketers

Think all moms can be lumped into a "mommy category" when it comes to marketing demographics? Think that young mothers are too busy balancing home-life, career and baby to interact with people (and brands) on social media? On both counts, you'd better think again. New research done by Weber Shandwick shows that "Millennial Moms" (mothers born between 1978 and 1994) are both highly connected and highly influential on social media, and yet marketers have thus far failed to fully tap into this potentially potent demographic. These women, who account for 22 percent of North American mothers, use an average of 3.4 social media accounts, compared to 2.6 by other moms. They also spend 17.4 hours per week on social networks, which is four more than mothers of other generations, the study says. Millennial Moms are also more likely to share information about goods and services, and do so both digitally and offline. Nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of Millennial Moms say they are sought out more often than other friends for advice on a wide range of topics. They are also more likely than the average mom to provide recommendations online. In an average month, Millennial Moms “like” or recommend products or services online 10.4 times, while the average mom only does so 7.7 times. “Because Millennial moms are digital natives and grew up with the Internet more so than older generations, they have become accustomed to sharing more,” said Liz Rizzo, SVP at Weber and a lead developer on the research. And yet, despite their potential power, Rizzo also pointed out that this group of women -- of which there are 9 million in North America -- feels "overlooked by marketers." “It is easy to lump all moms into one bucket, and, in doing so, PR professionals and marketers are missing an important opportunity to communicate with different types of women,” she said. So the take-home message seems pretty clear: “Marketers need to wipe the mom slate clean and recognize the diversity of the mom target. Our research shows that Millennial Moms are more digitally connected than older moms and spend a great deal of time on their social networks,” said Leslie Gaines-Ross, chief reputation strategist at Weber Shandwick, in a news release. “These women are armed with information and are inherently influential both online and offline. Their digital connectedness gives them a much different perspective of motherhood and brands need to learn how to better engage them in this new social era.”

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Study: Millennial Moms are Highly Connected and Influential on Social Media, But Neglected by Marketers

Elizabeth S. Mitchell

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Elizabeth S. Mitchell