I’m not a mom, but I do have a lot of mom friends. I began observing how their lives changed once their child comes into the world. One, being social media. Before the mom life, they would post about themselves and their aspirations. Now, I noticed they will post mostly about their kids. They will ask for advice from other social media mom’s, post cute pictures, look for ways to entertain their kids and some will join support groups.
I asked a few friends what their social media experience as a mom has been. They, all mentioned how they enjoy viewing tips on social media in different areas of parenting and also use social media to share with their family and friends on how their kids are growing. Some have families and friends in different states and others in different countries. How are different social media platforms used by moms?
The data team of Facebook decided to do a study specifically on the moms of Facebook and found that there are 27 million U.S. women who identify as mothers on Facebook. The average mother’s age on Facebook is 47. The average age of women who said they had a baby since last Mother’s Day, however, is 30.
Moms are just really, weirdly good at Facebook #content. A Pew Research survey revealed that 81% of moms are on Facebook and only 66% of dads. They are most likely to give feedback and support on Facebook, with 53% mothers saying they “strongly agree” that they use social media to respond to good news others share.
I’ve found that moms use Facebook to connect with groups. One example my friend had was a breastfeeding group. Pictures of kids are posted and inspirational quotes or messages are posted. It is interesting to see how much social media moms have a strong impact on the web.
Instagram recently released a study stating that one in four women over 18 in the U.S. are moms. Of those moms, 93% use Instagram at least once per week; 68% use it daily. That is huge! Moms are posting moments they want to share with their followers and sharing their experiences. If there is one demographic to reach on Instagram, it would have to be moms.
Pinterest
When researching Pinterest I found so many different walls like Moms of Pinterest, What Moms Love, NY Trendy Moms. The list is endless. Ahalogy released a 2015 study on Pinterest Media Consumption and the found 47% of active pinners who are moms use Pinterest instead of engaging on other social media platforms. Bob Gilbreath, co-founder of Ahalogy said, “Mom is the chief planning officer for the family, and our data shows that Pinterest us a medium for the future for her big events.” Moms are more adventurous and will try something new that they discover on Pinterest 13% more often than non-moms. Moms will try new recipes or activities they find and they are open to trying new things.
Why Moms are Important to Social Media
From the results of Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest, we can see that moms have an overall impact on consumerism and being a voice on social media. They tend to encourage other mothers and to create memories through social media. I believe moms should not only just be moms on social media. One friend mentioned to me that she had to create balance in her social media life. Being a mom is beautiful, but you are also YOU.