Moms Heavily Influenced By Social Media According To Study

A recent study conducted by NPD Group shows that moms have the most social media power in the United States. Close to 80% of mothers in the United States with a child under the age of 18 are active in social media. With many moms taking control of a vast majority of purchasing decisions in a household more moms are turning to the social media pages for advice and information regarding popular products in society. What someone says online is obviously swaying moms to make purchases they might not have made prior to viewing the information.

“Social Media Moms: How Networking Impacts Purchasing Behaviors” probes into the behaviors and opinions of active social media moms, defined as moms who currently belong to a social networking site and/or write, read or comment on blogs.  Based on responses from a sample of more than 2,000 active social media moms, it is evident that 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.

This just goes to show you how important social media is when it comes to purchasing decisions and purchasing power across all demographics. Social media was once just a fad according to many skeptics but studies like this go to show you how important it is to be visible in the social space. Communication with your audience on a digital social level is more important than it ever was before.

“Social media has become an enormous influence on purchasing, and savvy marketers have certainly begun to embrace this vehicle when messaging to moms,” said Anita Frazier, Industry Analyst for The NPD Group. “But many marketers have yet to fully realize the potential of social media and the power of peer group recommendations, which means more opportunities are on the horizon.”

Social media is a focus that I think is only going to grow in power and strength as we move forward and it is going to slowly move into the influential stage for a much wider audience than just moms. Although mothers are a very large demographic I think that the powers of social media will eventually engulf an even much wider audience than we see here today.