Mother's Little Helper: The Social Web

If moms weren’t already the focus of many an online marketing campaign, new data from Nielsen provides fresh evidence that they are right in the middle of key Internet trends. The influence moms wield as household decision makers stretches across social media, e-commerce and mobile.

When using social networking sites, for example, moms are 38% more likely to become a fan or follow a brand online, and those who blog are more than twice as likely to follow brands and celebrities compared to the online average. Three out of four moms visited Facebook in March, and almost 5 million headed to new social media darling Pinterest. That total represented more than a third of the site’s unique visitors on the desktop Web in March.

Product-focused Pinterest overall has proven especially popular with women, who make up about 60% of its audience, according to findings earlier this year from Web measurement firm Compete. Part of Pinterest’s appeal may be its link to online shopping. Nielsen found that moms are at least 23% more likely to buy or shop for things like toys, clothing, e-books and music in the last 30 days than average.

Moms are also holding their ground in the mobile sphere. Overall, 54% own smartphones, and at least half use social media on mobile devices versus 37% of the broader online population. And since “mommy bloggers” have become an online demographic unto themselves, it’s not surprising that moms are about 25% more likely to visit blogging software sites like Blogger and WordPress.com.

The Nielsen findings about the online habits of moms did not extend to Web video. But the lineup of shows introduced by Yahoo last year aimed specifically at women 25-54 clearly reflects a desire to reach the mom audience in that realm as well. The same goes for AOL. Among its new slate of shows debuting May 13 is “Little Women, Big Cars,” revolving around “four soccer moms struggling to balance their busy schedules, family lives and sanity.” With a little help from the Web.